It seems that spring is really here this time.  The cherry blossom trees around the Island were in full bloom this week, making my first spring here a truly remarkable experience.  I look forward to the annual Arbor Day tree planting this Friday to add one more tree to the beautiful array on this Island.  I can’t thank Maurice Bleifeld and the Roosevelt Island Tree Board for all that they do to preserve and enhance the beauty of the Island.

On another happy note, the elevator at the Tram is finally operational again.  At the time that I am writing this, it has been operational for more than 24 hours, the longest stretch in months.  This has been one of the more frustrating experiences for me.  I am pleased that the new company seems to have the situation well in hand, and I am hopeful that there will no longer be any problems in this area.  I have to thank both the residents of the Island for their patience, and the staff at RIOC for staying on top of this issue and pushing all of the elevator companies on a daily basis.

I am also happy to report that Roosevelt Island was the featured area in the Classroom Extra section of the New York Post on April 22.  It mentioned that Roosevelt Island is a small community with a thrilling commute across the river.  While the history given was fairly accurate, it doesn’t fully depict how wonderful the Island is today.  We are beginning to get requests from other news outlets requesting information for neighborhood profiles.  We will keep everyone posted if anything develops from these inquiries.

On a not as happy note, I am distressed by what I hear about the emergency planning meeting that took place last week.  Despite the fact that it was mentioned in my column in The WIRE several times as well as notices being placed on the kiosks and in the buildings, only approximately 21 residents attended.  I, and the people from the City and State Offices of Emergency Management, really do want to hear from you.  Please forward any questions or concerns to Sari Dickson or Michael Moreo in my office.  They are heading up this project and will pass all of the information on to the appropriate planners at the City and State.

RIOC is a facilitator in this process.  There are professionals at the City and State levels that specialize in emergency planning.  We want to continue to bring them to the community and make them aware of the issues facing Roosevelt Island.  To this end, we were planning to hold additional meetings on this subject in the future with other members of the emergency planning community, including the Police and Fire Departments.  Please contact Ms. Dickson or Mr. Moreo to let us know if interest remains high in this area.  We would like to be able to show the planners that there is a real interest in this subject by having more residents in attendance.

One example of the positive impact that the community can have is the new information line that is going to be implemented at RIOC.  One member of the community suggested that we obtain a dedicated phone line with a separate phone number.  When residents call this phone number they will get a prerecorded announcement about any transportation issues, meetings or other necessary information.  We hope to have this fully operational within the next few weeks, and I look forward to reporting on that phone number.  RIOC is committed to working with the community to implement positive change.  It is our goal for the community to be fully informed about any important service announcements.

Finally, it is just about time to say goodbye to Dark Waters.  The film, which was supposed to finish shooting on Roosevelt Island several weeks ago, met with some delays.  They are now scheduled to leave at the end of this week.  It is going to be so exciting to see the movie with the Island residents as extras.  I want to thank everyone again for their patience.  In my next column, I will be able to announce how much money the film brought to RIOC and what projects can be realized as a result.

Enjoy the beautiful weather.  I look forward to seeing everyone as I walk around the Island!