A Happy New Year to everyone celebrating the High Holy Days. I understand that this is the year 5764 (I remember 5396 as though it were yesterday!). There's nothing like a long cultural history to give you perspective and to teach patience; good attributes for Roosevelt Islanders.

A follow-up on the pigeon poop problem: the doors into Motorgate directly facing Gristede's are now closed and the urine effluvia banished. However, the pipes that act as pigeon perches are unaffected with the result that the ground is continually bombarded by pigeon presents. You may have noticed this summer that the sidewalk fouling on the block in front of the post office has been effectively controlled by the repair and installation of chicken-wire frames that interdict the perching sites. Congrats to the RIOC/Motorgate personnel who ended this perennial problem. The site in front of Gristede's is more problematic, because the pipe perches are so high and so exposed. I do hope a solution can be found that will prevent pedestrian pigeon poop perambulation into our purveyor of provisions.

After a two-week hiatus to fix a ruptured lining, the Westview swimming pool is again open for business. This star-crossed facility has had more than its share of closings during the past three years and I hope the present repairs will allow us swimmers to stay wet for some time to come.

Last week Eastwood and Island leaders, along with representatives of Speaker Miller, Assembly Member Grannis and Rep. Maloney, learned that Belson Associates intends to buy out of the Mitchell-Lama subsidy system within the year. Belson president Aaron Silberman assured the group that all tenants would be maintained under some form of subsidy, either Section 8 enhanced ("sticky") vouchers or a landlord assistance program. For those who assumed that Island House and Westview would lead the way out of Mitchell-Lama this news was an eye-opener. Mr. Silberman announced a follow-up meeting for all Eastwood tenants on September 29 and I would urge all Island residents concerned about the status of their housing to attend. I understand details will follow from Housing Management.

Were you at the Trust for Public Land meeting last week that presented three conceptual plans for Southpoint Park? Precious few Roosevelt Islanders were. I would say that the afternoon and evening sessions attracted only about fifty or sixty participants, including only a third of the RIRA Common Council membership. I thought the questions and comments were thoughtful and insightful; I just wish there had been more of them. This community will be asked to participate one more time, tentatively scheduled for mid-October, to offer comments on the Trust's final proposal. At that point, TPL, RIOC, and the realities of financing this project will determine the end product. We Islanders talk a lot about our love of parks and green space. It's time to put your money where your mouth is and help determine the nature of this park destined to endure for generations.

Many people commented on the need for a park maintenance plan and on-site stewards to oversee the property on a regular basis. The only cohesive plan presented to date has been the Living Library and Think Park that has evolved through three years of discussions here on Roosevelt Island. The representatives of United Nations NGOs (non-governmental organizations) made clear the present need for conference space that could be rented at a profit. A plan to include agro-ecological gardens and greenhouses, charged with developing sustainable crops for third-world use, would make Southpoint Park a destination point for a worldwide audience as well as an educational center. My personal dream includes an international restaurant, perhaps accessible by water like the River Café and Water's Edge restaurants, that might find a home in a restored Renwick ruin. However, many have expressed the notion that "less is more" and would prefer a more unimproved, pastoral approach.

At the meeting I mentioned that, as "form follows function," we should consider how the park would be used. This should help determine what we would like to see built. For example, if we are adamant about maximizing greenery and river views, then the Louis Kahn memorial to FDR, containing massive amounts of granite and "pollarded" linden trees that block the skyline, should be rethought. By the same token, the crescent of commercial buildings offered in one plan robs the thirteen-acre site of its sylvan nature and creates a new, redundant "town center," that is a mile and more from any residential area. The current Northtown commercial strip and the proposed Southtown shopping mall should not have to compete for business with a park. What do you think?

You may recall my intention, mentioned in the last RIRA column, to attend the Manhattan Helicopter Task Force meeting, sponsored by Virginia Fields, Manhattan Borough President. I've been there and I have no good news to report. This group has met, sporadically, for the past few years, and without any appreciable results since the 60th Street Heliport was closed. The existing regulations, both City and FAA, that set minimum altitude limits over urban areas have no teeth and are ignored. The attitude from the FAA, Port Authority, and LaGuardia Airport reps, not to mention the commercial heliport and air service providers, was not helpful, and the Eastern Region Helicopter Council (ERHC) guy was downright defensive, seeing a conspiracy to destroy the local helicopter industry while the attending resident leaders were simply concerned with noise, safety, and security issues. I'll tell you this: Don't bother calling 311 with noise issues; they don't discriminate between helicopter and TastyFreeze truck noise. You might try calling Matt Zuccaro at ERHC (914-238-1800) or e-mailing him with your concerns: erhcny@aol.com. Then again, nobody seems to be listening. Too bad.

Last weekend Sherie and I spent a cold, stormy, miserable day ringing doorbells in Pennsylvania, a swing state in the upcoming presidential election. Perhaps you can guess whom we were campaigning for when I tell you that Dr. Howard Dean showed up at the union hall, where we received breakfast and some training, to give a funny and rousing pep talk and remind us why we were there. This is a critical election, conducted during wartime, and I urge everyone to get involved.

Likewise (and this is a classy segue, don'tcha think?), I urge you to get involved in the RIRA Common Council elections, also on November 2. While the results of the race for president will trickle down (to coin a phrase) to affect our lives and futures, the delegates you send to the Council from your buildings, plus the two Island-wide officers, will impact your quality of life immediately. The Common Council has elected George Reither chair of the Election Committee and Mark Chipman chair of the Nominations Committee and we will be meeting shortly to plan and execute what I hope will be a flawless election.

When nominations open in October consider running for a Council seat. After all the brouhaha over our constitution, the fact is that this document says nothing about what the RIRA Common Council does or should do; that depends on the issues and projects the members choose to address. If you've always had a pet peeve about Island life, here's a chance to effect real change. If you've always wished that someone had the human and financial resources to produce a pet project, RIRA does. As I consider my time on the Council over the past eight years, I will always have the pride and satisfaction of knowing that we "done good" and made a difference. That's a good feeling and I recommend it to you. And for goodness sake, register immediately and vote this coming Election Day. It's not an onerous duty, it's a privilege.