RIOC:  No More Saturday Concerts

In a concession to the Island's Catholic Parish, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) has revised its policy on the Good Shepherd Community Center to make it unavailable for Saturday events.

The just-issued policy would have precluded last Saturday evening's Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert by classical guitarist Eliot Fisk, scheduled by River Music as part of Roosevelt Island Day.

RIOC President Herbert E. Berman explained in an e-mail to The WIRE: "The church celebrates an afternoon/evening Mass on Saturday, and an early-morning Sunday Mass, hence any usage that goes into the night and intrudes upon the services would render the facility difficult to use. Accordingly, the policy is out of respect to the Church and their schedule to celebrate Mass... It is otherwise available six days a week."

Asked how a Saturday night concert, scheduled after the Saturday Mass, would "intrude," Berman relayed an explanation drafted by his second in command, Catherine Johnson: "The difficulty comes in when events take place on Saturday evening and run until quite late and Mass is scheduled to be celebrated at 8:00 a.m. People using the facility do not always return the space to its original condition immediately upon conclusion of an event and consequently, it is not ready for 8:00 Mass, causing a significant inconvenience. As this is a multi-purpose facility, accommodation has to be made by all parties to meet the needs of the Roosevelt Island community. Hopefully, by providing the policy, event organizers will know about availability in advance and schedule accordingly, allowing maximum use of the facility while at the same time accommodating its long-standing use as a place of worship for Island residents."

When videographers showed up last Saturday night to record the Fisk concert for use on the Carnegie Hall web site, there was an exchange with Fr. Peter Miqueli, they later reported, in which he said he did not know of the plans for the concert, though it had been scheduled (by Roosevelt Island Housing Management) with the parish secretary some two weeks in advance. In the past, Fr. Miqueli has complained that organizations have occasionally left the Chapel unready for morning services.

The new policy also prohibits "parties or dances open to the general public," use by "commercial groups for sales or promotion," and "political fund-raising events." It requires users to carry liability insurance indemnifying RIOC and DHCR. A copy of the policy is posted on Website NYC10044, with this issue of The WIRE, at nyc10044.com.