April 4, 2007
Roosevelt "Get Me Off This" Island
Living on Roosevelt Island may afford you gorgeous views and short commute to Manhattan, but residents really would like more ways out. The Sun reports residents want to build a staircase and elevator to the Queensboro Bridge in case of an emergency. An emergency like evil, goopy water?
The president of the Roosevelt Island Residents Association Matthew Katz says, "You can't get off Roosevelt Island fast enough right now. We need to find alternative ways to get people on and off the island." The current options are not ideal: The F is crowded, the lift bridge "often gets stuck," the bus is slow, and the tram...well, we know about the tram.
While City Coucilwoman Jessica Lappin thinks it's a good idea ("seems like a reasonable, low-cost way to provide that access"), the Department of Transportation rejected it because putting in an elevator would require giving up a lane on the bridge. And without an elevator, a stairway would be inaccessible to the disabled. Still, the Community Board is going to talk about it.
What do you think would be good ways for Roosevelt Island residents to get off the island? How about a fleet of sturdy rafts... though there may not be enough for the population increase (the RIRA expects the population to increase from 12,000 to 20,000 in the next couple years.)
Photograph by wallyg on Flickr
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free swimming lessons and wetsuits?
I'm definitely feeling the lifeboat approach. When you abandon an entire island, is it still women and children first?
heres the best way to get off retard island. move out!
An elevator to the bridge is a retarded idea.
The train is good enough. Why should they get special treatment?
I took Ron's advice.
Hey, leave the retards alone!
So, what, they can walk to another island with a crappy or non-existent evacuation plan?
They can walk across the East River on my Penis, but when they get off they might end up somewhere in Nevada.
I could have sworn I read somewhere that there used to be an elevator on the bridge that went to Roosevelt Island before the subway/tram was there and that the elevator was, essentially, a bus stop for the people on the island.
How about..a boat?
this is ridiculous
"the subway is crowded" does not warrant a new form of transporation option from a small island that already has two. Especially if it would ential giving up a lane on the bridge.
the 4/5 is more crowded, and only now are they building a 2nd ave line for a much more populated portion of the city.
In the case of a lengthy blackout, even with emergency generators, the subways would eventually stop running.
I think the "crowded" thing is pretty flimsy. We are talking about emergencies.
New York has been hit by fatal hurricanes before, so this is probably what kind of disaster we're talking.
There used to be an elevator to the bridge, but it was about 50 years ago.
On the other hand, there's a friggin' regular bridge to Queens, which you can walk or take a bus over! Am I missing something?
What's with the friggin' 'retard' comments?. What kind of MORON would think that stupidity has any connection to geographical locations?.
I mean if we were talking about Texas or any other of those yahoo states then fine and good. But RI is only a f@cking 400 yards from either shore, man. And they eased-up on the dog restrictions, so lightem up a bit RETARDS.
If they like easier access off the Island they should opt for 'Short Bus' shuttle service to Creedmore.
Friggin Retards.
When retards rule the world...
That's interesting . I'd think with all the benefits they already have on Roosevelt Island That would be enough . Apparently not ! Greedy bastards .
There was something called the "Upside Down House" which was essentially a car elevator that ran from about halfway across the 59th St Bridge down to ground level. It was used mostly by ambulances, since most of what was on the island were hospitals. They called it the Upside Down House because the first floor was on the top, and the eighth floor was at the bottom... get it? The bridge didn't show up until 1955, and the Upside Down House was closed down in 1970.
Which got me wondering... um, maybe they should build another bridge? Just a thought...
"...build and elevator a staircase to the Queensboro Bridge."
What?
For those interested in a little history:
The Elevator Storehouse at the bridge served island residents until 1955. It transported trucks, cars, and people from the bridge. The trolley that used to run over the bridge made stops there as well. The Roosevelt Island Bridge from Queens opened in 1955, the tram was opened in 1976, and the subway in 1989, so the elevator was one of the primary means of access to the island, especially to provide supplies to the hospitals and institutions on the island.
Roosevelt Island was not developed as a residential community until the late 1970s. Before then it housed, over time, a penitentiary, a "lunatic" asylum, a smallpox hospital, workhouses for the poor, a school of nursing, and long-term recovery hospitals, just to name a few.
The reopening of the pedestrian route would be a valuable addition to life for the 250 students at The Child School on Roosevelt Island who come from across the city to attend this great special needs school.