Image of Bryant Park Skating Pond
At last night’s RIOC Board Hearing, RIOC President Steve Shane reported that the operators of the Bryant Park Skating Rink have expressed an interest in setting up a facility on Roosevelt Island.
Image of Bryant Park Skating Rink from Time Out NY
The Roosevelt Island location for the Skating Rink mentioned was Firemen’s Field.
Image of Firefighters Field from Bridge and Tunnel Club
I think a better place for a skating rink would be the southern tip of Southpoint Park which has these fantastic views of the NYC Waterfront and Skyline but is the controversial site of the proposed Kahn/FDR Memorial Boondoggle.The supporters of the Kahn/FDR Memorial gave a presentation at last night’s RIOC Board Meeting on their proposed construction phasing and of course they said that they had to build the granite room first despite the overwhelming objections of Roosevelt Island residents as expressed in the referendum held last November. (830 votes in favor of building the park before the granite room memorial and 247 against the resolution)Some good news is that the RIOC Board will have another vote sometime this summer, probably in June, on the proposed construction phasing so there is still an opportunity to stop this unwanted and out-of-date project. Also, approvals/permits still need to be obtained from the NY State Department of Conservation , the Army Corp of Engineers , Coast Guard, NYPD, Homeland Security among many others, and there is time to register our objections with these agencies. Much more on this soon.Other highlights of the RIOC Board meeting include:The web cast of the 2/19 RIOC Board of Directors Meeting is available here. The Kahn/FDR Memorial construction phasing presentation is the last item on the agenda