As reported November 24, 2025:
… the NYC Department Of Housing, Preservation & Development (HPD) announced they were about to begin demolition of the decommissioned Roosevelt Island Steam Plant smokestacks and building located at 5 East Main Street next to the Roosevelt Island Tram, residential buildings and the Roosevelt Island Racquet Club.. According to a HPD spokesperson, the NYC Buildings Department
- … issued an Emergency Work Order for 5 East Main Street on 7/8/2024 which is publicly available here.
- The Emergency Work Order was issued due to the deteriorating conditions of the masonry façade of the two smoke stacks and the power plant building.
- As this is city-owned building, the work is being managed by HPD,
On March 13, I asked Roosevelt Island’s NY State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright:
NYC HPD is in the process of demolishing the decommissioned Roosevelt Island Steam Plant located next to the Roosevelt Island Tram Station, residential buildings, child care facility and ball fields.
Some residents are greatly concerned that the demolition is not being done in a safe manner and of the trucking of potential contaminated waste on the one Roosevelt Island street..
Residents also propose that the building should be repurposed instead of being demolished.
HPD claims that the Steam Plant is not structurally safe, under a 2024 Emergency Demolition Order from the Department of Buildings. But that finding is questioned by architects and engineers living on Roosevelt Island who have studied the publicly available documents..
These residents are also upset at what they believe is the lack of transparency and answers to their questions about these issues from HPD and elected officials.
Do you have any comment on this issue?
Would you be willing to meet with local Roosevelt Island residents to hear their concerns?
Here is a link to a recent Roosevelt Islander article that summarizes the issues.
And a short video from last Saturday’s Stop The Demolition Rally.
Thanks for any assistance.
A spokesperson for Assembly Member Seawright anwered:
Thank you for reaching out regarding the Roosevelt Island Steam Plant demolition. We understand the concerns from residents about safety, environmental impacts, and transparency.
According to NYC HPD, the Steam Plant, built in 1939 and decommissioned in 2014, was found to have deteriorating masonry and visible cracks in both the building and smokestacks, leading the Department of Buildings to issue a 2024 Emergency Order. In response, HPD moved forward with a demolition plan in 2025 to safely remove the structure and mitigate the risk of collapse.
HPD has contracted a licensed demolition contractor and implemented extensive safety measures, including:
- Multi-layer protective infrastructure for surrounding areas, including the Roosevelt Island Tram, roof protections, and sandbag layers for impact resistance.
- Continuous monitoring throughout all phases of demolition.
- Licensed environmental professionals conducting any required remediation.
- Full adherence to federal, state, and local safety and environmental regulations.
Our office will also be monitoring the demolition to ensure these protocols are followed and to safeguard the well-being of Roosevelt Island residents. We are reachable to facilitate any questions or concerns and remain available to help residents connect with the appropriate city agencies.
Last Friday, I followed up asking Roosevelt Island elected officials NY State Senator Liz Krueger, Ms Seawright and NYC Council Speaker Julie Menin if they have been in recent contact with:
… the Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) Commissioner Dina Levy regarding the concerns of Roosevelt Island residents with the Steam Plant Demolition and possible unsafe demolition practices?
A spokesperson for State Senator Krueger replied:
Our office has been in continuous contact with HPD regarding health and safety and keeping the RI community informed regarding the Steam Plant Demolition. We made sure that the Health and Safety procedures and policies HPD will be following were detailed and shared with the community—as well as permits and results of tests and any/all documentation. HPD has notified us they will host a Community Town Hall—with appropriate professionals with their Demolition Team present including the NYC Department of Buildings—before any demolition of the Steam Plant occurs. The Town Hall will be on April 15 and RIOC will do community notification.
Our office has also requested a CAG (Community Advisory Group) be established for ongoing communication during the project. We have emphasized ongoing air quality monitoring /shared notification of the results with the community throughout the project. We have also requested that Truck Traffic be coordinated with RIOC and NYC DOE (school buses). And we have requested that the possibility of barging still be researched.
We met with ArchRi and understand their concerns-and have followed up with HPD and RIOC.
A spokesperson for Assembly Member Seawright replied:
We are diligently following up with HPD to ensure residents’ safety and concerns are addressed as part of the broader coordination around the demolition project. We advocated for HPD and RIOC to schedule a town hall meeting for Roosevelt Island residents to discuss service concerns, including ongoing updates related to the Steam Plant demolition and they have agreed. It is scheduled for April 15. More details to come!
We appreciate your continued coverage and will keep you informed of developments.
On March 5, a spokesperson for NYC Council Speaker Julie Menin noted:
We are working closely with RIOC and government partners to ensure that daily life for Roosevelt Islanders is impacted as little as possible.
Our office has requested that HPD apply rigorous safety and environmental standards throughout both disassembly and reconstruction, with strong oversight throughout the process.
The Architecture Community Alliance of Roosevelt Island (ArchRi) has called for:
- IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION of all demolition activities
- FULL PUBLIC DISCLOSURE of environmental testing and hazardous materials remediation plans
- RELEASE OF ALL DOCUMENTATION requested at the December 2nd community meeting
- TRANSPARENT FEASIBILITY STUDY for adaptive reuse options, particularly as an educational facility
- COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND INPUT before any site activities resume….
ArchRI has collected 1452 signatures on a petition supporting these efforts. ArchRI also created this Roosevelt Island Steam Plant demolition overview and timeline of key events.
The Roosevelt Island Connect Instagram page interviewed ArchRI founders Zora Boyadzhieva, Kalin Kresnitchki and other community members about the Steam Plant demolition.
Roosevelt Island residents held a March 7 rally to oppose the Steam Plant demolition.
I interviewed Zora Boyadzhieva, Kalin Kresnitchki too.
Kalin Kresnitchki questions the NYC Building Department 2024 Emergency Declaration that set in motion the demolition of the Steam Plant. Mr Kresnitchki cites a March 6, 2026 opinion by Industrial Chimney and Smokestack LLC that states:
We have inspected your 2 industrial chimneys with a Class 1 telescope inspection at Roosevelt Island’s power plant, and believe that they are in very reparable condition.
The course of repairing these two chimneys, based on New Jersey prices, would be around $700,000, give or take $200,000, a manned inspection is needed, which we could provide for you at a reasonable cost.
This would give us the amount of time necessary to do the repairs, and the number of people necessary in the kind of work there would be need to be accomplished….
One question that needs to be answered at the April 15 Town Hall is if there is truly an emergency which requires the Steam Plant to be demolished?
UPDATE 4/3 – According to RIOC:
Dear Roosevelt Island Community:
Join representatives from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), New York City Department of Buildings (DOB), New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and RIOC for a town hall discussion on the demolition of the city’s old steam plant building.
The town hall will be held on Wednesday, April 15 from 6:00 – 7:30 PM at Good Shepherd Chapel, located at 543 Main Street.
If you’d like to submit questions in advance for the Q&A, please email them to Rldemolition@hpd.nyc.gov with the subject line “Steam Plant Townhall”.
Thank you,
Team RIOC