As reported November 24, site planning and permitting for the demolition of the decommissioned Roosevelt Island steam plant has begun.
The NYC Department of Housing, Preservation and Development will give an update on plans for the Steam Plant demolition at the December 2 Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Board of Directors Operations Advisory Committee meeting.
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a meeting of the Operations Advisory Committee of the RIOC
Board of Directors will be held on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at 5:45 p.m. at RIOC’s
Operations Office, 680 Main Street, Roosevelt Island, New York 10044.
AGENDA:
1. Steam Plant Demolition Update from the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and
Development (HPD);
2. Update on Current Projects:
a. Eleanor’s Pier;
b. AVAC West Pipe Replacement;
3. Winter Preparedness; and
4. Any Other Committee Business that May be Brought Before the Committee
The meeting is open for the public to attend.
As reported November 14, the Steam Plant site is being studied for future residential development as part of the proposed 10 year extension of the Roosevelt Island Master Lease Agreement between New York City and NY State.
Comments on the Roosevelt Islander Facebook Page about the Steam Plant demolition and future development include:
- Creating a welcoming indoor/outdoor third place for people to gather, talk, drink coffee, host events/exhibits/classes, etc. would be lovely. Instead of more housing (we’re already a bit crowded) having this place to gather and socialize between the school and the apartments just under the bridge would be lovely.
- Who here wants to save the space? Can we give it as a historical line Mark and preserve it instead of demolishing it?
- With recent concerns about parts of NYC sinking faster due to heavy development, it feels reckless to keep adding more buildings without fixing the basics first. Our island doesn’t have the infrastructure, emergency resources, or well trained Public Safety staffing to support more residents. Before approving new housing, there should be a real plan to improve services, upgrade infrastructure, and support the people who already live here.
- So sad that they couldn’t convert this historical building into a really cool art space or other use.
- I am an architect and I walk by this building very often. I can not see damage to the facade, I often look up looking for the usual signs of deterioration. Even if there was damage to the brick, it is not a reason to demolish the whole building. I read the Department of Buildings violation. It offers no good reason to demolish the whole building. It is anti sustainable and expensive to demolish a building that can be repurposed. This should not be allowed. I would love to see the full report that HPD has done on the building and the full repurposing study that proves that this is the most feasible for the taxpayer solution. Anyone has a link to an HPD study/report to share?
Also on the Agenda for December 2 RIOC Operations Committee is an update on Eleanor’s Pier which has been blocked off to the public since April 2024
and repairs to the AVAC garbage removal system which has been experiencing ongoing service disruptions over the last few months.