During April 2 Roosevelt Island Operating Corp ( RIOC ) Real Estate Advisory Committee meeting ( audio web cast of meeting is here) , Roosevelt Island Main Street Master Leaseholder Hudson Related’s David Kramer provided an update on Main Street retail retail progress.
Mr. Kramer reported that the big news is that Hudson Related will immediately begin to:
… transform the Arcade Experience with wood ceiling, different light fixtures and opening up the space… provide some lighting for the signage…
Here’s Mr. Kramer on the Arcade Transformation.
Later in the meeting Roosevelt Island Residents Association ( RIRA ) Retail Subcommittee Chair Susan Marcus asked Mr. Kramer what the best strategy would be to fight him on removing the Westview Arcade Windows. After some laughter Mr. Kramer jokingly suggested some
… Civil Disobedience…
and then stated his long held position for removing the Arcade windows:
… we need the approval of the building owner and to the extent the building owner doesn’t grant the approval, that would stop us in our tracks us and that would be a huge mistake…
…I would suggest you and your band of advocates wait until you see how it looks at Eastwood… I have never been particularly swayed by the argument that the diagonally slanting rain needs to be protected by intermittent window panels where there is space in between where there isn’t window panels and at some point you leave the Arcade and then you are not protected at all…
… I encourage you guys to have an open mind before you hold rallies in front of Westview owners residence to take a look at how it turns out at Eastwood…
Here’s Mr. Kramer on the removal of window arcades.
Ms. Marcus provides this summary of Mr. Kramer’s full presentation.
Here’s the full discussion on Roosevelt Island Main Street retail update with Mr. Kramer.
