Subway rides are about to get a bit more futuristic. At the Coney Island Yard in Brooklyn this morning, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) unveiled one of two new R211 model subway trains and took it out for a test ride. The trains are still being tested and standard R211s are expected to roll out onto the tracks this spring.
Marc A. Hermann / MTA
We first got a glimpse of new open gangway subway car designs in 2017. The streamlined cars feature a variety of upgrades designed to create more efficient, comfortable, and safer rides. One new feature is wider door openings. At 58-inches, R211 doors provide more room for commuters to get on and off the car. There are no interior doors separating each car, so passengers can walk freely through the open gangway which will be surrounded by soft accordion walls.
Security cameras that can be easily monitored by conductors are dispersed throughout the train. Inside the cars, there is more space and additional accessible seating areas. Even the route displays will get an upgrade. Signage on the train on digital displays will provide more detailed station-specific information, and brighter lighting. Updated signage will show which car of the train you’re in, the current and next stop, and which connections you can catch there.
The first new cars will debut on the A and C lines, replacing R46s trains that went into service in the 1970s. The cars previewed are part of a 535-car order of the R211 model cars which includes 20 cars with the open gangway feature unveiled today, an additional 515 cars with standard futuristic amenities, and 15 Staten Island Railway five-car trains. With the approval of an order for an additional 640 R211 subway cars in October 2022, a total of 1,175 new cars are expected to be released within the next two years, with the potential of adding another 437 open gangway cars. The second set of new subway cars is expected to be delivered in early 2025.
Putting these cars into service will be a huge milestone in the MTA’s efforts to modernize our fleet,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “These modern subway cars will of course upgrade the passenger experience, but they will also complement our signal improvement efforts and allow us to run more trains and provide more frequent subway service.”
Alexander S Beck shoe sore per Alexis Villafane, Gloria Herman, Andy Sparberg also got it~
Text by Judith Berdy Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
UNTAPPED NEW YORK PHOTOS MARC A. HERMANN / MTA
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
The annual Black History Month Exhibit opened on Saturday. Lorraine Williams curated this extraordinary exhibit.
For over 30 years Lorraine has been an active member of the Island community and active is so many organizations,
A special exhibit included this year are embroidery works from the women of Rwanada. These works celebrate the talent, industry, culture and bravery of these women of peace.
Amazia Thompson exhibiting his digital works on aluminum.
Text by Judith Berdy Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
New York City finally got its bean. About five years and several delays later, Anish Kapoor’s mirrored sculpture was unveiled to the public this week, seemingly propping up Tribeca’s “Jenga Building” at 56 Leonard Street. As first reported by Tribeca Citizen, and confirmed by 6sqft, the longstanding barriers and scaffolding have been removed, with the monumental permanent public artwork taking its rightful place on the corner of Church and Leonard Streets.
When plans for Herzog & de Meuron’s 56 Leonard were unveiled in 2008, early renderings showed Kapoor’s sculpture in front of the building. After challenges concerning the welding and fairing process of the smooth, shiny sculpture added “a huge amount of time” to the installation, as 6sqft previously reported, construction began in February 2019, two years after 56 Leonard opened.
Like it did with most things, Covid halted progress. The sculpture remained a “half bean,” as described by Curbed, until the team was able to travel to New York from the UK in 2021.
This is the British-Indian sculptor’s first permanent public work in New York. While it remains nameless for now (an official dedication ceremony is expected in the coming weeks), the artwork closely resembles Kapoor’s “Cloud Gate,” which was installed in Chicago’s Millennium Park in 2004.
Sitting at the base of the 60-story tower, the bean (or squashed balloon) sculpture weighs 40 tons and measures 48 feet long by 19 feet high.As described on 56 Leonard’s website: “The relationship between building and sculpture is so closely cultivated that they appear to form a single unified object, exemplifying true synergy between art and architecture.”
Since there are only shuttles running to Jamaica the next few weeks, the schedule indicated the schedule was ever 30 minutes.
A SECOND FIRE IN 1999 DESTROYED THE TEMPORARY ROOF THOM HEYER, JOAN BROOKS, ED LITCHER, HARA REISER, ELLEN JACOBY, PAT SCHWARTZBERG AND GLORIA HERMAN GUESSED IT!!!
Text by Judith Berdy Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
6SQFT
JUDITH BERDY
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
Something has been missing from the lampposts along the Avenue of the Americas for decades. Hanging from the street lights, passersby would have once seen 300 different medallions, or shields, representing the countries and territories of the Western Hemisphere. Only 22 remained as of 2016. This week, the New York City Department of Transportation completed the first phase of a restoration project that will bring back 45 of the lost Avenue of the Americas medallions from West 42nd to West 59th Streets.
Photo courtesy of NYC DOT
The first nine medallions installed bear the insignia of the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Argentina, St. Lucia, and Uruguay. The NYC DOT described the process of producing these signs on Twitter. First, the design for each medallion is reviewed by multiple NYC DOT employees, the NYC Public Design Commission, and the relevant embassies and consulates to ensure all names, spelling, and insignia designs are correct. Next, the signs are fabricated at the DOT’s Maspeth Sign Shop
At the sign shop, the medallions are printed, laminated, and mounted on sheets of aluminum. In-house DOT engineers and staff designed and winded tested the new signs to make sure they would hold up better than the originals. Measuring three feet in diameter, the new medallions are lighter and more weather-resistant than the originals, which were made out of porcelain enamel.
Workers at the shop also fit each sign with special brackets. These brackets are designed to be sturdy yet flexible, and easily adjustable for events such as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade when the medallions need to be removed to make way for the giant floating balloons. Once work at the sign shop is complete, DOT crews take the signs to the streets for installation on the lamposts along Sixth Avenue
Photo courtesy of NYC DOT
The country medallions were first introduced in 1959 under Mayor Wagner. In the previous decade, Mayor LaGuardia renamed Sixth Avenue The Avenue of the Americas as “an expression on the part of our people of the love and affection we have for our sister republics of Central and South America.” The country medallions, or shields as they were called, were a further expression of solidarity. Originally, 300 shields were installed from White Street to 59th Street.
Photo courtesy of NYC DOT
Over the years, the signs began to rust and fall into disrepair. Many were taken down in the 1990s when lampposts along Sixth Avenue were replaced. The plan to restore the medallions was announced by DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez in October 2022 in commemoration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
“The creation of the Avenue of the Americas in 1945 was a great gesture that celebrated the cultures of our hemisphere, and these beautiful new medallions now once again properly honor the nationalities of so many of the people who live, work, and visit New York City,” said Commissioner Rodriguez.
Photo courtesy of NYC DOT
The NYC DOT’s Sign Shop in Queens produces over 100,000 street signs a year, or 9,000 to 12,000 each month. Everything from giant highway signs to tiny parking signs are fabricated at the shop. Once complete, the handcrafted signs make their way across all five boroughs. The shop will be busy creating the remaining country medallions over the coming months.
CENTER SECTION OF THE NOW 10 YEAR GONE GOLDWATER HOSPITAL
Text by Judith Berdy Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
UNTAPPED NEW YORK
TO SEE GREAT ENLARGEMENTS OF EACH PHOTO, GO TO SHORPY WEBSITE: SHORPY.COM
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
At last, this work puts a female figure on a level plane with the traditional, patriarchal depictions of justice and power.Written by Rossilynne Skena Culgan
Statues of nine men from history and religion perch atop the courthouse near Madison Square Park. Now, for the first time, the representation of a woman has joined their noble rooftop plinths.
“Havah…to breathe, air, life,” an exhibition by artist Shahzia Sikander focusing on themes of justice, has brought stunning golden sculptures to Madison Square Park and the nearby courthouse at 27 Madison Avenue (officially called the Courthouse of the Appellate Division, First Department of the Supreme Court of the State of New York). The statues, unveiled this week, will be on view through June 4.
Photograph: By Yasunori Matsui / Shahzia Sikander’s artwork “NOW” atop the courthouse near Madison Square Park
Inside Madison Square Park sits “Witness,” a monumental female figure measuring 18 feet tall and wearing a hoop skirt inspired by the courtroom’s stained-glass ceiling dome. The figure’s twisted arms and legs suggest tree roots, referencing what the artist has described as the “self-rootedness of the female form; it can carry its roots wherever it goes.” You can even use your smartphone to bring the figure to life through AR technology.
Photograph: By Yasunori Matsui / Shahzia Sikander’s sculpture “Witness” in Madison Square Park
Adorning the nearby courthouse, “NOW,” an 8-foot-tall female figure resembles the park sculpture, but a lotus symbolizing wisdom replaces the hoop skirt. Her horns indicate sovereignty and autonomy. A delicate collar nods to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who often wore detailed collars with her traditional black robe. The statue—the only woman represented—sits next to figures including Confucius, Justinian, Lycurgus, Moses and Zoroaster. At last, this work puts a female figure on a level plane with the traditional, patriarchal depictions of justice and power.
“The image of justice as a woman has been present for centuries, but women only gained juridical voice in the last one. Despite years of women’s struggle for legal socio-economic and political equality, gender bias still continues to create barriers for many women, whether it is health and education rights, equal economic opportunities, gender-based violence and race or class discrimination,” Sikander said in her artist statement. “The essential role of visual representations of justice and ethics in judiciary spaces is one of many aspects in the relationship between art and the law, or how the image and law relate to one another.”
Photograph: By Yasunori Matsui / A female figure now sits atop the courthouse, as part of Shahzia Sikander’s “NOW.”
The installation is part of efforts by the Court of the Appellate Division to add new artworks from diverse contemporary artists to the courthouse, bringing modern perspectives on justice to the building’s existing artworks.
“As we seek to broaden the visibility of less-often-recognized contributors to law and justice in our society, what better way to start than with the figure of a woman? Women are foundations of our society. Throughout history we have been champions for freedom, equal rights and justice,” said Justice Dianne T. Renwick, chair of the court’s committee leading the effort. “For the first time since the Court’s historic opening well over 100 years ago, the figure of a woman finally and rightfully will stand on equal footing with the male philosophers and lawgivers who line the other pedestals. This type of collaboration is unprecedented in New York State and we are very excited about this endeavor and the possibilities for other courts.”
the figure of a woman finally and rightfully will stand on equal footing with the male philosophers and lawgivers who line the other pedestals
Photograph: By Rashmi Gill / The installation of Shahzia Sikander’s “Witness.”
Brooke Kamin Rapaport, deputy director and Martin Friedman chief curator of Madison Square Park Conservancy, describes the sculptures as “luminous allegorical female figures.” “Havah,” she explained, means “air” or “atmosphere” in Urdu and “Eve” in Arabic and Hebrew.
Sikander, who was born in Pakistan and now lives in New York City, is credited for renewing international interest in the Indo-Persian miniature form and for innovating a feminist neo-miniature movement. She’s a 2006 MacArthur Foundation Fellow, and she received the United States Medal of Arts in 2012.
…the enduring power lies with the people who step into and remain in the fight for equality.
“The recent focus on reproductive rights in the U.S. after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 decision that guaranteed the constitutional right to abortion in the US, comes to the forefront,” Sikander said in a statement. “In the process, it is the dismissal, too, of the indefatigable spirit of the women, who have been collectively fighting for their right to their own bodies over generations. However, the enduring power lies with the people who step into and remain in the fight for equality. That spirit and grit is what I want to capture in both the sculptures.”
Photograph: By Rashmi Gill / Shahzia Sikander during installation of “Witness” in Madison Square Park.
You can hear more from the artist, along with human rights attorney Becca Heller and Justice Judith Gische during “Lifting Women and Justice,” an event on February 6. The speakers will focus on the state of justice today, how the legal field has advanced or failed women in juridical positions, and how works of art guide transformation on central questions upholding entrenched systems. Register here.
“Havah…to breathe, air, life” is co-commissioned by Madison Square Park Conservancy and Public Art of the University of Houston System (Public Art UHS). The exhibition is on view in New York through June 4, 2023, and will then travel to Houston.
Home of warden pictured in photo and also on Blackwell’s Island painting by Edward Hopper, 1913.
Text by Judith Berdy Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
TIME OUT NEW YORK
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
Recently a story has been circulating about a boatload of pre-historic bones being lost in the East River around 65th Street in 1940. The bones were supposedly on their way from Alaska to the American Museum of Natural History. To date no evidence of the shipment has been located.
In 1971, The Sunday News featured the discovery of 3 anchors in the East River at the site of the 63rd Street subway tunnel. They were to be shared, 2 at South Street Seaport Museum and one at the new island subway station.
Needless to say the anchors never reached the South Street Seaport Museum and inquiries into their whereabouts have never been answered,
YOUNGEST SCOUTS VISIT KIOSK
Members of Daisy Troop 3416 and leader Christina Kirkman visited the RIHS Kiosk on Monday to learn about the Island history and visit island sites. An interesting tour of the kiosk and answering questions was followed by a story time.
Daisy members are learning all about the island including visiting different buildings.
RIHS President Judy Berdy read from the new book ROOSEVELT ISLAND KIDS. This audience could recognize all the pictures and told us of their favorite places on the island,
A MAP CORRECTED
When the Whitney Museum published a map featuring the New York sites that were featured in Edward Hopper’s art, something struck me as being incorrect in the interactive map.
The map featured the painting “Blackwell’s Island” as being located on the south end of out island. Wrong, the Octagon is at the north end and the map had to be corrected. Since the Octagon is still on the island how could such a mistake be made?(left )
It took weeks to hear back from the curator of the Hopper exhibit. After a few e-mails back and forth the map was corrected yesterday morning. Thanks to curator Kim Conoty for correcting history. This is the correct version:
TITANIC MEMORIAL Titanic Memorial Lighthouse, at Fulton and Pearl Streets inside South Street Seaport.
From South Street Seaport website: https://southstreetseaportmuseum.org/titanic-memorial-lighthouse/ “Located in the Titanic Memorial Park at the corner of Pearl Street and Fulton Street, the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse, part of the collection of the South Street Seaport Museum, stands as a memorial to all those lost during the tragic sinking of the RMS Titanic. Originally erected on the roof of the Seamen’s Church Institute at South Street and Coenties Slip, the tower was donated to the South Street Street Seaport Museum in 1968.” Andy Sparberg
Aron Eisenpreiss and Joyce Gold,( NYC tour guide) also got it right!
Oops: Andy Sparberg also gave correct answer about Monday’s photo of the Flushing Meadow Aquacade.
Text by Judith Berdy Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
JUDITH BERDY
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
