Last month, we ventured north to P.S./I.S. 217, the elementary and middle school on Roosevelt Island to serve as Principals for the Day. This is a program organized by a group called PENCIL, which seeks to form partnerships between the private sector and public schools. Our day at the school will kickoff a year-long partnership, if not longer, between Hudson/Related and 217.  We spent a terrific day with Principal Mandana Beckman and Assistant Principal Jennifer Bartolino, joining a well-attended PTA meeting in the morning, followed by visits to classrooms in grades K-8. What did we learn?

First, we were reminded how beautiful the school was and how generous were its physical facilities. A state-of-the-art performing arts theater, for starters. A modern, fully equipped Apple computer lab. A big gym for all the Phys. Ed classes. A large music room with instruments everywhere. A terrific library. Large, bright classrooms with small class sizes.  And a huge cafeteria that didn’t have that dreaded smell of “school lunch”.

The faculty were extremely committed to the kids, and on average compared to other public schools, this is a very experienced faculty. The children were attentive, hard working, well behaved (especially when the visiting Principals for a Day showed up) and represent more than 50 nationalities! We visited the kindergarten class of the new Gifted & Talented program, which is an exciting addition to 217 this year. We saw kids doing Science experiments in their science lab, playing percussion in the music room, learning about exponents, and we were struck by how much more video and interactive resources are used throughout the day than when we were kids.

The school continues to improve each year. It recently was awarded a B by the school review process, and the administration is confident that it can, at a minimum, earn the 2-3 extra points needed to earn an A grade next year.

As Riverwalk developers, we’re committed to partnering with 217 to help the school continue to be a terrific resource for everyone on Roosevelt Island. Coming soon on a future blog entry: the projects we plan to purse with 217 during the school year.

One of the best parts of summer in New York City is going to a great outdoor movie series in a fantastic setting. In the past, we’ve enjoyed outdoor films at Brooklyn Bridge Park and Bryant Park, but in the last few years, there’s nothing we’ve loved more than attending outdoor movies on Roosevelt Island. The summer film series usually takes place both at Southpoint Park on the southern part of the island where everyone goes to watch the fireworks and Firemen’s Field, directly east of Riverwalk Court. It’s a giant community picnic, often with a musical act starting the evening out. Earlier in the month, there was a double feature at Southpoint Park of Forrest Gump and Kung Fu Panda, and the singer Anna Rose opened the show at 6:30 before sunset. This week, Hairspray, one of our favorite new movie musicals, played at Fireman's Field on August 17th. And this same week, a new movie came out called Cold Souls starring Paul Giamatti and taking place on Roosevelt Island.

Yet another reason to make Riverwalk home...Movies with a View.

ROOSEVELT L!VE is coming soon, 15 weeks of free performances at Riverwalk Commons. This free summer music series kicks off on Memorial Day weekend and continues all the way to Labor Day. Concerts start every Saturday at 4 pm. We’re sponsoring the concerts along with our media partner, Time Out New York.

We’re very excited about ROOSEVELT L!VE. Riverwalk Commons is a beautiful location to spend a summer afternoon, and we decided to create an excuse for people to come visit the island who don’t live or work here. We did this last Fall when we sponsored the successful Roosevelt Island Kidfest, featuring children’s musical acts on 4 successive Saturdays in October.

The festival will feature artists from many genres of performers, which will appeal to all musical tastes. Confirmed headlining acts for the festival include Improv Everywhere on May 23; Alex Battles & the Whiskey Rebellion on May 30; Frances on June 20; Steven Bernstein on June 27; Nation Beat on July 18; The Flanks on August 1; Wakey! Wakey! on August 8; Chicha Libre on August 22; and a special final two-act performance featuring the Ethan Lipton orchestra and Gloria Deluxe on September 5.

Come check it out and visit us online at www.rooseveltlive.com

We just signed leases for our last 2 vacant stores in Riverwalk: Riverwalk Bar & Grill and Island Bagels.

When we started to develop Riverwalk, we initially designed retail spaces on the ground floors of Riverwalk Place & Riverwalk Landing, with all stores fronting the Riverwalk Commons. We have a total of 7 stores, and our vision has always been to attract great retailers providing neighborhood convenience to our residents.

We’ve aimed for a mixture of national brands (Starbucks, Duane Reade) and mom & pops (Fuji East), and wanted to offer the type of convenience retail—getting a slice of pizza, a latte, shaving cream, Japanese rolls, a pedicure, and of course, dry cleaning—that all New Yorkers expect. The stores should also complement the other retailers operating throughout Main Street on Roosevelt Island.

We’re very excited about the last 2 stores and the role they’ll fill on the island. Riverwalk Bar & Grill will be open for lunch and dinner and will offer a full bar, full menu and lots of TV monitors. It’ll be a Sports Bar/TGIF’s/the place where everyone knows your name. The owners include the current proprietor of Nonno’s Foccaceria and an owner of a similar bar/restaurant called Green Rock in Hoboken. The same ownership will also be opening Island Bagels, the place to get bagels, sandwiches & salads.

Construction has started and we hope both stores will open this Summer.

We’re always looking for a good excuse to throw a party at the Riverwalk sales center, so we recently decided to celebrate the Chinese New Year, with a New Year’s party at Riverwalk. On Saturday, February 7, we brought in costumed drummers and dancing lions to perform the traditional Chinese Lion’s Dance on Roosevelt Island. We had a huge crowd of people who were probably interested in a combination of looking at condominiums, checking out the real estate on the island, celebrating the Lion’s Dance and enjoying a free party. If you’ve been practicing your Mandarin, here’s a Chinese cable television station’s report on the event:

http://www.ntdtv.com/xtr/gb/2009/02/08/a254749.html#video

We’re planning a lot more free events on the Riverwalk Commons in the future, so stay tuned.

Welcome back to the Developer’s Blog @ Riverwalk.

We thought we’d highlight one of the exciting activities we’re sponsoring during the month of October: the Roosevelt Island Kidfest.

When we initially conceived of the master plan for Riverwalk, we envisioned a Town Square in the middle of the neighborhood, an area we dubbed the Riverwalk Commons. Our vision was that this would be a wonderful community space, bordered by retail shops on either side of a landscaped area. With 6 of the 7 retail stores now in operation, and the landscaping complete, we finally have a Riverwalk Commons to enjoy. Early on, we started thinking about the type of organized activities which could take place in the Commons—musical concerts, art shows, sculpture gardens, farmers markets, etc.

Thus we came up with the idea to enjoy the beauty of autumn on the Riverwalk Commons with a weekly children’s concert series every Saturday in October….the Roosevelt Island Kidfest (www.rooseveltislandkidfest.com) . Every Saturday in October, we are hosting a kids’ musical group. The first Saturday was the Deedle Deedle Dees, followed by Broadway Babies and Uncle Rock & The Playthings. If you haven’t come out to a Kidfest yet, please join us this Saturday, October 25, when we’re hosting Audra Rox from 2 pm to 4 pm. In addition to music, there’s face painting, rides, giveaways, activities with Island Kids, and delicious pizza and other food from Nonno’s Foccaceria.

We look forward to seeing you at the Riverwalk Commons so you can appreciate one of the places in New York City to enjoy an autumn afternoon.