Despite being created in the late 1950s and sparsely populated with residents until the 1980s, only a few neighborhoods around Roosevelt Island have changed as dramatically as Riverwalk. Once a chasm of empty green space severed by a highway, this up-and-coming area is now home to 43 new houses, penthouse apartments, and condominiums. The new Riverwalk neighborhood’s recent transformation results from a project under the leadership of Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) CEO Shelton Haynes. In addition, Haynes saw an opportunity to remedy one of the Island’s biggest problems: its lack of housing. “The demand for housing on Roosevelt Island has long been evident,” he said. “This is the first private development of this magnitude to occur on the island.”
Riverwalk was originally dubbed “Riverwalk East” by developers. “The new development is an extension, to the east, of the existing Riverwalk neighborhood, which has been a prominent housing community in the heart of Roosevelt Island for decades,” said Shelton Haynes. “Riverwalk East will complement the existing community.” As with Roosevelt Island’s other neighborhoods, Riverwalk East has been designed to feature apartment buildings and townhouse homes in both traditional and contemporary styles.
Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, a New York City-based nonprofit corporation, is a redevelopment agency dedicated to improving and enhancing Roosevelt Island. Established in 1984 by the New York City Council, RIOC’s mission is to dramatically improve the quality of life on Roosevelt Island by developing affordable housing and creating a new commercial and recreational area. RIOC has redeveloped the Island, including many homes offered as permanent housing to returning World War II service members and their families. Completing a long-awaited project by RIOC which began in 1973, was another milestone for the Island. That year, a three-foot-high black granite wall was erected at the East River end of Main Street to honor America’s 32nd president, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Since the beginning of his career at Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, Haynes has dedicated himself to making Roosevelt Island an island of opportunity. RIOC has helped create thousands of jobs and dollars in property values around the Island. The agency responsible for developing much of the housing on Roosevelt Island and managing another area of real estate has achieved enormous success, once again proving that Roosevelt Island, today’s fastest-growing neighborhood in NYC, is a top tourist destination and a desirable place to do business.