On February 18th, 2026, Manhattan Community Board 8 voted unanimously 5-0-0-0 to pass resolution # relating to the ongoing demolition of the Roosevelt Island Steam Plant. The resolution calls for HPD to stop all demolition work related to the Steam plant until further information about safety measures are provided to the public and a proper planning process that considers adaptive reuse and focuses on the community’s needs can take place.
The resolution calls for “HPD, in coordination with relevant City and State agencies, to pause any demolition work beyond immediate, narrowly tailored safety stabilization,” and for “any final decision-making for the site—including whether components of the structure could be adaptively reused or preserved—occur only within a planning process that clearly centers the short- and long-term interests of Roosevelt Island residents and the broader community.”
The full resolution can be found here.
With a unanimous vote and clarifications from staff representing state senator Liz Krueger and city councilwoman Julie Menin about inquiries into the demolition process, the Community Board affirmed the concerns of the residents of Roosevelt Island.
This could not have happened without ArchRI’s activism, and most importantly, could not have been done without the many residents of the island and the surrounding neighborhoods who either came in person to the meeting or connected remotely to speak to the board and urge them to pass the resolution. Thank you, one and all, for continuing to fight alongside us for the safety of our neighborhood, for our voices to be heard, and for transparency and accountability in our government.