New York City—Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation President Shelton Haynes today announced plans for a new Roosevelt Island Youth Center, which would provide expanded recreational programming for area youth. “We can’t ignore that there are some serious challenges with public safety on the island and the crime rate is higher here than the rest of New York City,” explained Shelton Haynes to reporters in attendance at today’s announcement. “But instead of pointing fingers, we want to say this is our problem.”
At this time, all we’re doing is putting our best foot forward, but if things don’t improve, we may be forced to do something drastic. We don’t want that to happen, but options are being kept on the table.
Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation officials stress that crime has remained relatively constant despite its skyrocketing population. “There are indeed a lot of residents on the island, but as you can see it doesn’t even come close to the population of New York City as a whole. Crime is also higher here than in other parts of New York City and we take that very seriously. We want to be an example of how New York can be a successful city and we know that we have to do our part.”
Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation officials could not give details on the proposed youth center, citing that they are still in the early planning stages. However, Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation officials did tell reporters today that they hope the center will be completed within two years and that youth programming will begin immediately.