Newsday (Suffolk Edition) from Melville, New York • 68

By Fred Bruiting pftjew Hermans friend told fphim that Roosevelt Is 623 land would sink Into the EHEast River, sure any- But Drew is a rational fellow of 8 pears and he doesnt believe that the slender strand of real estate is simply going to slip away. "Its a good island, he says. Lots of people think so, including Drews parents, Adele, 37, and Bob Herman, 43, of Great Neck Estates. In fact, they think that the Roosevelt Island development, a "new town being built on what used to be Welfare Island, is too good a place Just to visit. They want to live there.

Unfortunately, there aie'problems. Roosevelt Island is a production of the Urban Development the state agency that finds itself in a financial crisis of epic proportions. UDCs money situation is so desperate that the fate of all Its projects has been in doubt About has been spent on the Island "new town development and more is needed to complete North town, Che first of Its two proposed communities. To bail out UDC, the state has allocated $110,000,000 in emergency funds, and a transfusion of more from commercial and savings banks was in the process of being negotiated. If the private funding goes through and UDC officials have been sounding extremely optimistic the past few days Roosevelt Island and all other UDC work In progress will be saved.

If not well, the picture begins to grow bleak. The four Hermans of Great Neck (Drew has a 4-year-old brother, Jed) are rooting for the UDC. Their $75,000 house is for sale and, if Roosevelt Island is not available, they will move to Manhattan in July any way, but the "new town is where they want to be. They already have an apartment picked out on the seventh floor of Island House, a middle-income building with 400 units scheduled to open May 1. They talk enthusiastically about the virtues of the community: "open-classroom public schools Incorporated into the lower levels of residential units, bike paths, parks, streets without traffic (only' emergency vehicles and electric minibuses will be allowed on the islands The Hermans visit a 'new town being built on Roosevelt Island in the East River where they want to move..