To the Editor:

The riddle about RIOC is why Dr. Jerome Blue always dances with the rich. While Southtown has lain fallow, a refuge for ducks, geese, and, now, a covey of grackles, for three years, Dr. Blue has busied himself courting the high end of the social ladder. First, it was the twin 26-story towers and condominiums for the Marriott Hotel, accompanied by the desecration of three of the Island’s landmark buildings. He then trumpeted an Eldercare project which would eat up precious acres of parkland to accommodate wealthy seniors. That was followed by a wacky idea to build million-dollar condominiums in and on top of our vacant mini-schools. Characteristically, his plan is loaded with all kinds of items designed to protect rich residents from disagreeable contacts with Islanders.

Together these developments would cost about one billion dollars, to say nothing of abandoning the central purpose of this community. Dr. Blue has never believed that our mission of low and moderate income housing is to relieve a critical shortage that is worse now than 20 years ago. Yet Dr. Blue persists in believing that what this Island needs most is a generous dose of rich people. The well-to-do never have trouble finding shelter and need no subsidy. History contains very few episodes where the upper crust were among the homeless.

Indeed, Dr. Blue doesn’t even believe that our founding fathers established the Island for residential, not commercial, use beyond the service needed for the community. In the past every RIOC administration fought off the predators. Real estate vultures have hovered over this Island for years, but Dr. Blue has now invited them into his headquarters, where they have made their nest.

Worse still, this commercial rape is taking place in public view. Finding residents who favor this Blue print would be a research project. But Dr. Blue persists in the path of reckless endangerment. He has poisoned our public life, refused any meaningful dialogue with the people who pay their generous salaries, treated the Island like "just another piece of real estate" and, even in the smallest matter, he has thrown a blanket of total secrecy over his actions. Moreover, he has allowed elementary maintenance to deteriorate and stuffs our mail boxes with a newsletter whose objectivity makes the Serbian media look like Channel 13 by comparison.

Thus it is not for light or transient reasons that I suggest Dr. Blue perform a great service to this community by allowing us a fresh start in redeeming the promise of this Island. He doesn’t believe in it, and he doesn’t trust the people who live here. I cannot believe that he is comfortable in his isolation.

It would be statesmanlike of him to resign and let the residents continue to build what is internationally acclaimed as the most successful "New Town" anywhere and let us redeem and enhance the dream that brought so many of us here in the first place.

Richard C. Wade

To the Editor:

Just the other day while I was at work at the Tramway, I was thinking about my friend, Mr. Al Weinstein. I’ve been working at the Tram for 23 years and we saw each other just about every day. Mr. Weinstein would always share his new ideas with me on how to improve Tramway service, in addition to his ideas on how to prevent RIOC from closing the Tram down. I would like to share with you one of the many wonderful memories I have of him.

Al approached me one day and told me that he was going to form a special committee – a committee that would be totally committed to keeping the Roosevelt Island Aerial Tramway in service, not only for the residents of Roosevelt Island (which were always Al’s first concern) but also for people that worked on the Island, children that attended our school and of course visitors that perhaps one day might become residents.

Well, as we all know, he did in fact create and chair his Tram Committee and I, along with many other people who live on Roosevelt Island, are indeed very thankful to Mr. Weinstein for doing so.

Al, we all miss you.

Gregg Paravati