Robert Ryan, President
RIOC
591 Main Street
Roosevelt Island

Dear Mr. Ryan:

In recent months RIOC has neglected to maintain the street lights in our community to the degree that it is very dark and dangerous in many areas, but most specifically the road behind Eastwood.

In the 24 years this complex has been in existence, the conditions resulting from RIOC's neglect of maintenance are now reaching the danger point.

We hold RIOC responsible for any accidents, crimes or abnormal occurrences that will occur in unlit areas because of your neglect.

We wholeheartedly recommend your immediate attention to restoring all the lights that are now dead.

We, the Eastwood Building Committee representing 1003 apartments, are notifying RIOC that it will be held responsible and accountable for any and all incidents resulting from RIOC's lack of maintenance.

Harry A. DeVine
Fay Vass
Ronald T. Vass

I was saddened and frustrated by my wife and in-laws' experience as they attempted to vote in the recent RIRA elections. Because they were not listed as the primary tenant on the lists maintained at the polls, and because they do not have photo ID's listing Roosevelt Island as their home, they were initially turned away. Only by digging through my lease files at home and returning to the polls with them were they able to vote. And even then, with enormous difficulty; my family members felt, in their own words, "degraded," and my own wife simply gave up in frustration.

It should be noted that many Roosevelt Islanders have recently arrived here and either have no driver's license, or have one with a different address. Driver's licenses in New York State are good for four years. I just received my own, updated with a Main Street address, in October. I sincerely hope that the poll workers will have access to better information, and be more sensitive to the feelings of their fellow Islanders in the future. No one on Roosevelt Island should feel "degraded" trying to participate in our democratic process.

Jim Tendean-Luce

I had a nightmare last night. I dreamed they closed the Tram. While I'm not a person who yells "fire" in a crowded theater, I feel it my duty to draw your readers' attention to the state of the Tram.

Over the last several months I have noticed a marked deterioration in its upkeep and I realize it has been going on for a very long time. The Tram has not been painted for two years. The cable has not been changed this year. The rubber on the doors has been worn away and the turnstiles are barely in working order. When you descend the "new" exit staircase there is a steel beam that looks as if it is about to separate from the supporting beam.

So what is my conclusion? "Elementary, dear Watson. The Tram is about to be closed."

I have a real sense that the powers that be are going to announce to the residents of Roosevelt Island that, due to the obvious deterioration and possible hazards that the deterioration can produce, they have no choice but to close the Tram *#0150; that there is nothing to be done about it because it will be too difficult (to fix), too difficult (to obtain the proper parts), and, as usual, too costly (to maintain). This is a cynical example of planned obsolescence.

Please, let someone tell me I'm delusional and paranoid – that the Tram will continue as usual and that it was, after all, only a bad dream.