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August 4, 2001 |
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Robert H. Ryan, President I am writing to urge you to reject any proposal for discontinuing the 10 p.m.-3:30 a.m. shift of the Tramway. As you know well, many residents and visitors ride the Tram exclusively because they consider the subway connection and Island station foreboding and unsafe. This is particularly the case during the hours of the third shift. For people needing public transportation that is free of barriers, eliminating the third shift would leave them without an affordable, alternative, reliable way of traveling to and from the Island since the subway is not in compliance with the 1992 Americans with Disabilities Act. The great and eminently quotable Yogi Berra had it right: "This is deja vu all over again." A similar proposal was floated four years ago by your predecessor, Dr. Jerome Blue, and hastily withdrawn. Just as it did in 1997, the mere mention of looking to Tram service reductions for dealing with RIOC budget shortfalls leads to needless panic and anger throughout the Island community. From the outset, it was always understood that the Island would operate at a deficit until the completion of the General Development Plan. With the start of subway service to the Island in 1989, this deficit included the running of the Tram. Accordingly, until the mid 1990's, the Executive Budget regularly contained a line item for RIOC to cover losses incurred in operating the Tram and other essential Island services. This ended with the Pataki administration‘s zeroing-out of the state support for both the agency's operating and capital budgets. Given the timing of this proposal, and the articles in the recent edition of The WIRE on this subject, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that some RIOC board members might be using this issue in a misguided effort to retaliate against the City Council's passage of the resolution sponsored by Councilmember Gifford Miller to bar the placement of commercial advertisements on the Tram cars, and to divert attention from RIOC's continuing inability to include Tram riders in the Transit Authority's popular MetroCard program. Island residents should not be threatened with this or any other reduction in essential services to make up budget shortfalls resulting from the Pataki administration's unwise decision to end state support for the Island. While self-sufficiency was and remains the ultimate goal, this worthy objective was always tied to completion of the Island's Master Development Plan. Before this issue boils over, I call on you to take it off the table. Pete Grannis
Robert H. Ryan, President Dear Mr. Ryan: It is my understanding that RIOC has solicited community response to a proposed closure of the Roosevelt Island Tram's third shift. I am writing to voice my unequivocal and vehement opposition to any such closure. To my mind, the fact that RIOC would even consider such a move is an outrage and an example of poor planning on RIOC's part. The Tram is more than just a transportation link to the Island; it is a part of the Island's soul. It is both a cause of and an expression of Roosevelt Island's unique and special character. At a time when it is seeking to develop Southtown and continue investment in the Island, RIOC is sending a terrible message by placing the Tram under siege. Many residents of Roosevelt Island have physical disabilities that make riding the subway to and from the Island impossible. Other residents, particularly seniors, do not feel safe riding the subway at night and simply rely on the convenience of the Tram during the evening and late night hours. Additionally, hospital employees depend on the Tram during those hours. The transportation needs of these people must be met and to impose a "curfew" is unacceptable. For many people who live or work on Roosevelt Island the Tram is the easiest, safest, and most reliable means of transportation. For others it is their only means of transportation. I urge you not to take any further steps to close the Tram's third shift and I assure you that I will work closely with residents through every avenue available to ensure that no such closure occurs. A. Gifford Miller
Robert H. Ryan, President Dear Mr. Ryan: I am writing on behalf of the residents and commuters of Roosevelt Island, which is part of the 14th Congressional District, which I represent. I have been informed that the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation is considering the proposal of reduced Tram service. I am asking that you reject the proposed suspension of Tramway operation for the 10:00 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. shift. Suspension of Tram Service during late-night hours is not only ill-advised but it would also compromise the ability of the Island residents to rely upon an affordable and safe method of transportaiton to and from the Island. while I have worked with members of RIRA in the past to enhance the safety of the subway station on Roosevelt Island, the staiton is still not a viable form of alternative transportation for many Island residents. Wheelchair-dependent residents and commuters are not able to board the train. As a result, the service is not available to a segment of the disabled population. Further, because the station is several stories below ground, the safety concerns and accessibility for any senior citizen wishing to travel are substantial, particularly at those hours of the night. As you well know, Roosevelt Island has a large senior and disabled population. For many of these residents, to deny them use of the Tram would be to deny them a safe and efficient means of transportation to Manhattan. Further, given the proximity to many of the major hospitals in New York City, the Tram is the chosen transportation for many of the hospital personnel. To suspend service during the late-night shift would also be to deny these workers a safe, convenient, reliable and affordable form of transportation to and from work. Many people are reluctant to use subways late at night and prefer above-ground transportation. I am grateful that RIOC encouraged Island residents to voice their opinions of the reduced Tram service. Accordingly, the Island residents' voices have echoed a resounding disapproval of the proposal. I urge you to heed the residents' concerns. The Tramway service should not be interrupted. Carolyn B. Maloney To the Editor: I've been a resident of Roosevelt Island for the last seven years. Every year since George Pataki was elected Governor, we seem to be under siege by RIOC! We are told that there is no money for this and no money for that. Why? This Island pays out taxes to Albany and we receive none in return. The Tram is a viable and attractive way to access Roosevelt Island. Why isn't the Tram given a transportation subsidy? Why is RIOC hell bent on ruining the Island? Is the RIOC Presidency a stepping stone to another overpaid patronage job? Will Ryan join Blue as an ex-President but still remain on the state payroll? Why does it seems like every RIOC President sees himself as a feudal baron who rules by "divine right" and has an obligation to protect the people from themselves? Questions like this are begging for answers! Inquiring residents want to know!
We all howled when Blue proposed Tram cuts. When Ryan proposes the same thing a year or so later I hope the outrage will be the same! Ryan has shown himself to be a "Blue clone!" He is concerned with what is best for "George" and not what is best for the people he is supposed to represent. The Lexington Avenue subway stop at that time of the night is populated by drug-addicted zombies who seem to have total control of the station, smoking, drinking, sleeping just like their own home! I would like to see President Ryan bring his family to the Island late at night using that station! That would never happen! Of course, residents like me and other "run-of-the-mill" citizens would have to deal it with it! Pataki seems to want to "cut the Island off" and let us fend for ourselves financially. He should give us the right to remove his "cronies" and to appoint a Board that would represent us and not the fiscal interests of an absentee "landlord." We all must remember come election time who has our interests at heart and who doesn't. Residents of Roosevelt Island must come together regardless of political affiliation, race, creed or color, and send a message to RIOC that we are through being used to further political patronage careers and that we are "mad as hell and not going to take it anymore!" Steven J Day
To RIOC Management: The notion of ending late-night Tram service is, at best, foolish and misguided. At worst, it will be disastrous for residents of the Island. Surely this is a bad joke. The fact that we have the greatest concentration of disabled and wheelchair-dependent folks I have seen anywhere, for whom the subway is difficult if not impossible to manage, should have ruled this idiotic notion off the table as soon as it was suggested. My wife frequently works late at the United Nations and will not take the subway home alone, from one fairly unused station to another, after about 10:00 P.M. She is not alone in this. We frequently dine out off the Island and regularly attend theater, concerts, movies and the like off the Island -- there being practically nothing to do here. The subway is extremely unappealing late at night. Taxis are not always available when needed, and are too expensive to become the normal means of night transport. Without the Tram we never would have considered moving here. If the insane plan to reduce service is implemented we will have to move off. I suggest that you sharpen your pencils and find some other way to save a few dollars. Robert Harris
To the RIOC Board: The proposal to shut down the Tram after 10:00 p.m. will create a difficult situation for many people. My husband is a one of the many disabled people who live on the Island, The Tram is the only safe and good transportation we have to cross to Manhattan. We use it late at night when we go to visit our friends and sometimes when I have to work until very late. What about Southtown? Did you close the area just for closing? Do you people think? For instance: More people more travelers more money. Marta Balla
To the RIOC Board: I am opposed to eliminating the late shift of the Tram. For reasons of safety, accessibility and convenience, the Tram should be running in the late evening. I am willing to consider an experimental curtailment of hours to midnight on weeknights, 1 A.M. on weekends. Those times are more conducive to those returning from evening events and activities, whereas 10 P.M. is unreasonably early. The curtailment should be temporary, with provisions for review and assessment of its impact on the community as well as its financial consequences. Moreover, I am confident that the influx of new residents in Southtown will significantly increase ridership and bring the operation much closer to self-sufficiency. Such financial self-sufficiency would be unique among today's mass transit systems I urge you to seek the incorporation of the Tram into the city's mass transit system, thus improving its availability and its sustainability as a distinct mode of transit. Richard FitzPatrick
To the RIOC Board: I am a resident and I object to any night-time reduction of Tramway service. Also what mode of transportation are the handicapped to use? Karen Ganzi
To the RIOC Board: Last Thursday I was returning after 11:00 p.m. from a wedding at 66th and Fifth, and I debated whether I should take the subway or Trama given the hour, especially since the 63rd Street station was closer. I decided instead to take the Tram and I will tell you why. Several years ago I was a victim of a crime on the lower platform of the 63rd Street station. The station tends to be very isolated and even though there are now surveillance cameras, I am not persuaded that they prevent crime but rather document it and help the police find the perpetrator. I know that I'm not the only Island resident who was held up with a weapon on the platform. When I went for the line-up I was surprised how many other Roosevelt Island residents were there. Many residents of Roosevelt Island see the Tram as a safe haven for late-night travel. I implore you not to eliminate the third shift. Katherine Teets Grimm, MD
To the RIOC Board: I am writing to you with regards to the Tramways' new working hours schedule proposal, which is from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. I am in a wheelchair and my only way to get to or from Manhattan is through the Tramway, since my mechanical chair cannot digest the gap or the height difference between the subway cars and the platform. Also, the constant breakdown on the subway elevators is another factor to ride the Tram.
If you close the Tramway at 10:00 p.m. they are basically setting a curfew on me and people in the similar conditions as I am. This means I cannot go to, or return from a dinner, a movie or any other activity that will keep me out later than 10:00. This is unfair and discriminatory to all people with handicaps, working people and also people who are afraid to ride the subway. If you are trying to save money by shutting down the Tramway early, you should consider midnight as a more reasonable hour to avoid inconveniencing a great deal of people who depend on the Tram. Have you forgotten that Southtown is being constructed right now and it will bring many more riders? Maybe you should be thinking about increasing services rather than shutting it down. I urge you to reconsider and take a more suitable decision, which will provide a better service to our community. Thank you for looking into this matter and your kind cooperation. Gustavo Alori
To the RIOC Board: 1. RIOC claims Roosevelt Island is self-sufficient, therefore we no longer need State subsidies as mandated in the General Development Plan (GDP), even though we have not reached the population of 16,000 that the GDP stipulates for self-sufficiency. 2. RIOC claims residents should either force the City Council to lift its ban on advertising on Tram cabins in order to bring the Island revenue, or we should give up the very necessary third shift of the Tram and the hope for Island repairs, such as on Blackwell House. We can't have it both ways because there isn't enough money, says RIOC. 3. RIOC claims Roosevelt Islanders cannot enjoy the convenience and savings the MetroCard offers to every other New York City resident because RIOC cannot afford the cost of installing it on the Tramway. Councilmember Gifford Miller proposed a plan that would be financially viable but RIOC management didn't even see fit to carry on the necessary conversations with him. 4. RIOC evidently cannot use the $250,000 Assemblymember Pete Grannis obtained to fix the Chapel of the Good Shepherd because RIOC does not have the money in excess of that amount it would cost for total repairs. 5. RIOC cannot repair the streets and walkways that numerous residents have tripped and been injured on because you had to give Southtown developers $4.5 million-plus of Island-generated funds as an incentive for them to build on one of New York City's choicest and most valuable pieces of real estate. 6. According to the pro forma of the Southtown developers, they will have received over $35 million in residential revenue at the end of five years. Residents (through RIOC) will have received only $1 million for their $4.5 million investment. 7. There are many more examples, but I'm sure you get the idea... Either the Island is not self-sufficient and you should be asking for State subsidies (especially for the Tram and seawall), or it is self-sufficient and you shouldn't be giving away funds needed for repairs and operations to developers for sweetheart deals. My questions to you and RIOC management are: 1. Where did you learn this fuzzy math? 2. When do you plan to take remedial math courses? 3. How long must residents suffer the consequences of your/RIOC's ineptitude? 4. When will you resign and ask the State to turn over operations of this Island to those who care enough about it to do the math correctly - residents elected by the people who will hire professional management? (The appointed resident members should not have even entertained the idea of cutting the Tram's third shift, for example.) When I visited Gettysburg recently, it struck me that nearly 140 years after Lincoln's Address, we must still call for "government of the people, by the people and for the people" before we (and the Island) "perish" from your incompetence and we are forced to leave this once beautiful, cohesive, and well-run Island community. Linda Heimer
To the RIOC Board: First of all, if RIOC is serious about getting a community response on the following issue, then RIOC needs to do more than put out notices on kiosks. If your intent is to get a response with meaningful statistics than you should do the work and make the effort to get one. Yet another of RIOC's continuing attempts to harass the residents of Roosevelt Island by threatening to close the Tram (for any shift) should be understood to be just that, a threat. Roosevelt Island's Tram is the one guaranteed means of transportation for a large, concentrated population of elderly and disabled residents. This population includes those who live in our two chronic care hospitals who are mobil by wheelchair. The subway is not a viable form of transportation for this population because it is not Title 3-ADA compliant. Because of this special population the Tram, even after 10 p.m., must be accessible to anyone who is disabled in one way or another. Is this RIOC's way of saying that if one is confined to a wheelchair or if one is elderly, one should not plan to go out with family or friends if one cannot plan to take the subway or a cab after 10 p.m.? Only those who have easily accessible forms of transportation, who don't live in this community and are not living on a fixed income could possibly utter such nonsense.
Every other mass transit system in this country has subsidies from federal and state governments. RIOC and the Board that oversees RIOC, all know our own MTA receives such funding. You should all be ashamed of yourselves for not going after that funding for this universally recognized icon of New York City and New York State. We on Roosevelt Island are in constant wonderment as to why this organization with the misnomer "operating" corporation is so incapable and unprofessional at operating, i.e. locating funding for this public means of transportation, let alone protecting our mandated public parks, a whole other kettle of fish. The Tram, owned by RIOC, should have RIOC's and the State's experts out looking for the money's required to keep this entity running and repaired. This effort should be commensurate with the international reputation Manhattan holds in the country, let alone internationally. Any attempt to close our Tram (for any or all shifts) will be a sad and unnecessary embarrassment to Governor Pataki, showing a shameful and blatant display of insensitivity by the Operating Corporation, and it will be an illegal act. And don't think for one minute these residents will let this go by quietly. Sherie Helstien
To the RIOC Board: Closing the Tram at 10:00 p.m. is simply unacceptable. I am tired of struggling to find my way home by subway and the Tram is the only safe and dependable mode of transportation. I live in this community only because I don't have to put myself in a dangerous situation by taking the subway late at night. The proposal to close the Tram at 10:00 p.m. directly affects my work, safety and lifestyle, and I won't let it happen. Thanks for your attention. Alyssa Hochheiser
To the RIOC Board: The following are some facts, arguments and suggestions for your consideration: The most just and fair solution for covering Tramway losses is a fare increase. 1. I, a resident of the Island -- like dozens of other residents -- ride the Tramway back to the Island (on a daily basis) during the period 10:30 pm to midnight. 2. I, a taxpayer, should be provided with the services equal to all other residents of the Island, of NYC, of NY state, etc. 3. If cutting service is the solution: The RIOC Board should
provide the "late" residents, whose daily life extend beyond 10:00 p.m. and
who use the Tramway after 10:00, with a sound, lawful explanation as to why
should we be discriminated and deprived of services given to the "early"
residents.
4. Roosevelt Island is not a detention center and/or correctional facility subject of a 10:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m. curfew imposed by New York State. 5. Roosevelt Island is not a welfare colony maintained by the good will of the RIOC of New York State. 6. The residents of Roosevelt Island are lawful New York state taxpayers and should be provided accordingly. 7. The Tramway is the only quick, safe, and civilized mode of transportation available to the residents of the Island. 8. It is the duty of RIOC to maintain this mode of transportation and extend it to 24-hour service. 9. Like any other public transportation in NYC, some hours are busier than others. Cutting down the services appears to be an unfair and unjust solution. Suggestions for eliminating the deficit: 1. Increase the fare. It appears that an increase of a dime should do it. 2. Additional source of revenue: Charge a higher fare for the tourists, the non-residents. Thank you for your attention. Sincerely, Nurit Kalderon
To Whom It May Concern: Closing the Tram for the third shift is a very good idea. The money could be put to other use for the good of the whole community. There are people who claim that they are too afraid to use our very nice subway. Those wimps should stay at home. Others say (erroneously) that the subway station is not suitable for wheelchair users. Very few riders need the Tram so late at night so what is the use of running it for only one or two people per ride? The early closing of the Tram would be a deterrent to the nasty rowdies who make the night hideous with their raucous cries. Most of the troublemakers do not live here anyway. If they stay away Roosevelt Island would be a better place. Diana Keyt
To the RIOC Board: I quite often use the Tram coming home from an evening late in the City, or on weekends. Why don't they subsizidize the Tram by using the MetroCard? Having the shuttle train running for the next three years is an inconvience now you wan to cut the Tran service. What next! S. Kleinberg
To the RIOC Board: As a long-time resident of Roosevelt Island who relies on the Tram to get to and from work every day, I am strongly opposed to shutting down service at 10:00 p.m. I typically work twelve hours a day and come home between 10:00 and midnight. Having the Tram available during those hours is crucial to me. On weekends I travel to Pennsylvania to care for my mother who is recovering from a stroke. Every Sunday night I get back to the city after 10PM and take the Tram back to the Island. I am frequently carrying luggage and work with me, making the Tram even more vital. The subway is not a suitable substitute for the Tram, for reasons of safety as well as accessibility. Taking a taxi is out of the question as a daily mode of transportation, being both unaffordable and unreliable (cabdrivers frequently go "off-duty" rather than drive to Roosevelt Island).
It concerns me greatly that RIOC is considering the discontinuation of Tram service during the hours I depend on it. Others like myself may have no other viable options. Even those who do not regularly ride the Tram during those hours will lose the value it provides in offering a safe, reliable means of travel available when they need it. It certainly does not bode well for the new development that is planned for Southtown, or for the "off-Islanders" who come over to visit, play tennis or find an apartment. Instead of moving forward, we would appear to be moving backward, becoming more insular and isolated -- a backwater where we "roll up the sidewalks at 10 o'clock" instead of a vibrant, thriving urban community. To look at the third shift in isolation is to overlook the bigger picture. The fixed costs associated with the operation of the Tram would be spread over an even smaller passenger base, and we'd soon be hearing how expensive it had become to run the first two shifts and looking to cut back service even further. I don't know the marginal cost of operating the third shift, but surely there is precedent for subsidizing public transit that would be applicable in this instance to ensure equal service for all residents. I hope that RIOC recognizes that no one will be well-served if Tram service is curtailed, and trust that you will find a more creative and acceptable way of addressing the economic issues underlying this proposal. Mary K. Krajci
To the RIOC Board: This is in response to your Public Notice calling for reactions and comments from the residents of Roosevelt Island on the proposed suspension of the night shift of the above Tram. I write this letter as one of the several hundreds of residents of Roosevelt Island who are connected with the United Nations. For almost all of us, the Tram, like any other public transport, is a "public service," which is intended to deliver exactly that. Public Services are not supposed to be money-making institutions. They respond to essential societal needs, and are therefore always supposed to be managed from within the entire system on which taxation is based. It is therefore most astonishing that RIOC should even have considered such a cutback. Good management does not consist of downsizing public services, but rather of improving them and expanding them constantly. It should have been obvious that the facile proposal to cut back the night service would seriously inconvenience many residents of the Island. Many are handicapped, and cannot use the subway system at all. Others are working late into the evenings, including at the United Nations, and have always walked to the Tram Station on Second Avenue to take the ride home. Should there be a need to reduce the deficit in Tram operations, there are many options which could be considered. Subsidising the Tram from State taxes is the most obvious. Allowing advertisements in and on the Tram (as is done on all New York subways), is another. Both options should be available and feasible. In the light of these alternative options, simply cutting back on the night shift of the Tram would be seen as no more than an abdication of social responsibility by the RIOC Board of Directors. Ambassador Ahmad Kamal (retired)
To the Editor: The latest issue with the proposed Tram cutbacks are yet another reason I have decided to leave Roosevelt Island. Here are some others.
For the money, there are better places to live. Name Withheld
To the RIOC Board: Page 2 of the July 28 Main Street WIRE contains an editorial and copies of letters from residents, all against a proposal to eliminate the third shift of the Tram. These protests are cogent and convincing. Instead of writing a letter which restates some of this eloquent material, I wish only to endorse those views with a hearty "Amen." Howard Levi
Dear Mr Ryan: I find the proposal to shut down the Roosevelt Island Tram at 10:00 p.m. unacceptable, in substance, in the way it was proposed, and in timing. The substantive issue is that people need the Tram after 10:00. Despite falling crime rates, the subway is not safe. My own daughter was faced by a man with a gun on the Q train late one night. She talked her way out of a terrifying situation -- but it might easily have gone the other way.
The elderly, late-night workers in the midtown area, and anyone who finds the 63rd Street station an uncomfortable place to be late at night, all use the Tram. The people who will live in Southtown and work at Cornell Medical Center/New York Hospital will certainly use it at all hours. It is a service and should be treated as such. Second, why deal with the Tram in isolation, still less focus on one narrow proposal? There are many proposals for rationalizing the service. First among them is asking the MTA to take it over. The Tram is part of New York City's transport system, and should be treated as such. Does the City keep profit and loss accounts for individual subway or bus routes? Advantages abound -- if the Metrocard were available on the Tram, for example, more people would use it. In the meantime, let's discuss the Tram's cost-effectiveness as a whole, not just one take-it-or-leave-it idea. Thirdly, rolling a proposal like this out for discussion in the middle of the holiday season is a cheap ploy, and will not increase residents' respect for RIOC or belief in its good faith. We need management, not manipulation. Alex Marshall
To the RIOC Board: I have worked on Roosevelt Island more than two years. Though I do not reside here, I frequently have to take that Tram (although I have used the subway, of course). My thoughts on the present "problem" are not unique but I should like to express them anyway. 1. I'd be strongly opposed to the 10:00 p.m. cutback of services. Why? My reasons are similar to those of Ethel Romm, who wrote in the July 28 WIRE her well-established and well-stated reasons for not wanting this critical cutback. 2. For years many of us have argued that non-usage of the MetroCard by users of the Tram is both strange and painfully short-sighted. The debt could probably be worked down, in a short time, if the MetroCard was made a viable option here. I recall how one gentlemen said to me in 1999: "It's State! State-run! We won't have the MetroCard connection. Period." Who was he? A member of the Tramway staff, of course. that ridiculous, rank-smelling answer is a bureaucrat's answer, the resopnse of someone who wants to hold onto his monopoly but doesn't care about ordinary people. The time has come for all that to end! Get the MetroCard connected with the Tram, as it is with almost all other public services in the City. Why is it so vastly difficult for Pataki and others to see this? 3. The handicapped and some seniors would indeed suffer by any 10:00 p.m. stoppage, but so would a lot of other persons. Some late-shift nurses at both of the hospitals use the Tram. I have had occasion on weekend nights to use it when I had to stay overnight at the Goldwater. I feel a bit mistake owuld be made in forcing us to use the often-changeable, tricky subway trains which are, in a sense, less reliable than the beautiful, safe, smooth Tramway. You have heard from us. Isn't it time to give a positive, and a practical answer? Fr. Peter Murray, Chaplain
To the RIOC Board: A decision to cancel the third shift of the RI Tram will tremendously and negatively affect our welfare and safety. You are kindley requested to do whatever you can to avoid it. Thank you. Maen Nsour
To whom it may concern: I have been a Roosevelt Island resident for eight years. Although it is a wonderful thing that we now have subway service, the subway is not always dependable. The elevators and the escalators are always out of service, and this is a big problem for the many handicapped residents of Roosevelt Island. I realize that due to the availability of unlimited ride MetroCard, the Tram doesn't get the same amount of traffic as in the past, but I personally always take the Tram if I'm out after 10:00 p.m. I have noticed that at these later hours, the Tram is always full! In addition, the majority of residents scheduled to move into Southtown are from the hospital which is much closer to the Tram than the subway. When they move in there is sure to be no problem filling the Tram. Thus, to cut back service at this shift seems unreasonable. I definitely object to the reduction of service. Thank you, Denise Raimi PS: Perhaps if Tram tokens were sold at a quantity discount -- (11 for the price of 10), people would opt to take the Tram more often than the subway.
To RIOC President Robert H. Ryan: The Roosevelt Island Tram, besides being charming and safe, is a smart type of transportation. It is quick and quiet. Like the subway, it keeps you out of automobile traffic jams, and unlike the subway, not only passengers have magnificent views, but there is also never a Tram jam! Besides, it is the major reason why I moved here, and I am sure I am not the only one. We live on an beautiful island, just three hundred yards from the "main island." But we have no direct automobile or pedestrian access to Manhattan. As all New Yorkers know, we cannot count on the subway to work properly, or all the time. In fact, all Roosevelt Island residents know quite well what we have had to put up with for the past few years, and God only knows what else we will have to put up with regarding transportation by train from and to our island. We don't even have a bus line to Manhattan! Taking the bus to Queens to then connect either to a train, or to another bus is not really an option, as we all know how long it takes. We don't need less public transportation options, we need more! And we need our Tram to be there for us, when we come home a bit later whether from work, or from a social event. The Tram is the elevator between Roosevelt Island and Manhattan. It makes walking to work possible. It complements the beauty of living on this island. It is an important part of our sense of safety and identity. And, by now, even those who don't live on the island know that. What I believe nobody has been able to understand is why RIOC still has not taken advantage of the transportation subsidy to which we are entitled, nor has made any effort to get the Tram in the metrocard system. The impression that residents are left with is that, at every turn, RIOC is looking for a way to take from us something that we not only love, but also need. No, I don't think that there should be any reduction in the Tram service. I think RIOC should be working for the best interests of the Island and its the residents. And keeping this amazingly simple, unique, and smart means of transportation is in our best interest. Rita DeCassia
To the RIOC Board: I don't know why I'm shocked at your planned curfew for Roosevelt Island's Tram. After all, Governor Pataki has clearly been revenging himself on Roosevelt Island for not voting for him for years: Dr. Jerome Blue, violating the General Development Plan, which established State subsidy for the Island until it had a population of 20,000 (later revised to 16,000) -- ending that subsidy illegally will teach them how to vote! Then sending us Robert Ryan who violates RIOC's obligation to clean the streets -- and now our Tram. That's right. Let everyone know that we're an Island of children who must be home by 10:00 p.m. to do our homework and get to bed. And this is supposed to invite new people to live here? Now that they know that we don't go out to dinner, opera, concerts or movies in Manhattan? Subway? What sane person, even if not a senior or disabled, uses the subway at night? Oh, gun-toting boxers. Just Pataki's type. Frances Salten
To the RIOC Board: In reply to your request for comments on the proposed partial shutdown of the Tram, I submit: 1. Any curtailment of service undertaken by a transportation system in an effort to save money -- from Amtrak down to a local streetcar line -- has instead resulted in a significant loss of ridership and therefore of money. 2. The particular shutdown you contemplate -- the third shift beginning at 10:00 every night -- is notably cruel and counterproductive. It would deprive residents returning to their homes in the evening -- from a trip or from an evening at dinner or a movie or other entertainment in Manhattan -- of a pleasant and convenient (and for some people the only feasible) mode of travel. It would thus make Roosevelt Island less civilized, less a New York neighborhood. Does that matter, except to our residents? Yes, it's a bottom-line kind of thing. Some buildings may have waiting lists now, but will they always? What do the proprietors of overpriced Manhattan Park think of your closedown idea? What do the would-be developers of Southtown and other, potential developers think? Remember, development is what your boss George wants. 3. Even if you were able to show that a closedown is necessary and even if you bulldoze ahead with it, why start arbitrarily with the beginning of the third shift at 10:00 p.m.? Surely an analysis of Tram traffic would show that any significant fall-off in business comes much later than that -- perhaps after midnight. 4. Finally, as The WIRE keeps pointing out, everyone knows that municipal transit systems tend to lose money and are therefore at least partially subsidized by governments that care about their citizens. But of course we on Roosevelt Island have no such government, do we? Armand Schwab
To the RIOC Board: I have been a resident of Roosevelt Island for over 25 years and I'm very displeased over RIOC's proposal of shutting down the Tram. As a child I took the Tram to school and back, continuing even after the subway arrived, and always felt it a safe mode of transportation. While I do not take it every day to work, I can say that I take the Tram any time I come home from the midtown area after 10:00 p.m. and every time I come home from the City after midnight. Instead of rambling on, let me just bullet a few points for you...
I understand that RIOC has a budgetary issue but maybe they should look inside to place blame. Here's an excerpt from the Roosevelt Island TimeLine. Governor Pataki's budget eliminates all funding for Roosevelt Island, after the President of RIOC, Dr. Jerome Blue, fails to submit a request for funding. This means the state's subsidy for operation of Roosevelt Island has dropped from $6.5 million to zero in the space of two years." Dr. Blue represented an office and I'm sure he didn't act alone. As a resident of Roosevelt Island I refuse to be backed into a corner by RIOC's incompetence. It is amazing to me that RIOC continues to work against the residents and that with each move RIOC cuts the voices and ideas of the residents -- decreased another resident member of the board recently. You will find that many people will move if you carry out this plan. Roosevelt Island is not the most convenient place to live but certainly there are benefits to it. Take away another benefit and some will fell that you have crossed over their line of comfort. Feeling trapped is never a good feeling and if you take away the night shift of the Tram that's exactly how I will feel. Kristin Sheehan
To the RIOC Board: I am a resident on Roosevelt Island and I use the Tramway every day. This is the only safe way to get into Manhattan also late at night and I would not allow my daughter to take the subway after 10:00 p.m. but rather take the Tramway. Should you stop it after 10:00 p.m. then we would be in a very difficult situation. We deserve a good transportation service and I would certainly vote against having this cutback after 10:00 p.m. Many thanks for your consideration. Dr. Regine Ware
To the RIOC Board: The Tram should remain open in the evening, late enough for people who have been to a movie, play etc with dinner after. If you closed the Tram at 1 am or at 1:30 am, it might be reasonable, but residents need to have the option of going to Second or Third Ave for a movie, or having dinner out - without having to take a cab home. And taking the subway after an expensive evening out, is an unpleasant option. You say the problem is low ridership. Residents would love to take the Tram more. And tourists should be flocking to use it. So what's the problem? RIOC has to take two steps. 1) Get the Tram on the MetroCard and 2) Make the Tram a tourist attraction. I've heard your reasons for not adopting the Card. You need to develop a marketing strategy that will include both of the steps above. The Tram should be a major symbol of NYC, like the cable cars are to SF. I wouldn't dream of spending a day in San Fran without a ride on a cable car.. And by the way, cable car rides are included on the SF monthly pass, along with the BART and buses. (The only extra charge is for going to the East Bay by BART) The point is: SF must subsidize the cable cars. Why can't we work out a deal with NYC? I say again, the Tram should be a major, international tourist attraction. The upcoming Spidie movie is a good time to launch a media campaign. Yes, it will cost, but it has to be done. Unless, your goal is to shut down the Tram. And that is what most residents think is the ultimate RIOC goal. A very short-sighted strategy. May you be visited by the spirit of Al Weinstein tonight!! Sharon Bermon PS: You wouldn't have this problem if you would get your act together and adopt the MetroCard!!! I buy a $63 monthly pass and am angry because I can't use my pass on the Tram. I would take the Tram much more frequently if it wasn't so expensive. I know your arguments about the cost of the equipment to adopt the MetroCard. Do it anyway. You're going to have to eventually
To the RIOC Board: A Tram cutback is a very bad idea. Related (developer of Southtown) should be already calling the Governor for such an insane idea! As a Roosevelt Island resident and Westview tenant, I am one more time appalled by the very inept (suicidal almost) and truly absurd way of managing the Island in the hands of RIOC. The Tram should be closing every night at 10:00 to save money? Just when two new buildings built just for the purpose of housing nurses, physicians and scientists who are going to work right across the river are becoming a reality? This is so insane financially, economically! How anyone working at any time of the day or night, who will choose to live on this Island because of the proximity to work and the extreme safety of going back and forth from home to work using the Tram that takes only three minutes and the most reliable mode of locomotion so far between the island and Manhattan, would decide, ever, to settle in these new buildings if that person (female or male) finds out that she or he will have to take the subway that is ten stories deep at each end, and will have to face true danger every single time that person will dare to take to go or come back from work after 10:00 p.m.! If I were one person working on these new buildings, I would say to RIOC that unless the Tram works 24 hours at regular intervals, I would stop all idea of building anything on this "damned island!" The Tram can bring safely at anytime of the day or night in three minutes only, right near where people will work on the upper-east side, more than 100 passengers. That is one reason for keeping the Tram opened after 10:00 p.m. as it has up to now! Also, all of us, old Roosevelt Island residents, who have helped make this sliver of land a true human, safe and multi-cultural, viable community, do you imagine that we will accept one more right to be taken away? Or does RIOC want to recreate a ghetto? This Island is truly an Island, with only one safe means of transportation that is extremely reliable and that can be supported easily financially by a big entity if RIOC would push for it. The Tram after 10:00 p.m. is not a luxury. It is a necessity that elderly, handicapped, young people with no other mean of transportation can use at any time of the day or night.
With the opening of two new buildings to start with, housing medical professionals who will work right across the river at odd hours, and for quite many, in the middle of the night, keeping the Tram is a must, unless you want to see all the new buildings never filled with tenants, but with bats and homeless and squatters, I just urge you to ask Related what they think of seeing all their investments going down the drain, because no female, young or old, no man working in the middle of the night on the upper-east side will want to move in their buildings unless they can use the quickest, safest and most reliable mode of transportation that will make their daily life truly productive and agreeable due to not having to worry about being robbed, raped or killed down the subway stations at either end, Roosevelt Island or 63rd Street, while going or coming back from work to live on this supposed safest place in the city. The money needed to keep the Tram working with no loss will be gotten very soon, when the new buildings will be built, and when RIOC will have finally done some work on looking for the money that any community is always looking for to help pay for the transportation of its citizens. Please, ask Related people for their opinion on that idea of closing the Tram and you will realize unless they are also insane that it will not make sense to move onto this Island unless you can go and come back from work safely. Finally, this Island has many elderly who do use the Tram and in few years, if a new building to house elderly is built it will make even more sense to keep the Tram working all night. United Nations personnel also use the Tram to come back from work, at times very late, and having to take a taxi for weeks every night because you fear the subway for good reasons will make so little sense that they might leave Manhattan Park buildings, which will then a hard time filling its empty buildings, meaning less revenue for RIOC in the end. Laurence-Marie Brodsky
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