To the Editor:

Having only today finally found your website (www.nyc10044.com), I was relieved to finally learn all the reasons behind the Tramway being inoperative.  My wife and I visited New York City February 14-18, and had earmarked the Tram as one of the “must-do” items on our itinerary.  We had no knowledge of the outage and you can imagine our surprise when we made our way to the terminus close to Bloomingdale’s early on the morning of the 16th, only to discover no signs of activity and an air of desolation in the structure and the single cabin hanging above the street.  We could find no reasons posted anywhere nor could I ascertain anything from various websites, including the Transit Authority, or even the official RIOC website.  We did gather at one point from a link to an architect’s page that it was closed for some repairs, but the saga of the cable was nowhere to be found until I came across your website just now.

I must therefore thank you for the extensive information given and look forward to the day – soon – when the Tram will be soaring over the river to Roosevelt Island.  We are already planning our next trip to New York and will be anxious to get across to the Second Avenue terminus once again, hopefully with a more successful outcome!

Many thanks once again.  We hope your city and its people continue to recover from the desperate tragedies that have befallen it in recent months as positively as it seemed to us when we were there.  It is truly the greatest city on Earth, bar none, and deserves its place in the hearts and minds of all decent citizens of the world.

Mark & Diane Grist
Reading, England

As if the shooting on February 25 outside 2-4 River Road wasn’t bad enough, the Executive Director of the Youth Program, Charles De Fino, excuses it with  some of the most idiotic statements I have ever read:

“It was just a quarrel gone bad.  If Walker’s intention was to kill Young, would he have done it right outside his home...?“  It’s only March, but the  competition for the Stupidest Comment of the Year is now over, the award goes  to De Fino for the following:  “This is their street, Main Street, and they want to act out.  I don’t think they are really bad deep down.  Stuff  happens.”

Their street?  No, it’s our street, not theirs.  And stuff does happen.  Innocent people could have been killed, or hurt.  What is wrong with him?  Is he trying to establish a rapport between him and the teens by excusing this criminal act?

I am not familiar with the Youth Program, or who he is responsible to, but with that type of attitude, perhaps they should reexamine his performance.

To the Editor:

Island Kids is pleased to announce that on March 11, Dawn Helene was elected as the new Director of Island Kids.  She comes to us with a Masters Degree in Music and a teaching credential in elementary and early childhood education.  She has been a participant and teacher at Island Kids for the past three years.  I want to wish her good luck!

I served the Island Kids community as Director of Island Kids for the past two years and as Assistant Director for two years prior.  It has been a rewarding experience for me.  I want to thank the staff and board members for all their hard work and dedication,  and the Island Kids members for giving me the opportunity to watch their children blossom and grow throughout my four-year term.  It was a great experience.