To the Editor:

I was waiting at the Tram stop alone one night last week for 15 minutes – 15 minutes of terror, since I was standing there in a completely deserted area after dark on a windy cold night, alone.  Anything at all could have happened to me, and no one would have been the wiser for it.  I got home and complained to Public Safety – because there are no patrols at the Tram.  They said they can’t be everywhere on Roosevelt Island and suggested I contact RIOC, which I tried by phone, but it’s impossible to even leave a voicemail on the RIOC line.

If something happens to a resident, or a child, who has to wait alone at night at the very isolated and deserted Tram stop, because there no longer is a bus waiting for each arriving Tram, then the blame will be squarely on President Berman.

I hope RIOC considers the above and re-institutes having a bus wait as before for each arriving Tram – if only for safety reasons.

Helen Chirivas

 

To the Editor:

A bad spin on the new bus route.

Even though it does not work well, if we have to keep this new bus route, how about only having it in the evening?  Let’s go back to the old route in the morning.  In the course of the day, the Queensboro Bridge changes traffic flow on the upper roadway; likewise, we could do the same.

In the morning, we are half awake to begin with, and the last thing the majority of passengers (meaning the people going to the subway) need is to go through a double dose of the dizzying spin-cycle near the Tram before backtracking to the subway.  I can read it on the faces of my fellow passengers, “What the hell are they doing to us?” as we twirl around, delayed in our journey to the City, thinking, “When the weather gets warmer, we’ll start walkin’.”

The other sad loss is the loss of a predictable bus.  I used to know when I should leave my apartment to catch the bus.  It was like clockwork.  It was one of those nice things about our little Island – being in the know how this place works – like a well-oiled machine that is now running amuck.  You’re at the supermarket, bags in hand, the bus is waiting for you.  You come home on the Tram and the bus is like a welcome wagon.  But not now, instead, you face a longer walk than if you came from the subway.

What I found really amusing about all this was when I read that the new route was started to help the poor folks in those new buildings near the subway.  Will someone please provide them a walk path to the subway?  They seem to want to go there, and roundabout trips don’t make sense for them either.

Neal Weissman

 

To the Editor:

With regard to Frank Farance’s comments about the new minibus route, he disregards the fact that the buses have doors only on the right side, which makes the unnatural “keep to the left” clockwise rotation essential from the point of view of minimizing street crossing.  He also disregards that “buses will no longer linger at Motorgate or at the Tram station (unless a cabin is docking).”

This in and of itself will increase the frequency of buses (subject to the drivers’ collaboration).

The times when buses left Motorgate on a fixed schedule are long gone.  They were overtaken by Manhattan Park (additional stops and waiting by polite drivers); frequent unnecessary bottlenecks on Main Street caused by saturated parking on Main Street (by Island employees, who can park at Motorgate, and by Public Safety, who used to park their vehicles elsewhere); and by lack of supervision (by 7:00 a.m. there is no predictable schedule, and up to three red minibuses often follow each other as if in convoy).

My suggestion at the February RIOC meeting would have been for RIOC’s Board to check the bus performance during rush hours before tampering with the schedule (again).  There has never been a link with the subway, and the bus often misses the Tram.  However, by holding its meeting at 4:30 in the afternoon, RIOC effectively limits the attendance.

Mogens Petersen

 

To the Editor:

The new Red Bus(ted) routing is disruptive, distractive, and destructive.

Not only will people not be able to depend on exact arrival times, but all residents plus most hospital workers will now have ten or so minutes added to their travel time when going south to the subway station.  The subway is the principal and primary end destination for commuters going off-Island.  Ninety percent of the thousands of riders will then be inconvenienced and deprived of valuable personal time by the change.  Several hundred of the southernmost building residents may choose to walk to save the precious time.  Management should mainly consider the majority, not the minority.  Moreover, people rely on a schedule in the winter months so they do not have to wait out in the freezing cold, harsh Island winds, and rain or snow.

Additionally, how many of the 25-cent fares will this remove from the bus income?  It might be cheaper to have a small shuttle bus or van dedicated to 475 Main Street so the normal buses can maintain their timetable.  Ideas many times have good intentions.  For instance, the idea of placing a light bulb higher up so it will illuminate a larger area (the new bus route) seems great in concept.  However, a light placed higher up will illuminate the new area (total number of riders) with much less light.

As always, management is paid big to think small.

Martin Atkins

 

To RIOC President Herb Berman:

I am a resident of Northtown and I use on a daily basis the RIOC bus.  It is an essential component of the quality of life on Roosevelt Island.

Since the new route of the bus was inaugurated/instituted, as I am told, under your leadership I wonder:

• Are you conducting a competition for the most moronic bus route, one that assures the maximum waste of time of all residents on Roosevelt Island?

• Why did not you leave the old route and simply add two more bus stops on the south end of Main street (one on each side) just before it bifurcates into the two separate roads?

• Under your innovative bus route, a resident of Southtown who gets off the subway and wants to take the bus, because he/she has a heavy package, this individual has to travel all around the Island wasting at least for 10 minutes whereas if the 2 bus stops were added, as suggested above, this individual after 1 minute on the bus will cross the street and be at home.

• Under your innovative bus schedule, the buses reach the very north end of Main Street and then since there are rarely any passengers, hide behind the curve for about 5-7 minutes and then take the new bus route.  And, if there is any passenger then they simply travel at a pace of a turtle presumably to meet the tram.  Going to the subway with the bus becomes a total waste of time, walking is quicker.

Please, do not waste anymore our time and try to implement an efficient bus route that would improve the quality of life on the Island.

Nurit Kalderon

 

To the Editor:

In a letter last Fall, I asked for advice on candidates I might support in the next State election.

The February 7 issue of The WIRE answered that question, at least in part.

Pete Grannis’s action on instigating a close look at RIOC has renewed my faith in him.  Based on the report in The WIRE, I now support Mr. Grannis.  He has opened a door to an investigation that may lead to Island residents, elected by Island residents, becoming responsible for their own neighborhood.

Thank you, Assemblymember Grannis.

David J. Bauer

 

To RIOC President Herb Berman:

In the past year I’ve left several messages with the RIOC office about errors on the Roosevelt Island web page, but noticed today that after several months they haven’t been corrected yet.  So I’m taking the liberty of letting you know, so that you can route the directive to the appropriate RIOC person(s) to fix the errors.

• In business listings, the phone number for the pizza restaurant is listed as the same number as the Chinese take-out, 212-588-0806.  They are not the same business and don’t have the same phone number.  The correct listing for the pizza restaurant (Capri) is: 212-688-4702.

• The business listings still show Lilies International Christian School at 504 Main Street.  I had thought that their lease wasn’t renewed and that they’re left that location.  If that’s the case, shouldn’t their listing be removed?

Also, shouldn’t all the medical offices, such as the pediatrician, dentist, and internist, be listed?

By the way, do you really consider the Roosevelt Island Branch of the New York Public Library a “commercial business listing?”  Or, for that matter, the church that’s listed?

Have you also noticed that neither the Catholic Church nor the Roosevelt Island Jewish Congregation are listed, while the Christian Church of God is listed?  Nor is the Main Street Theatre and Dance Alliance.  Nor is the Youth Group or the Roosevelt Island Senior Association.

The way I would do this web page is simply to create a directory of important Roosevelt Island numbers, and then sort it by businesses, services, education (including public and private schools), associations, religious groups, etc.  That would be the logical, intuitive, and useful way to do things.  Right now, it’s really not useful to Islanders or visitors.

Maybe it’s time for someone to take a look at the website and make sure it’s correct and updated.  After all, tax dollars are paying for it.

Raye G. Schwartz

 

To RIOC President Herb Berman:

When you visited the Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) meeting in September, I presented a detailed account to you of the neglect that has caused Motorgate to deteriorate and become a health hazard, and inconvenience and even endanger the lives of Island residents who use it.  You assured Councilmembers that you would “look into it.”

Your follow-up letter states that you have spoken to Island maintenance and/or Garage officials, and have been “assured” that “the Garage is structurally sound.”  But I never raised the question of structural soundness.  And since when does it constitute an appropriate investigation to call up a party suspected of neglecting his responsibilities, and simply ask him if everything’s OK, then declare your satisfaction when you are assured blithely that everything is?

Some of the concerns you have failed to address include:

• The garage leaks profusely during rainy weather.  This causes large puddles of standing water on many of the floors, just on the other side of the doorways to these floors, past the elevator landings.  In order to walk to one’s car, it is necessary either to broad-jump these large puddles or to walk through standing water.  Leaky walls and roofs do not necessarily indicate that a building is “structurally sound.”

• The standing water in these puddles becomes a health hazard, attracting disease-bearing insects.  Furthermore, there is a long-standing infestation of pigeons.  Their droppings litter the floors.  When the flooding occurs, these puddles become pools of saturated pigeon dung, further imperiling the health of our community.  This is not acceptable.

• The elevators (there are two banks) in Motorgate are frequently inoperative.  Often, there is only one working elevator.  Occasionally, even at night, both have been known to be out of order at the same time.  It’s no stretch to imagine what this could mean to a handicapped individual, or a pregnant or just plain scared woman at night, stranded on an upper floor and forced to use the stairwell, which is sometimes locked, always filled with the foul odor of urine, and occasionally frequented by dubious characters, drinking alcohol and hanging out there.

• The general look of the garage, the interior of the elevators and the stairwell is “no-brainer” proof that almost nothing has been done with regard to regular upkeep.  The floors of the elevators are ripped-up, their ceilings are broken, and their walls are a mess.  The landings have probably never seen a paint job.

• In October, the monthly parking fee for non-City-residents was increased, from $155.00 per month, to $160.00 per month; and, as might be expected, no prior notice was given.  Does RIOC consider this unannounced rate increase appropriate?

I feel it is highly irresponsible for a corporation with a license to collect money on what amounts to a monopoly on this Island to have no obligation to provide a safe or decent atmosphere.  I would appreciate a detailed response from you, concerning each of these annotated, outstanding problems.

Russ DiBello