How are you doing with the new bus route?  Monday will be two weeks since it took effect and the verdict is still out.  Your Residents Association in conjunction with this newspaper had rider-surveyors on all the buses the first morning of operation to assess the on-time percentages and, since then, I’ve received comments from many riders and bus drivers as well.

The preponderance of comments has focused on the difficulty of timing your morning commute as was possible when the bus schedule was tied to the Tram schedule.  I don’t make a morning commute any more, but I have seen the buses clumping together in two- and three-bus “convoys” similar to City buses when they’re backed up.  Also, Tram riders are not finding the Red Buses waiting for them upon arriving at the Roosevelt Island station, as used to be the case.  This can be a problem for some late-night Tram riders who are afraid to wait alone or to take that long, lonely walk north.

I was a member of a group convened by RIOC in January to replace the bifurcated bus route that had some buses using Main Street South and some buses using the West Service Road.  The RIOC Board, RIOC management, a Southtown developer, and RIRA were represented.  However, none of us was a current Roosevelt Island commuter (or a traffic expert, for that matter).  While our intentions were good, I now think we spent too much time considering bus routes and too little time on scheduling.  I believe we have an opportunity now to fine-tune whatever isn’t working and to make it better.

I met with RIOC President Herb Berman on the 13th, and I know their intention is to tweak the system until it is functioning correctly.  However, I was told that there is no intention to schedule the buses so as to synchronize with the Tram; rather, the buses will space themselves by walkie-talkie communication between bus drivers.  Herb also said that he’s received no complaints about the present routing and scheduling of the Red Buses.

If you have strong feelings about the new bus route/schedule, RIOC needs to know.  It’s OK to bring your comments to me or to The WIRE, but RIOC runs the buses and RIOC needs to hear from you in large numbers when issues need redressing.  Mr. Berman’s e-mail address is hberman@rioc.com, and the RIOC telephone number is 212-832-4540.  When I bring your concerns to RIOC, mine is just one voice.  If the new bus schedule is causing you problems, remember what 19th-century humorist Josh Billings said, “The wheel that squeaks the loudest, Is the one that gets the grease.”

At that same Friday the 13th meeting, I learned that every Public Safety shift now has at least one officer trained in defibrillator operation.  This is indeed good news.  Should you witness a tragedy in which someone’s breathing or heart stops, this on-Island service could be the difference between life and death.  Remember, however, always to call 911 to bring additional aid.

As of this writing, the Tram MetroCard is still not a done deal.  Also, as I write this, the MetroCard sales machines and card readers are being installed at both Tram stations.  Surely this equipment would not be in place without definitive agreements between City and State and between the two public benefit corporations, RIOC and the NYC Transit Authority.  And yet, I’m told that caution is in order and not to believe the evidence of my own (and your) eyes.  What are we to make of this?  I don’t know, but it’s making me nuts!  There’s good news coming, friends, if we can survive the waiting and remain patient.

The Tram elevator continues in its role as a planter for begonias rather than as a conveyance.  A recent letter from Speaker Miller to Herb Berman reinforces the frustration that we are all feeling as the elevator outage drags into its fourth month.  Berman tells me that the fight between the company making the necessary parts and RIOC has been resolved by finding another company and that repairs should be imminent.  Like any mechanical system, the elevator must have a reliable source for parts, and I hope (as I’m sure you do) that this change will allow RIOC to maintain the Manhattan-side elevator as a dependable adjunct to the Tram.  Then we can address the pigeon-crap problem.

Many of you are waiting for the results of the DHCR hearings on rent increases for Island House and Westview.  Part of the debate has centered on the increases required by RIOC for the Public Safety Department that would factor into the rent hikes.  I’ve learned from Assemblymember Grannis’s Chief of Staff, Tony Morenzi, that the increases have been disallowed.  Further, it is his understanding that the rate of reimbursement required of the two buildings has been rolled back to 1995 levels.  What this will mean for individual renters remains to be seen but, clearly, the State considers our payments to operate Public Safety out of whack.  What services we are paying for and whether those services are worth the cost are questions requiring answers.  I expect the RIOC Board of Directors advisory committee on Public Safety (on which I sit) to address these core concerns and to return the necessary answers to you in a timely fashion.

As you know, Southpoint remains the last unfinished park on Roosevelt Island.  Last week I was involved in several meetings that have me excited.  The RIOC Board of Directors has asked the Trust for Public Lands (TPL) to spearhead the effort to build a park that will satisfy Roosevelt Island residents while attracting visitors from the rest of the City and far beyond.  TPL is a national organization with an enviable record of saving parkland and urban gardens, and protecting wetlands, wildlife habitat, and recreational land by outright purchase for the common good.  I met with the New York City and Southpoint Project Directors, who are anxious to include community members and organizations in their plans.

They are hoping to develop a master plan in just six months – a short time for so ambitious a project.  I outlined with them the effort that has already taken place here through the auspices of Bonnie Sherk of Life Frames, Inc., and her Living Library project that operates under a Ford Foundation grant.  You’ve read about her outreach to our senior, disabled, student, artistic, and residential communities, not to mention the United Nations, and perhaps you saw the marvelous garden Bonnie produced in the PS/IS 217 schoolyard last Roosevelt Island Day with the help of student and resident volunteers, myself included.  In San Francisco, Ms. Sherk has created gardens where there was only asphalt and concrete, and she hopes to integrate her achievements there with a Roosevelt Island project by way of interactive web links.

Bonnie and I have met with the Regional Director of TPL, and I know they are anxious to incorporate the many months of work she has done with this community by including her on their project advisory committee.  The potential for synergy between these two professional organizations – to combine their creative expertise and financial resources – can only result in a world-class facility that will become as much an icon of Roosevelt Island as the Tram.  Keep your eyes on this newspaper as our dreams take shape and dimension.  This is the good stuff.

Click here to find out more about the Trust for Public Lands.