March 6, 2004 |
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I understand that you were part – if not the one – of the movement that requested to add Roosevelt Island to the City MetroCard system. It seems like this effort was not in vain! My wife and I wanted to thank you for this initiative and its result. We appreciated also your support when we had problems with the Tram and the Red Bus a few weeks ago. Thanks to you and thanks to The WIRE for making this Island a better place to live. Jerome Coullare
To the Editor: About MetroCard for the Tram... Everything comes to one who waits... and waits...and waits... and waits... and waits... Teri Sheridan
To RIOC President Herb Berman: Thank you for bringing the MetroCard to the Tram. However, I would like to add my voice to that of my neighbors’ objections concerning the lack of a Red Bus schedule. Some predict it may mean a loss of revenue. For example, Northtown residents fear waiting at the Tram for a half-hour at night – there is no attendant or public safety person on duty – walking in the rain or cold is the only alternative. I realize it was not on “your watch” that the Southtown developers were allowed to ignore the old-timers. They permit dogs; they built no path to the subway for their residents’ back door; they provide in-house child care at the expense of our existing nursery school. Now we should accommodate them? Perhaps they could pay for additional buses. Please note that hundreds of us elected Matthew Katz as the president of our Residents Association. When he makes suggestions to RIOC, he represents a majority of our concerned citizens. He is not speaking as just another individual. I attended one of your open houses. Sad to say, it was so crowded that I had to leave before I could make a point that has bothered me for some time – parking on Main Street. In addition to school buses, official vehicles (Public Safety used to park behind their offices), and delivery trucks, cars with handicapped stickers are allowed to stand at the curb 24/7. This may be understandable in other parts of the City, but we are a community that is totally handicapped-accessible. There is even a section of Motorgate devoted to the handicapped, and it remains empty. I know I risk sounding insensitive, but I cannot drop off groceries for ten minutes in front of my building because there are no spaces available. Joan Pape
To RIOC President Herb Berman: I’ve just read Matthew Katz’s column in The Main Street WIRE, where he states that you’ve received no complaints about the new bus route and schedule. I’d like to share my experiences. I make the school commute into the City each weekday morning with a 7-year-old. We’ve been late every morning since the changes took place. We’ve left our home earlier, but we continue to wait for the bus, and my daughter is still getting red marks on her attendance sheet. Unfortunately, walking isn’t a viable option with a child or we’d do it. It’s incredibly frustrating to see an empty bus trailing ours after having waited for so long, and this occurs most mornings. I’ve never seen anyone get on at the Southtown stop, but lots of people are now getting off there and walking to the subway. I can’t imagine that the Southtown grounds people are happy with that. It seems strange that the Southtown residents would board a bus to go the short distance to the Tram or the subway. I would imagine that if they were to take a bus, it would be to go north to Gristede’s or some other Main Street destination. And if this is the case, it would be better to have the route reversed – subway, Tram, and then Southtown. While I’m no expert, it makes sense to me that the buses run according to the Tram schedule. It’s not a good thing to have the elderly and handicapped people (of whom there are many on Roosevelt Island) wait outside with no seating for up to ten minutes at the Tram. While there is a warm waiting room, an approaching bus can’t be seen from it and it takes these people extra time to make their way to the bus stop. The subway stop already is equipped with an easy access waiting area. To date I haven’t spoken to anyone who is pleased with the changes, and I’ve heard plenty of comments. Amy Richmond
To the Editor: You only have to watch one Southtown resident walk home from the subway to know that the architects and landscape designers have made a bad mistake. There should be a paved path running from “Subway Street” (what used to be Main Street before they moved it) across the expanse of grass and up the stone wall behind the new buildings to their front entrances. If that were done, the bus could drop Southtown residents right there at the head of the path on “Subway Street,” obviating – for the moment anyway – the need for a new bus route at all. Bobbie Slonevsky
To RIOC President Herb Berman: I am a 27-year resident of the Island. I know things change and often change is good. The change in the bus route is not good. I know you’ve heard all the reasons why. Please return it to the schedule we residents know and depend upon. Mary Cavanaugh
To RIOC President Herb Berman: You and I met at a RISK meeting at RIOC in July. I found you to be somewhat of a sensible, no-nonsense guy. Therefore I will put what I have to say in such terms. Once again, RIOC, in its infinite wisdom, is beating the will to remain on Roosevelt Island out of its residents. Stop messing around with things that you know nothing about. This Red Bus fiasco is adding insult to the injury caused by our “beloved” Governor and his RIOC appointees over the last many years. U nder Pataki, Roosevelt Island has been “ruled” by clowns and buffoons who never gave a rat’s ass about the people who live here. They’ve gone about their business quietly, not making waves (for Albany), collecting their six-figure paychecks. I don’t think this is you, Herb (you once insisted I call you Herb). I think you actually do care about us. I also think you are a smart and sensible man. I have lived here for 25 years this June. I grew up in this neighborhood. I’ve seen it change. I’ve seen it neglected to a shameful point by our Governor and his RIOC cronies. The Red Bus’s regular schedule is one of the last positive things we can count on around here, which is pretty damn sad in itself. It is clearly for the greater good of all RI residents that the Red Bus be on a regular, predictable schedule. It just makes sense, if you live here and use it, that is. How would you like it if I came to Mill Basin and started messing around with the bus routes and schedules there? I might have some seemingly good ideas, but I wouldn’t know if they really worked for you and your family unless I lived there, or asked the people who live there if it served them better or not. I challenge you, Herb Berman. Live here for a month. Park in the dilapidated Motorgate, take the Red Bus (if you can catch it), take the Subway (if you can handle walking the 12 flights up and down) and the Tram, buy your groceries here (wait for the mysterious Red Bus to randomly appear), invite your friends over at night, get a sense of what it might be like to depend on some of the services RIOC is in control of providing. Then make policy changes as an informed and experienced man. Damon LaScot
To City Council Speaker Gifford Miller:Westview Task Force/Security Director PSD Advisory Committee RISK To the Editor: Do the people of What, you ask, is she referring to? The new non-scheduled bus schedule that has been visited
upon us. That’s what I’m talking about. What else? An easy
issue to wrap one’s arms around. Not complicated. It is a question
of most of the population of this island being inconvenienced, not-serviced
and worse, for the non-existent amount of populace that RIOC is trying to
service. It is so blatantly a bad idea that I was shocked when I heard
that Matthew Katz, our esteemed RIRA president, said there was nothing we
could do about it. Furthermore, we have been told by the RIOC brass they are
just trying it on for size. Don’t be fooled. They think we will
all just let ourselves be lulled into passivity . NOT…. Contrary to Mr. Katz’s opinion there is something we can do about it. When ther people of this island speak in one voice they make a difference. Well, let’s start speaking. There is not one person I have spoken to who hasn’t hated the new non-system system. So, the first thing we do is let RIOC know that “We are mad as hell….. etc. Call RIOC at 212-832-4540, from 9-5, and register your complaints. FYI, they do not have voicemail. What a surprise. (I’m sure there is a private number for the people who count.) Fax them at 212-832-4582. Or email them at brad@rioc.com. Also send a letter, email (editor@MainStreetWIRE.com) or leave a message on The WIRE’s voicemail at (212-826-9055) so they will know how you feel. Don’t allow these boobs to push us around. Let’s
start to mobilize. If the responses to the WIRE are minimal
and no one calls/emails/writes to RIOC, then I speak
for a small constituency and will back off. But if there is a groundswell
and they still don’t respond, then we will figure out the next step. Signed, Name Withheld To RIOC President Herb Berman: As a new kid on the block (or Island), I didn’t really want to get involved in the controversies. But all in all, this e-mail has been in the composition stage in my brain for a while, and if your response is dependent on hearing from those affected, I decided to finally get it down and off to you. First of all, I am living in #40 in Manhattan Park – the farthest possible from the subway or Tram. Second, I would love to make the Tram my transportation mode, but cannot justify the double expense, as I also need to own an unlimited Metrocard. I am so grateful for what looks like there might be an impending Metrocard conversion on the Tram! Thank you. Now for the Red Bus issues – it seems to go from the sublime to the ridiculous. Or else I’m really missing something. Why would anyone who lives less than a block away wait even a minute for the bus? Unless there’s a heavy load or a disability, or maybe in severely inclement weather, why would they pay a quarter or waste up to 10-15 minutes to go a minute or two? And why would they want to go around the loop to the subway when they can cut through and get there quickly and slightly less hassle? The fresh air and exercise would be welcome. Why doesn’t everyone admit a short-sightedness in the design and go ahead and build pathways to the Tram and subway? It’s the only thing that makes sense and would certainly service those residents as well as everyone else so much better. At a certain point in the last month or so, I began wondering if there was a conspiracy to see how absurd things could get. From the ridiculous escalator situation – why would there be a sign in the window that when there are two escalators going, there would be one in each direction. How often is that true? And why would there be two up escalators during the morning rush when everyone is scurrying downstairs and rarely is anyone coming up? This was especially treacherous during the snowy weather when the stairs got so slick. I saw people slipping, falling, and I wrenched my back rushing down during that time. Or why wouldn’t there be a notice downstairs forewarning people that, halfway up, there won’t be any escalators running? When you’re tired, achy, carrying a heavy load – what an inconvenience! But more than that, I observe people who have no business climbing such steep stairs huffing and puffing, and I have more than once feared there might be a heart attack. Now for my Red Bus story: Let me preface it by saying that I’m usually happy walking, even though I have the farthest to go. In January, I was working long hours, and getting to the Island sometime between 9 and 10:30 p.m. On what had to be the coldest night yet, maybe two weeks into January, I was exhausted, cold, and decided to treat myself to a bus, even if it meant waiting a few minutes. I got to the top of the escalators, and there had to be thirty or forty people waiting. Great, I thought, the bus should be soon. I waited and waited and waited, and finally a southbound bus dropped passengers, and a few minutes later the Tram was coming! My anticipation of the bus was dashed when it never came. After another 20 minutes or so, I decided to walk, leaving behind at least 50 people waiting. In the bitter cold, I trudged home, and the first bus I saw in either direction arrived at my stop just as I was getting to it. That was yet another ten minutes! The next night, I happened to be riding the Tram at about the same time. Three passengers, who took the bus, routed the new way. Seventy-five cents! Hardly enough to pay the gas for the trip up Main Street. No one got off at Southtown. All I could think of was all those 50 or so people waiting for the bus at the subway. Just to satisfy an inappropriate commitment. One plus for me – I love having the buses more frequently. I find I use them more. But I do see them bunched up together – three and four in a row – a lot more frequently than before. However, you know the saying, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it?” It didn’t need to be fixed. I would recommend going back to the old route! Thanks for hearing me out! Name Withheld
I am asking you at this time to please reconsider your position on the Roosevelt Island Octagon Project. Please note that the former head of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC), Mr. Robert H. Ryan, was fired from his position at the governing board and is currently under investigation by the Honorable Richard L. Brodsky, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, for possible criminal wrongdoing. As you know, the Roosevelt Island General Development Plan (GDP) was amended under Mr. Ryan’s watch in order to accommodate the construction of a 400-unit housing development plan on a tract of land that was deemed an “open space area.” We are asking you not to support this housing project until Mr. Ryan’s tenure at the RIOC governing board is thoroughly investigated. I believe that a majority of the residents of Roosevelt Island strongly feel that the GDP was illegally amended in order to promote the self-interests of corrupt political hacks and greedy land developers. Please consider: a multi-storied dwelling equipped with a swimming pool and underground parking garage is not an “ecological park,” as they would have you believe. This is an encroachment on public parkland that will be forever lost to the community if this project is allowed to commence in the spring. I would like to end this letter by quoting an excerpt from a statement that you submitted to the RIOC board meeting dated December 12, 2002: “Consistent efforts at amending the GDP to enable RIOC to auction off open spaces to the highest bidder are unacceptable. Amendments to the GDP should be rare, should protect open space, should be voted on by a resident-controlled board, and should be the result of broad consensus among the community, now and in the future.” I could not have stated it any better myself. Please, Mr. Miller, don’t align yourself with the aggressive development schemes of Gov. Pataki and his political operatives for our Island. Please save our parkland. Please save Octagon Park. Thank you very much for your attention. John L. Rodrigue
To the Editor: It was below freezing and nearly 1:00 a.m. when I arrived home alone Sunday night (February 21) after a three-and-a-half-hour drive with a car full of belongings to unload. There was plenty of space to park at that hour, but the meter machine for parking tickets was broken, as usual. There was no one from Public Safety in sight, so I parked in front of 531 and ran in to get a cart from the doorman. I unloaded the car, pushed the cart into the building, picked up my mail to read on my way back from the garage, and went right back out to the car. I was not gone more than four minutes. What should be awaiting me, lo and behold, but two Public Safety Officers, one teaching the other how to write parking tickets for unsuspecting lone, cold, single-parent drivers with sleeping child upstairs unable to help them unload the car. I said I was a resident and was told it was too late. My indignation was met with indifference. The concept of sympathy or apologies for inconveniencing and even causing financial distress to a resident is inconceivable to “Public Safety.” Even common courtesy is beyond them. I actually pay a portion of my maintenance for my apartment, as we all do, to be abused by these imitations of police officers who in my 24 years of residence on Roosevelt Island have never added anything but annoyance and expense to my life, not safety. Some years ago, I remember a Mother’s Day evening when I had bought a ticket, but had to put my small children to bed before parking the car. I came back downstairs seven minutes after the ticket had expired to find that the car had actually been towed to Astoria, despite the presence of plenty of parking spaces on Main Street. That was without a doubt my very worst Mother’s Day. When will “Public Safety” learn that the reason for issuing parking tickets on Main Street is to ensure that residents can park and load/unload their cars. It is not to provide a game of “trap the residents” for “Pubic Safety Officers” who are bored late at night. When the meter machines are not working and there is plenty of space to park on a cold night, there is no justification for capriciously issuing tickets, even as an exercise to teach new officers how to harass the residents – I mean write tickets, of course, but it is actually harassment, especially since it is done so arbitrarily and unpredictably. This time, at least it was not Mother’s Day, and they did not tow the car. Mary Eliza Kimball
To RIOC President Herb Berman: I recently resumed my former walking regimen with a friend. Our route takes us from the back of Westview, up to and around the Lighthouse, then South on the East Channel promenade, all the way around to the Tram and back to Westview. When I used to do this walk, I noticed and reported then that lights were out from Manhattan Park nearly all the way to the Lighthouse and then on the East Channel walk all the way around to the Special Operations Fire House. Whatever else Public Safety officers are doing in their cars at night, their duties should, at the very least, include keeping you and Vinnie Kopicki apprised of these outages. And yet, not only does RIOC generally seem surprised to hear about them, but the lights have been out for at least the past two years and probably longer. Nothing seems to be done to correct this situation. One of these days, because of the lack of lighting, someone is going to trip into the two- to three-foot-deep hole behind Manhattan Park (I’m told this is indicative of a serious seawall erosion problem), or trip elsewhere, as has already happened when someone took a header (while riding a bike) because he couldn’t see the chain across the posts just before entering the Lighthouse path area. Please get these lights lit for all our protection and well being, and ensure that Public Safety reports back to you in a timely fashion. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter. Sherie Helstien
To RIOC President Herb Berman: When you visited the Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) meeting in September, most members were impressed with the savvy with which you addressed their concerns. Some were a little worried that the superior political skills you exhibited in showing interest in the problems of our community might simply be smoke and mirrors, which cover up the intention of a long-unresponsive bureaucracy to remain inactive in solving those problems. Your follow-up letter to our Council did nothing to allay those fears. We specifically call to your attention the matter of the Motorgate Garage. I presented a detailed account to you of the neglect which has caused the Garage to deteriorate, become a health hazard, and inconvenience and even endanger the lives of Island residents who use it. The report he gave you confirms what is widely known, and our Councilmembers were assured by you that you would “look into it.” Now comes your letter to our Council, stating that you have spoken to Island maintenance and/or Garage officials, and 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? And then, declaring 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.” • Due to this regular flooding, the standing water in these puddles becomes a health hazard, attracting disease-bearing insects. Furthermore, there has for a long time been an uncontrolled infestation of pigeons all throughout the Motorgate Garage. 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) 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, and no cosmetic improvements have been made at the Garage since its construction. 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. • The garage was designed to accommodate as many cars as it safely could; there are spaces designated “Small Cars Only” to maximize the room. Those spaces are frequently filled by large SUVs, which is a pretty good indication that no employees of Edison Parking Management are ever present to enforce such rules. This, in turn, is a pretty good indication that the skeleton crews of employees (who exist solely to collect money in the booth, 24/7) are hardly going to be adequate if a resident’s well-being should be endangered on any of the floors of the garage. • In October, the monthly parking fee for non-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. It smacks of political cronyism, and we at RIRA demand an explanation for the continued condoning of this rampant neglect. I would appreciate a detailed response from
you, concerning each of these annotated, outstanding problems. Russ DiBello
To the Editor: A fall caused by a non-ice-cleaned and streetlight-broken dead-dark RIOC sidewalk. Saturday evening, February 8, after night had fallen, I was jogging around the Island as I usually do once a week. As I came south on the west side of Lighthouse Park, where the Park ends and the grounds surrounding the hospital begin, I could somewhat make out numerous patches of ice all over the promenade. It was difficult because the street lights behind were out and several in front. The only one that was working was the one right after the end of the park, the first one on the grounds around the hospital. As I approached, I looked down to carefully note the ice patches, especially since the main walkway was chained off and I had to detour around where RIOC maintenance had piled up the snow, now turned to ice. As I slowed down and looked down to try and note the ice, the only working streetlight went out. Slow, almost stop. Then bam, knee, wrist, I was down. Up again, a step, carefully now, slip, down again, chin against ice. I was up in a flash and off to finish my run. It didn’t seem like anything until I got home. When I looked in the mirror, I saw my chin was bleeding. When I took off the sweats, I saw a banged knee. At first my wrist didn’t seem too bad, but later it pained greatly, especially if I tried to bend it to any degree. If RIOC had cleaned the sidewalk, I wouldn’t have fallen. Even if I had been able to see where the ice was, I wouldn’t have fallen – I do this every week and am used to dodging and making my way. But the streetlights before and after were out – one actually broken at the base and the whole pole lying on the ground for well over a year – and the only one on went out as I approached, making it pitch black and impossible to see. However, this comes as no surprise to me, nor, I believe is it to any other resident of the Island. I have been running for years, and for years huge numbers of streetlights have always been out. It would seem on the face of it that there must be some very deep and severe problem that makes it so hard for RIOC to solve chronic and severe streetlight outage. But as one looks into the matter, it becomes astounding to learn that at a meeting well over six months ago, it was determined that the only reason the streetlights were not kept in working order was because RIOC’s engineer, Vinnie Kopicki, doesn’t order and keep on hand a supply of spare parts. In this regard, it is interesting to note that Kopicki is paid in excess of $85,000 a year, and he is one of the senior RIOC staff Herb Berman, our patronage-appointed $125,000-a-year chief operating officer, praises so much. Well, it is now over a week since my fall. My knee is better. My chin has healed almost completely. My wrist, however, still pains me and I hope it will be fine soon. If it is not, it will soon be the judicious thing to do to consult a doctor. Then, of course, RIOC will have medical bills to pay too. Lee Edelman
To the Editor: I would like to give housing management some credit for a brave stand on a difficult issue. Some weeks ago, in the middle of the last brutal cold snap, residents received a letter forbidding the use of space heaters and recommending that if we were cold we should wear more clothes: excellent advice in view of global climate change, and the need to conserve energy and cut costs. I found the letter very useful. At the time, I was pushing wads of newspaper into a wide gap between the living-room air-conditioner and its ill-fitting sleeve, and it came in very handy. I might have been even more impressed if management had been sending teams round to see if there were any problems – little things like the arctic blast coming through the air-conditioner. I would have been totally in awe if at some time in the last quarter-century anyone had noticed that our windows’ steel frames were apparently designed to conduct heat out of the apartment (except of course in summer, when they help with the heating); or that once in every generation even well-fitting windows need replacing. Sealing the windows shut and “winterising” with little bits of foam and lots of duct tape is a great help, of course, except that I have to open the window because my ventilator hasn’t worked for years. Still, it’s good to see HMC doing something courageous, especially with a letter telling the people to shut off the heat during the coldest winter in memory. It reminds me of that queen of France who advised her breadless subjects to eat cake. It was well-meant advice but unrealistic, and not at all well received – but keep trying, RIHMC, the peasants aren’t in the streets yet. They’re probably still huddled round the space heater. Alex Marshall
Dear
Editor:
It’s our 20th anniversary at Eviction Intervention Services! EIS has been serving our community since 1984 by preventing evictions and protecting affordable housing for low and moderate-income tenants. I have been working at EIS for 17 of those 20 years, and it has been a great privilege to serve my own community. Hundreds of your friends and neighbors here on Roosevelt Island have been saved from the trauma of eviction by our skilled staff of attorneys and advocates. This is especially important to me because I am also a resident of this island neighborhood and have seen first-hand what intervention can mean. In these hard times, there has been a tremendous increase in the need for our assistance. But without more financial support, we have no choice but to cut back on our services. You can make a difference. Celebrate our 20th anniversary by sending EIS a donation today. One dollar for every year we’ve been here to serve you will automatically enter you into our drawing. With a tax-deductible donation of $20 or more you get the chance to win dinner for two at the Trellis! They have graciously donated this prize as their way of preventing homelessness. (Thank you, Trellis!) But any amount will be appreciated and put to good use. Fill out the form at the bottom of our ad in The WIRE and help us keep Roosevelt Island the wonderful community that it is. Sincerely, Karen
Ingenthron
Executive Director |