To RIOC President Herb Berman:

I know I’m just one of the many Island residents who contacted you in recent weeks, asking for a re-thinking of the RIOC Red Bus route.  But I’m doing it anyway:

It’s absurd – and hilarious – to watch a rush-hour bus, packed with people, stopping by Southtown, where no one ever gets on or off; stopping again by the Tram, where a few, indeed, get off; and, finally, stopping at the subway station, where most of the people on the bus really needed to go in the first place.

The buses – apart from the fact that they don’t keep a schedule anymore, so one doesn’t know when to expect them – got into the habit of traveling “in packs.”  On a busy morning, at 8:50 a.m., there were three buses by the subway station.  On a busy evening, the three were waiting to make the turn by the Tram, lining up to enter the “circle.”

Some may find these scenes funny.  Some may find them sad.  Most will find them irritating.

Please give us back the reliable bus route we’ve always had.  Let’s be bold and finally admit that most of us take the subway to and from work, and that the Southtown residents can get faster to the Tram or train station on foot.

It’s a short walk, even in winter.  You may want to try it some day.

Thank you for your consideration to this matter.

Mirella Menglide

 
To the Editor:

Much has been said about the cockamamie bus route and “schedule” (i.e., absence thereof), and there’s so much more to say you wouldn’t know where to start.  Let me just add this.

The people at Southtown obviously needed a decent, safe pathway to the subway, and what they got was a useless bus stop.

Well, if the current “experiment” is going to last on and on, I’d like those people to get their pathway, too.

And I could use it, because it turns out the quickest way to the subway is getting off the bus at Southtown and walking the rest of the way.  Doing that, I always reach the subway station way ahead of the bus – and I’m not even talking about times when the Tram may be “docking.”

Absurd, isn’t it?

Claude Lestelle

 
To the Editor:

I am so happy that we can at last use the Metrocard on the Tram!  I had always maintained that this would increase ridership tremendously and, judging by the crowds in the morning Tram rides this week compared to the previous weeks, it seems that I, along with so many Island residents, was right that this is what makes the Tram our first choice again to go to the City.  Most people I know who use public transportation daily have been buying monthly unlimited Metrocards, so the Tram was no longer a reasonable alternative (why pay an additional $2 per ride when you hold a monthly pass good on all City buses and subway trains?).  So for me, it will be back to the daily Tram ride over the water again!

To RIOC President Herb Berman:

I would like to add my voice to the many you have already heard (or did you hear them?) about the Red Bus.  We need the bus to be on a schedule.  Even city buses have schedules posted.  The change in the bus route and non-schedule has caused more havoc and unnecessary anxiety on this Island than any other issue I remember.  I am a longtime resident and sincerely hope that this can be solved to the satisfaction of the residents, not special interest groups.

Barbara Leonardo, MSC

 
To RIOC President Herb Berman:

Some observations about the current Red Bus schedule:

Not once have I seen anybody from Southtown board, either going in the direction of the Tram or coming from anywhere else on Roosevelt Island.  So why does it stop in front of the new Southtown buildings, especially when those residents are walking to the Tram and subway?  The Red Bus shouldn’t even be traveling down the new Main Street extension – it should be re-routed back to pass the subway going both ways; then subway passengers and Tram passengers can hop on more frequently.

People are extremely irritated that the Red Bus doesn’t meet them at the Tram anymore.  There always was a bus there to meet arriving Tram riders for as long as we’ve lived here.  Now, when you get off the Tram, you’re staring at a Keyspan power plant and a deserted construction site and a huge overhead bridge standing on one of the most desolate and cold places on the Island, with the longest walk home – instead of jumping onto a warm bus.  Nobody feels safe standing out there waiting at any hour, but especially for women and when it’s dark, the shelter is inadequate.  You can’t see approaching buses.  Nobody knows when a bus will arrive, so this is especially brutal for older people, handicapped people, parents with little kids, people with bags or luggage, and visitors without a clue where they are.  Add some snow like today (Tuesday, March 16) and it’s even worse.

It’s incredibly frustrating when you’re waiting for a bus, get tired of waiting, then start walking home and see two or three buses bunched up as you’re walking into your building.  If they’re not equipped with GPS positioning equipment so they can space themselves out properly, then how about a common sense idea as a solution: If they’re bunched up like today (where they were probably 300 feet apart and nobody was using the second bus so it was running around the Island for nothing) and the two bus drivers can obviously see each other, why doesn’t the second bus just pull over for a few minutes at the next safe stop where they aren’t blocking traffic (in front of Gristede’s would be perfect; that’s where shoppers and folks from Manhattan Park were used to catching a bus), and just let that first bus get forward far enough so they pass each other going in opposite directions, or time it out so they get roughly half way around the Island.

Just because an addition was built onto Main Street that runs past the new buildings at Southtown doesn’t mean sending buses that route makes any sense for commuters.

If you don’t ride it, then please stop playing around with it.

Denise Larocque

To RIOC President Herb Berman:

The Tram is accepting the MetroCard!  Well done!  Now if you will just return the buses to a schedule to allow us to plan the time of the Tram for which we will use it, life will be lovely.

Mary Cavanaugh

To the Editor:

Kudos to City Council Speaker Gifford Miller for helping to bring the MetroCard to the Roosevelt Island Tram.  Now if they can paint those “subwayesque” prison bar gratings yellow, they will have captured the mood of the Tram.  I love the MetroCard combined with the Tram, and have been enjoying new ways to transfer from the Tram, going south one day in Manhattan, and then west the next.  I have noticed a lot more people taking the Tram now that it is on an equal footing with the subway.

Now more than ever, we need a Roosevelt Island bus working in tandem with the Tram, so we need to get back to a predictable Red Bus route.  We are getting more people stuck at the Tram, which is a longer walk than if you’re stuck at the subway.  Even at the subway I am not seeing the bus coming any sooner than it did before.  (Some have hinted that maybe some bus drivers are taking a break, out by the Community Gardens, just to catch their breath, instead of driving continually.)  Has anyone asked them how they feel about the new schedule?

If the anointed and appointed Colonial High Commissioners under his Lordship the Governor would be so kind to give the people what they want, we would be happy to help them save face.  Surely they must have noticed a drop in the number of quarters they have been collecting from us.  We could start by meeting half way and go to a half-hour predictable schedule for a while before we eventually go back 100 percent back to the old way of commuting.  With input from the people, I think we can come up with some good ideas for the route.

The kids on the Island have the right idea.  I have seen some of them getting off at that new stop and walking across the lawn to get to the subway before the bus can make the trip back.  What if we turn the bus route around, go counter clockwise (no more spinning at the Tram!), build a walking path from the subway to that new Main Street (make it the pick-up, not the drop-off point), and of course put the bus back on a schedule?  The key is a short walk path across the narrow width of our Island near the subway.

I have been on Roosevelt Island long before we had the subway, and I remember when the subway first came to the Island.  It was like being in a scene from H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine.  The people on the Island divided into two camps, the Eloi, who stayed above ground, and took the Tram with its wonderful views, and the Morlocks, who descended underground with its dark and dismal passageways.  Who knows how things will evolve over time, but I don’t think anyone will be resorting to cannibalism anytime soon.  The only thing that could cause such a revolting evolution would be if we keep to the new bus schedule.

Neal Weissman

To RIOC President Herb Berman:

I am writing to let you know how upset I am with the Red Bus schedule.  I leave for work earlier and still am late 3-4 times a week.  There is no schedule.  You either hit it or you don’t.  Monday, March 8, I waited 20 minutes during rush hour.  A full bus went by, and another did not follow until ten minutes later.

Three street lights are out at the Tram bus stop.  When I come home late at night, it is deserted and dark as you wait up to 15 minutes for the bus.  This is dangerous.

I feel that you are trying to accommodate a few hundred people from Southtown and forgetting a few thousand people on the rest of the Island.  Give us back our bus schedule that meets the Tram to make our lives easier – and replace the lights.

Elizabeth Berg

To the Editor:

Do the people of Roosevelt Island feel hopeless, unable to be masters of their own lives?  Do they feel impotent – unable to stand up for themselves?  Will they just lay down and allow some nincompoops to push them around?  Will they not stand up and be counted?

What, you ask, is she referring to?  The new non-scheduled bus schedule that has been visited upon us.  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 blatantly a bad idea.  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 be lulled into passivity.

There is something we can do about it.  When the people of this Island speak in one voice, they make a difference.  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 voice mail.  What a surprise.  (I’m sure there is a private number for the people who count.)  Fax them at 212-832-4582, or e-mail HBerman@rioc.com, with copies to the Chair of the RIOC Board at MLabate@dhcr.state.ny.us and The WIRE at editor@MainStreetWIRE.com.

Don’t allow these boobs to push us around.  Let’s mobilize.  If the responses are minimal and no one calls/e-mails/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.

 

Editor’s note: The WIRE is interested in hearing from other parents with the problem described in the following letter, or from any who have found a solution.

To the Public Schools Chancellor:

I live on Roosevelt Island with my nine-year-old son, who attends PS 77 (the Lower Lab School) on East 95th Street.  Every morning and every afternoon my son takes the Roosevelt Island Tramway and a yellow public-school bus to get to and from school.

Prior to March 1, my son had a Tram pass, which meant he was not charged a fare for riding the Tram.  However, as of March 1, the Tram became part of the Metrocard system.  This means my son must get a MetroCard in order to ride the Tram.

My son’s school referred me to the Department of Student Transportation.  When I contacted Mr. Heslin, manager of this department, he informed me that, due to the fact that my son takes a school bus, he is not qualified to receive a student MetroCard.  He suggested I pay the regular fare or send my nine-year-old son on the subway or MTA bus alone.  I asked if a school bus could be routed to Roosevelt Island, and I was told it could not.

Even though my son attends a public school in the same borough that he lives in and attends a school in the same District, he is now required to pay $4 to attend school each day.  That is $720 per school year.  This is outrageous!

So, I come to you to help solve this dilemma.  Can you please take this extenuating circumstance and issue student MetroCards to children who ride both the Tram and school buses?

I look forward to your reply.

Leslie Rapchik

 
To the Editor:

I have now lived here for 15 months, and I really appreciate this rock in the middle of the East River where I live.  However, I have observed a number of problems that are in need of solutions.

First, the street lighting on this Island is terrible.  There are large patches of sidewalk where there is no light at all, especially near the Tram, the area near the Post Office, and the small park around Manhattan Park.

Second, the brick roadway near Manhattan Park and Gristede’s is full of divots and crevasses that fill up with water when it rains.  There appears to be little concern about this.

Third, the sign placement on this Island is poor.  When one arrives on the Island off the bridge, where are the signs directing people to the two hospitals, schools, Tram, subway, parks, etc.?  Where are the signs?  There is no sign for River Road!  There should be numerous signs all over the Island directing visitors and residents to the various points of interest.  Now, there is a yellow sign under the turnaround when one arrives on the Island, but it is terribly positioned.  There should be a bright sign placed on the street and numerous signs all over.

It’s apparent that the Island went through a long period of benign neglect that it is just barely recovering from.  The link of the MetroCard to the Tram was an excellent move and long overdue, but there is plenty more to be done.

One more thing...  I realize that Chase once had a branch here and was replaced by New York National, but is there any way to entice HSBC to take over that branch?  Since we are a very diverse and international community, it might be worthwhile to upgrade the level of banking services as well.

S. Walden

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 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

To RIOC President Herb Berman:

I’m once again compelled to bring the issue of the disgusting and ever-growing pigeon population to your office.  Actually, I’m rather surprised that, since you’ve been on our Island and your office is opposite the Deli, you haven’t noticed.  Maybe you have, and simply like to see them.

It appears that the Deli garbage is not the only attraction for the pigeons.  They are being fed by residents and store owners alike.

Have you taken the Tram lately?  It’s a disgusting pigeon mess!  That’s a great way to greet visitors.

Take a stroll down Main Street and you’ll have to duck/weave in and around the pigeons.  There are more pigeons than there are residents on Main Street.

Gristede’s is covered with pigeon poop.

There is an anti-pigeon gel that can be used as a deterrent.  You should also consider fines for people feeding pigeons (and fines for spitting and littering while you’re at it).

You should also consider hanging up Do Not Feed the Pigeons signs all over the Island and talk to the store owners about the garbage.  There is a dreadful stench, especially in the heat of the summer.  On three-day weekends, when the trash is not picked up, the Island reeks of garbage (another welcome-to-our-Island sign for visitors).

This issue has been a pet peeve of mine for years and literally nothing has been done by any of your predecessors.  The pigeon population gets worse every year.  Not only do we have pigeons, we have gulls, squirrels, rats, and vermin hanging out on the Island (look outside your door).

Warm weather is right around the corner.  I implore you to take a very active and aggressive approach in an effort to discourage the pigeons from calling our Island home and to clean up the pigeon mess.  At the very least, let the residents see that RIOC is making an effort to do so.  Talk to all the management companies about the anti-pigeon gel, clean up Gristede’s, and the Tram station.  Action is way overdue.

Our management company’s maintenance workers spend countless hours scraping up pigeon poop from our breezeways and sidewalks.  This is a waste of their valuable time, which instead should be spent in our buildings.  Finally, how healthy could this possibly be be for any of us?!

J. Brooks