Today marks the vernal equinox and the start of spring.  Thank God.  Did you think this winter would ever end?  Yes I know, “The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another,” but hope springs eternal (pun intended), and I’m grateful for small blessings.

“Be there or be square” was the watchword these past two weeks.  And if you didn’t avail yourself of the opportunity to attend the RIRA 50s Sock Hop on March 6 you were square indeed!  Sherie and I came as antiquated juvenile delinquents, and we won second and first places respectively in the costume contest.  (Rose McCarthy came in first among the female contestants.)  Sherie still sports her blood-curdling tattoos, but I’ve consigned my switchblade to the miscellaneous drawer until further notice.  The hula-hoop competition was hotly contested, and George Reither and I are still debating which of us makes the better egg cream.  DJ Mike spun all the hot wax from those halcyon days, and the dancing alone heated the Manhattan Park Theater.  It was a terrific evening (thanks as always to Dolores Green, Vicki Feinmel, and Margie Smith and their hard-working crew), and RIRA raised sufficient funds to produce many important events in the months ahead.

Last week’s Evening of Irish Music and Dance, again presented by Robin Russell and River Music, was a great pleasure that made Irishmen of us all, at least for an evening.  Robin, whose Main Street music school Island Arts Music Center advertises in this newspaper, has offered these wonderful performances in concert with St. Patrick’s Day for seven years now, and I can’t understand why more Roosevelt Islanders don’t attend.  A prize-winning quartet of musicians played jigs, reels, and hornpipes, while the beautifully costumed girls of the Tir na Gael School of Irish Dancing negotiated the slippery floors of the Chapel in both hard shoe and soft shoe numbers.  Sheer joy, and you should put this on next year’s calendar right away!

I’ve started to meet our newest Southtown neighbors at 465 and 475 Main Street, and I’ll bet that you have also.  Many Island activists have made overtures to the hospital housing authorities that offer the Southtown apartments to their employees to inform them of the variety of Island services, organizations, and artistic outlets available here, but with little response.  I think we old-timers will need to educate these new Roosevelt Islanders and to inculcate in them an appreciation of our unique life style on a one-to-one basis.  The current difficulty with the bus route is a case in point:

The current Red Bus route and schedule is a thorn in the side of every commuter.  We’ve seen that the bus stop at 465/475 Main Street is ignored by Southtowners and that they have voted with their feet to use a westerly overland route to the subway.  The bus route that went into effect on February 9 was designed as a response to the need for this bus stop, but as we’ve seen all winter, it is virtually unused.  Many of us old hands have expressed our dissatisfaction to RIOC with the present route and schedule, but Southtowners must respond as well.  I believe that the elimination of this bus stop with the addition of stops on the West Service Road would allow RIOC to restore both the old route up and down the west channel as well as a timetable in synch with the Tram schedule.  And this would be accomplished without any inconvenience to Southtowners!

It is now over four months since the Manhattan-side Tram elevator was in service.  I just searched The Main Street WIRE archives (www.nyc10044.com) to refresh my memory and discovered that this elevator broke down in October 2002 and wasn’t repaired until well into the winter of 2003.  There is no reason for repairs to take this long.  If it is feasible to keep an inventory of parts in stock, do so.  If not, find a company that can fabricate parts and effect repairs in a reasonable period of time.  Four months is not a reasonable period of time.  We no longer believe the RIOC advisories of imminent restoration of service.  One day the elevator will be repaired and will again serve the needs of Islanders who can’t negotiate the steep staircase on Second Avenue.  But what about the next time?  Mechanical systems break down and contingency plans must be in place ahead of time to deal with those breakdowns.  It’s just a one-story elevator, but it’s an essential adjunct to the Tram for our unique population.

With the advent of MetroCard service on the Tram we have an opportunity to increase ridership and decrease the budget deficit that comes with Tram operation.  But the current snafu with the Red Buses and the elevator are giving people reason to stay with the overcrowded F train rather than availing themselves of a new and better way of commuting to Manhattan.  RIOC keeps shooting themselves in the foot by failing to repair broken systems and broken machinery in a timely fashion.

And finally: You will read in this issue of The WIRE about two years of work that Island groups, including RIRA, PS/IS 217, the RIVAA artists’ collective, Housing Management, the Senior and Disabled Associations, and others have done in conjunction with the Living Library project.  Bonnie Sherk of Life Frames, Inc. has brought her experience and her record of accomplishment in San Francisco to our Island with the intention of using our open space and parkland to create an urban oasis as well as a destination that will have visitors from around the world beating a path to our door.  This is a work in progress that I hope can be incorporated into the master plan that the RIOC Board of Directors has commissioned the Trust for Public Land to develop.  If RIOC and TPL statements are to be believed regarding their intent to include the community in this process, then this work can’t be ignored and will result in something wonderful on our doorstep.