Diana L. Armenakis

To RIOC President Herb Berman:

The current schedule is not working too well.  Cold nights at waiting at the Tram is miserable.  Have a suggestion:  
The Bus should run as it has for 27 years – going – stop at Subway then the Tram return first stop at new houses and continue as normal up Main Street...  Going home subway people can pick up the bus on its way to Tram – bus wait, if timed properly, at Tram would only be an extra two minutes.

It has been my observation that tenants from Southdown going to Tram is an easy walk but going home from Tram with packages is terrible they now have to go all the way around the Island to get there.  Also if the landlord of the new buildings should make a real pathway to the back of their buildings so people are not jumping over hedges to get to the subway.

It seems to me that it is all in the timing of the bus schedule --- and not have three buses going at the same time with one being full to overflowing and the others scant to no one.



Dear Mr. Berman:

I have several comments about the Red Bus schedule.  
First, although you have stated that this schedule is not “etched in stone,” you have ignored several different sets of input from the residents.  On the very first evening of the inception of this plan, residents were on each of the buses for 2+ hours and found that what everyone has been complaining about for the past month was true, the first night.  This was corroborated by a traffic engineer, a resident of the Island.  You have chosen to ignore the people who have a vested interest in things running smoothly.  Your “committees” were not real committees. They were not picked ahead of time, with real consistent membership, with ongoing planning and discussion.  The decisions have been inconsistent and not fully thought out.  Membership was certainly not consistent and didn’t include any commuters or traffic consultants.  And David Kramer, from the developers’ side, in the second meeting, laid down “the rules” and you rolled over.  What’s going on here?  Residents have asked politely to be allowed to actively participate in many major decisions being made on community issues and we have been rebuked.  In return we have been patted on the head and told, “There, there, we’ll take care of it and let you know when the decisions have been made.”  I see that is what you have in your column, again, today.  Sigh.
 
Second, the routing is lousy.  When I have been lucky enough to catch a bus, I have seen a maximum of one person with a stroller get off and no one getting on at the Southtown stop. This in perhaps 8 to 10 bus trips in the past week or so.  You must return the bus to the original routing on the West Channel, remove the stop in front of the Southtown buildings, and change them to the two stops suggested by Matthew Katz.  To say there is a safety issue is developer self-serving obfuscation.  Perhaps you do not fully understand what the route actually looks like that Katz described, your not being a Red Bus rider, that would make sense.  I would suggest you get on a bus and try this out (with Katz) before you permanently let this plan go by the wayside.  We understand there was a “traffic study” done by the Southtown developers.  I, for one, would like to see that study to see what the actual findings were.  This study ruled out any common-sense solution as “dangerous”(e.g., Katz’s resolution).  Has it been made public?  When might I receive a copy of it?  I must admit that I suspect that a “study” commisioned by the developer, who openly displays his dislike for the community, would probably rule against anything but what the developer wants, but I’m just a silly skeptic.  I’d like them to prove their case to me and to the residents.  

By the way, you should know that the path behind the Southtown buildings which Southtown and Northtown residents – fed up with the current course – use all the time, was today shoveled!  Other residents also pointed to that nice green path, too, and we had a good laugh over that!  What does this tell you?  There was no mistaking that it was a clean, straight-edged path, uncovering the grass, with snow on either side.  This should be enough for the developers and owners of the buildings to understand that people decide, not developers, where they will walk.  When given a choice, we all will walk the shortest route, especially when in a hurry.  Tell the truth, Herb, would you take a longer route if you could take a shorter one with relative ease?  I don’t think so.

Third, bus scheduling stinks. There is no way of knowing when we are going to get a bus.  I walked all the way from Westview to the subway this morning, and have done so on many other mornings and afternoons, and not one Red Bus came in that time.  Later, when returning on the Tram, I saw from the Tram the Red Bus that had just left the Tram station.  The bus was just pulling in at the subway station.  After we “landed,” I might just have been lucky, but another bus came within five minutes.  However, this is not always the case, and I hear it from residents, and people on the walk, and on the buses complaining about the waits, especially at the Tram at night.  Therefore, the buses must be tied back to the Tram schedule.  Period.  Even the MTA has a schedule and they have checkers out periodically making sure that buses are on time, and if they’re off schedule they hold them so that bunching, another occurrence with your “experiment,” can be deterred.
   
This experiment has failed and was destined for failure from the get-go.  Please don’t attempt to fix what is not broken, and please do repair what has been broken.  Not only was the Southtown deal a bad deal, you are now making the 9,500 residents of this community pay an even greater price because the developers don’t like the fact that we asked them a simple favor: to move their development down a few feet and off our park.  Whether it was your administration or another’s doesn’t really matter to the community.  RIOC is RIOC, and it has been made abundantly clear that your interests never turn out to be our interests.

Boy, RIOC must be getting something good from the developers now, to keep this stupid bus situation as it is.  The developers have taken this community for quite a ride, no pun intended, as their thank-you to our Governor for such a blessed development deal.

A heads-up for you, Herb: Others have made the mistake of treating the residents as mere impediments.  You may find that we could become more than “mere” impediments.  You are the third in a line of failed appointees.  The residents understand this, and having had to put up with two prior miserable administrations, have had enough.  And you are treating us very badly.  You have made some very bad and disrespectful decisions.  Your sensitivity to our criticism gets in your way.  Get over it.  What about those in wheelchairs, or those residents with MS or other physical difficulties, the elderly, or a parent with several children in tow, etc.? How do you compare their sensitivities with yours?  This community was built around respecting those sensitivities, and we hate how RIOC, at every turn, is trying to obliterate the fundamental concern and caring design of Roosevelt Island.  Until you get things right, you will continue to hear from this community, like it or not.  We will tell you what we think until you get it right.  Not being a trained community manager, you have a lot to learn.  We don’t care to and shouldn’t have to wait for you or anyone else to learn “on the job.”  Either you know it or you don’t.  There are no excuses left that the residents of this community are willing to hear.  They’ve heard them all already.  To this badly used and abused community you appear to be just another in the long line of untrained, governor-appointed puppets.  We do not owe you our respect, Herb, you need to earn it.  And so far, by the decisions you have made and seem to need to cling to, the community perceives that this respect is not something we have much hope of seeing.  I hope I am wrong.



Dear Mr. Berman:

I would like to add my voice to the chorus of distress from Roosevelt Island residents about the revised bus schedules instigated in the last two months.  We need regularly scheduled buses and routes that serve the majority of residents best.  It is especially important to have buses meet the Trams; the Tram stop can be a lonely, dark place to wait.  The way the bus operated for more than two decades served us well.  Please restore it to this schedule.  And I believe that it makes sense for all involved if you would work with the managers of Southtown to provide a safe and convenient footpath to the west side of Main Street.  This should not be a difficult task.

On a positive note, I’d like to thank you for helping to get the MetroCard for the Tram.




Hi.  We have lived on Roosevelt Island for 17 years, but the bus service was never so disorganized like now!!  It was a pleasure to come home, taking the Tram on a snowy day or rainy or even a hot, sweaty summer day or just a regular day, and the Red Bus was waiting for you!!  You felt like home, somebody cares about you.  Where are those times??

I couldn’t believe when one cold February day we were in the Tram almost close to docking and the Red Bus just came and immediately took off empty, just before the doors of the Tram were opened!  We had to wait for the next bus almost 10 minutes!!  For awhile, I stoped taking the Tram even though it is more inconvenient, especially with crowded subways and never knowing when they come or go, but it was less walking in the cold.... we want back the same reliable service that we use to have!!  We want to feel at home again and that somebody cares about us, like our Island used to be!



Dear Sirs:

We would very much appreciate if you could listen to the voice of Roosevelt Island residents and restore the old Red Bus schedule.  Nobody embarks on the bus on the southward route at 475 Main Street, but a few passengers disembark at that stop to cut across the path to the subway, thereby saving time.  It would also be ideal for the Tram to dock and find a Red Bus waiting at the stop, since passengers have to wait in the outside cold.  We would also like to know when the bus is arriving at the bus stop, especially in the morning.  The other ludicrous thing is that too many times you see two or three Red Buses following each other having kept us waiting for 15 minutes.  Why don’t they stagger them?
We thank you for your good work, but we hope you will appreciate our concerns because it’s we who use the Red Buses.  Many people may in fact opt to walking especially during summer thereby depriving the bus of the 25 cents.
On behalf of my six other friends,


Dear Mr Berman and Ms Labate:

In the 27 years we have lived here, the one thing we knew we could rely on was the schedule for the Red Buses.  Five minutes before the quarter hour we could leave our apartment, go downstairs to the bus stop, and be assured that, in a minute or two a Red Bus would arrive to take us to the Tram – or – in later years, the subway.  Such is the case no more.  It is now not at all unusual to wait five, ten, even fifteen minutes (in front of our apartment building, or, what’s worse, at the Tram stop when coming home) for a bus to appear.  This is not only an inconvenience, it is physically disturbing for the older citizens of the community, a majority of whom are the people who use the bus during non-rush hour.  Please return the buses to the schedule that worked so well for more than a quarter of a century.  After that I’m sure something not so disruptive can be worked out for the residents of Southtown.

Thank you.



Herb:
At the risk of “piling on,” I want to add my name and my wife’s to the list of those who are very unhappy with the way the bus users, particularly the elderly and disabled have been abused by the failure of the Red Bus to make regular, predictable stops.  The morning commuters are also badly inconvenienced by additional and needless stops.  Many say they have to leave 5 or 10 minutes more to arrive at work since this plan was inaugurated.  
I’m positive that, had you known then what you know now ,you would never have approved this plan.  I urge you to go back to the old, reliable route until you can come with a workable plan that has the support of the community.

Thanks.


Dear Ms. Labate, Mr. Berman and Mr. Katz:

I’ve lived on Roosevelt Island for more than 28 years, and I’ve never witnessed such complete lack of responsiveness to a community’s outpouring ... ever!  Shame on all of you.

I have six recommendations to make:

Immediately:

• Management should provide a decent, direct, paved walk to the subway for our newest Roosevelt Island residents.
• Management should restore the original route to the subway.
• Management should insist that the mini-buses maintain their route every seven minutes in rush hours, and every 15 minutes in non-rush hours until midnight. (People having to walk – or push themselves or small children in strollers – from the subway or from Motorgate after possibly a double shift, a late shift, or extra hours in a very long day should not have to wait half an hour for a mini-bus at the tram or Motorgate after 10 p.m.  Ever.)
• The mini-bus schedule should be tied to the arrival of the tram.
• The mini bus should wait at the northern end of the island at the Motorgate garage.
• The mini-bus should move north on the East Road.  (Taking more time to get home in the evenings is a far better compromise to make than on the outbound trip.  For everyone.)

So?  What are you waiting for?  Anyone who lives here can see the sense of this in a nanosecond.  If you don’t live here, it’s no excuse.  Shame, shame on you if this goes on even one day more!



To RIOC President Herb Berman:

During the coldest winter we have had in awhile, we Roosevelt Island residents have endured the worst bus service since I came to the Island in 1976 (visitor to my parents and a 14-year resident).  This schedule has added 10 to 25 minutes to my morning trip.  I’m fortunate to live were I can see the Red Bus going north and coming south, but once I’m on the street I may still have to wait for 5 or more minutes for the Red Bus to get down Main Street due to the unloading of the school buses.  Add the school bus unloading to the already long wait of a Red Bus is just crazy.  The Red Buses come as a convoy (sometimes all four together) because of the school bus unloading problem going south.

If a Red Bus going north is empty by time it gets to 625 Main, why can’t it just radio the other drivers or central and go around the circle at 2/4 River Road and return south on Main.  I really don’t want to get into the sense of the bus going south to bus stops where there are no passengers getting on or off and making the ride to the train that much longer.  

Who does the planning?  Why wasn’t the bus route work out before construction was finished?  Why not build the walkway to the train from the back of Southtown since that’s the way most people are going anyway?



To RIOC President Herb Berman:
My name is Lucrecia, and I am writing in response to the “three freezing months of RIOC’s Bungled Red Bus Service” flyer that was distributed in my building.  I would like to state my opinion regarding this matter.  I have lived in Roosevelt Island since 1993 and have always believed that the Red Bus was always reliable on its schedule routes and stops.  I was only 14
years old when I got on my first Red Bus, and I loved this funny Red Bus and all its advertisement inside.  I am 29 years old now and have four children.  My life now starts off with this bus and ends with this bus.  I depend on this bus to get me to the train station on time and to bring me home on time.  As you can imagine, waking up and getting four children ready is quite a job, but I was always happy to know that the Red Bus was always on time so regardless of how my day started off, I always made it to the train station on time.  This might seem minimal to someone else, but to me it meant everything.  The reason being that I have Lupus, and sometimes it is hard for me to walk from 580 Main Street to the train station.
There are days that are worse than others, and I have to leave earlier from my house just to inch my way to the train station and then to work.  So now I get to the bottom of why I am writing this email.  I am very upset with the change of route that the Red Bus was given.
Since the change began I have missed the bus many times and had to walk to the train station with a lot of effort.  At times there are several buses leaving together at the same time and I know for sure that I have to walk.  Once again, this may seem unimportant to others but for someone like me who lives with pain, it is everything.  Several times I have even been lucky enough to catch the bus and have tried stopping at the Southtown stop and cross over towards the train station.  That was very painful since you have to hop over a little ledge and sort of run down so that you do not fall.  The point is, I miss the old route.  I woke up at 6 a.m., got everyone in my home ready for school, work, the babysitter, and at the end all I want to do is get to work on time to finally relax and drink a cup of tea, alone in my office.  I have lost that pleasure several times and can’t even figure out why.  I hope a better resolution is made, and I hope someone is listening since I know that I am not the only one.  Thank you for your time and I hope for new changes, and if not, at least better.  Once again, thank you.



To RIOC President Herb Berman:

I just want my name on the record as a Roosevelt Island resident who is protesting the new Red Bus route.  Only people who don’t live here and care less for the residents of this Island could have done this.  The Red Bus service was fine the way it was: it was dependable, it made sense, it was good for everyone.  Why is it necessary now to change that?  For the new residents?  They walk to the train station.

In addition, this is what the reality is with respect to the new bus route: I go to work in the evening.  I generally get the 6:00 p.m. bus leaving Gristede’s/Motorgate.  What I am seeing is this: three (3) Red Buses back-to-back kissing each other in the ass going in the same
direction.  The first bus is crowded, the second bus has enough passengers to count on one hand, and the last bus has no one in it!

So this leaves the tram and subway residents standing out in the cold!  Why do they have to wait 10 to 15 minutes for the bus to come back?

All I know is, I will not stop protesting until you fix this mess.  The residents of this Island are not going to let up so get used to it.

Furthermore, the Red Bus drivers don’t even have the opportunity to stretch their legs for four minutes or go to the bathroom.  Our drivers are a big part of the Roosevelt Island family.  One driver recently obviously saw the Tram coming and waited the two minutes for it to dock so
that we could get the bus, instead of driving off and the residents having to wait for the next bus.  I could have kissed him!

Why don’t you allow the residents to work with you for the best solution to this problem?  If there is such a need to service the new buildings, there should be a bus stop just before the turn-off to those buildings, before the bus reaches the subway, at the Blackwell House.  They
wouldn’t have to walk any further than the residents of Manhattan Park or any other building to get the bus.



Mr. Berman:

I would think by the outpour of letters and e-waves for the last three months you’d get the message.  The new mini-bus schedule doesn’t work for the majority of the Island residents and people that come to work on the Island as well, who complain every morning but their voice go unheard.  Also this stopping in front of a bus stop no one gets on or off.  Holds the traveler back.  Come on.  Pretty please with sugar on top.  Please get the clue.  We need the bus schedule to coinside with the Tram schedule.  This makes sense, not to mention the fact that it’s been working for more than two decades.  “Put them back the way they was!”(Lil Abner)  They were dependable.  I want to be able to read (in The WIRE) about something other then this whole fiasco you have created.

In the future, please don’t make statements that no on showed up to vote ... Matthew Katz represents the people of Roosevelt Island.  That’s why he goes, to represents us all.  He was elected for the job.  (@ your afternoon meetings when we all work)



Dear Mr. Berman:

I write to register my strong dissatisfaction with the RIOC bus service since the RIOC decided to change its itinerary to include a stop at Southtown.  I am sure you must have already heard from many other Roosevelt Island residents about the same matter.  Frankly, I have even started thinking of moving out of the Island, which I love, because of the unpredictability of the bus service.

Please understand me ... in principle, I would have nothing against providing bus services to residents in Southtown. The problem, however, is that the new itinerary is not serving that purpose and, on top of that, has completely messed up any predictability relating to the bus schedule for the thousands of other residents in the Island.

To this date, I have never seen a single person either get on or off the bus at the Southtown stop .... so, who is supposed to be benefiting from the service?  Also, having to wait for the bus at the Tram stop, or at my usual stop on the southbound route, without knowing when exactly the bus will come, has thrown any personal attempts of keeping a schedule into disarray.  I find myself leaving earlier and earlier every morning in an attempt to beat the bus delays and the overcrowded buses.  Having to stand out in the cold for lengthy waits has been particularly unpleasant during the harsh winter that we had.

May I please request that the RIOC reconsider the itinerary change and revert to the previous itinerary.  It seems to me that Southtown residents might be better served by the creation of a shortcut path from their buildings to the sidewalk leading to the subway station, as that
would render them to the subway in less than five minutes.

Thank you for your attention.



Dear Mr. Berman:

Last Friday evening after a full day of work, I went to see a small theatre group perform.  It ended late, and we were closer to the Tram than the subway so we took the Tram home.  It was another really cold evening and no bus to be found, and we had no idea when a bus would come.  We wanted to get home after a long day, so we were forced to walk.  I understand that to someone who doesn’t live on Roosevelt Island we may sound like spoiled brats.  I don’t see it that way.  When you get off the Tram, it is dark and desolate and I want to be safe.  I’m able to walk the distance, there are many who can’t.

The residents of Roosevelt Island deserve at the least basic services and conveniences.

This has been one of the coldest winters in years, and the residents have been forced to either wait for long periods of time to get on a bus or walk in the cold.  The bus situation can’t be as complicated as it is being made out to be.  Why has this dragged on all winter?  Why aren’t the services for the Island a priority?  This is ridiculous.  We are not asking for the world, we want to live in a safe, clean environment with basic services.

We are made to feel like whining children when we just want to be treated with respect and have basic services.

Please work this out in a way that works for the residents as quickly as possible.



I understand many people are unhappy about the new bus schedule.  Personally I was not even happy before recent changes, when I could often see three buses approaching together Gristede’s stop at the same time in the morning, so creating gaps of 20 minutes.

I do not think we should blame drivers for that.  Sometimes customers take their time talking, relaxing, chatting, delaying the bus departure.  Some other times drivers chat with customers, policemen, friends and driving slower.  Moreover, if you have a wheelchair, of course, you need more time.  Common sense and patience would help everybody.

However, I believe that a one-way route in the southern part for both white MTA and Red Buses would improve the traffic and the schedule.  Please see the attached drawing.

Concerning the timings during the day, I suggest more transparency.  If you make us aware of drivers and buses availability, I believe some people can assist you in suggesting a roster suitable to both customers and RIOC requirements.

Should you have some money available, improvements in bus-stop covers and chairs for elderly people would be most welcomed.



Dear Mr. Berman:

Curiosity prompts me to ask what in the world were you thinking of when you decided to run (or rather I should say try to run) a bus service without a schedule?  The terminology itself, “bus service,” seems to indicate the need for the word “schedule” to be attached, in order to offer any kind of usable service.  Do you personally know of any other commuter bus that operates without a fixed schedule?  I believe we Roosevelt Islanders would be most interested to hear of same ... as the old adage goes, misery loves company!

We’ve done what you’ve asked of us, we’ve given it a chance.  Now let’s all do the right thing and admit the non-schedule idea is a total disaster!

Return our Red Bus to its prior schedule so we riders can get some sleep at night.  We need to know what time we have to leave our homes the following day so as to get to our destinations in a timely manner.  We need to know that when we arrive back home on the island, we can count on the welcome sight of our Red Bus waiting at the Tram or arriving shortly thereafter at the subway, to ease whatever burdens we are carrying ... school backpacks, shopping bags, or just plain tired feet, aching backs, and sometimes, heavy hearts.  Particularly late at night after an evening out, what a safe and secure feeling it is, knowing our Red Bus is waiting at the other end so we don’t have to stand around alone in a dark and deserted area.

Mr. Berman, I’m sure there have been occasions in which you have traveled by bus, train, or plane.  Have you ever been told that none of them ran on a schedule?  Wouldn’t you find that to be extraordinarily inept?  Well, so do we.

Thank you for your consideration of my words, and I hope to find the Red Bus back on schedule soon.



Efforts to improve a system must be analyzed with the single question: “Is what is being done actually improving the system for its ability to function and serve at its ultimate best?”

The only method to get the correct answer is to poll the users of the system.  I believe the users, the greatest majority of users, has spoken.  The new bus schedule looked excitingly great and beautiful on paper.  But it was viewed on paper and not on the influence and ability to serve the most common good off the paper.

Do not become the Roosevelt Island Oversight Corporation.




Could we go back to the original bus service?  Bus waiting when Tram arrives, and straight to subway, not first to Tram and then subway!  The residents of the Island are indeed fed up.

To RIOC President Herb Berman:

I am writing about the rerouting of the Island Red Bus service.  It’s been over several months since your latest experiment.  Obviously, it’s made a lot of residents angry and confused.  For one, it has caused us delays which translates to an additional 10 to 15 minutes in our daily commute.  Secondly, none of the Red Buses follow a regular schedule, and experience the problem of “bunching” almost all of the time, particularly during rush hours.  For one who lives in the Island, the reason seems quite obvious.  Whereas the old route tied the bus schedule to that of the Tram, the new route does not.

The new stop at the apartment buildings beside the subway station almost always are never used.  In fact, commuters get off at that stop in order to cut across and take a short cut to the subway station.

The buses negotiating the u-turn at the Tram station reeks of the highest level of incompetence. Can you imagine having to negotiate the u-turn twice for every trip to the Tram.  It’s a waste of time, manpower, and fuel.

I would like to believe that people in your level, when making management decisions, would at least consult the ordinary citizens of the Island for their valuable insights and feedback.  And when mistakes are in fact made, management ought to be gracious enough to admit it and rectify it at the soonest possible time.