The RIOC Column
by Herbert E. Berman
President, Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation
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Well, winter has been upon us again. I was hoping - as I am sure everyone else has - that spring would arrive sooner than later. Alas, it was not to be, as we have had three significant snowfalls in the past ten days.

All of which brings me to the Herculean efforts of the RIOC grounds crew who worked overnight to clear the street and sidewalks from the eight inches we received Monday. They deserve a big round of applause and they have my thanks for their hard effort.

Now that March has finally arrived, let's hope for a change in the weather. The calendar says that warm weather can't be far away.

As many of you know from experience, the Island's red buses are on their last legs, which is good, because if their length of use is factored in they should have been taken out of service years ago. Thanks to our workers in the bus garage and their magic, the buses are still running. But the good news is that new buses are on order and should be here sometime next year. You can't just go down to the bus lot and make a pick, as you would a car; they have to be ordered first and then are built. The Orion buses are being manufactured upstate and will use hybrid technology, to operate on a mix of diesel fuel and electricity, providing better fuel economy and cleaner exhaust. These are much the same as the buses the MTA has on order as well, although not in the same voluminous quantity, but we did get in on the price break from the MTA order.

Over the years, street lighting has been a bone of contention on the Island, with competing standards, who is responsible for which lights, and on and on. Now RIOC is looking at a plan to upgrade the Island's lights to comply with New York City technical requirements. The upshot of this is that the City will maintain the lights, and this is no small thing considering the maintenance and manpower costs. The new fixtures we are testing now are attractive stanchions taken from a 1938 design that graced the Island in years long past. These will be phased in.

Finally, people have been asking why they haven't seen much of Public Safety Director James Fry in recent weeks. Unfortunately, Mr. Fry has been quite ill, but is now on the mend. We hope to see him back strolling Main Street when the warm weather returns. Please keep him in your thoughts as we all wish him a speedy recovery.