Over the last two weeks or so, the Red Bus service has been terrible. The buses have been running as much as 20 minutes apart during both morning and evening rush hours.

On a recent morning, I was at the bus stop at the Deli at 7:30 a.m. Another rider was waiting when I got there. The bus didn’t arrive till 7:50. When it did, only three people were able to board. When we questioned the bus driver, he said two buses were in the garage and couldn’t move, so evidently there was only one bus running.

I thought Roosevelt Island had new buses that they were getting ready to place into service prior to Valentine’s Day.

Last Saturday night we got off the Tram at 11pm and there wasn’t any Red Bus at the Tram. Finally the MTA bus came along and stopped.

It appears that, with subway-bound and Tram-bound buses now starting their runs at the Octagon, there will be no rush-hour space, let alone seats, for anyone south of Manhattan Park.

RIOC needs to address these issues. Let’s not have a repeat performance of the fiasco two winters ago, when they completely screwed up the bus system during the coldest weather, without asking drivers or residents for comments beforehand.

Editor’s note: The WIRE took round trips on two Red Buses earlier this week. The timing of each stop, with delays, are available with this issue of The WIRE on Website NYC10044.

Let me comment on three misleading points made in RIOC President Herbert Berman’s last column (January 28) which purports to explain the Island’s financial structure that he claims is "often misrepresented or misunderstood by some Island activists."

1. First, Mr. Berman incorrectly asserts that RIOC "owns the land beneath the buildings." The City of New York owns the land, not RIOC. Under a "Master Lease," the City leased it in 1969 for 99 years to UDC, a predecessor of RIOC. In 2068, some 62 years from now, all that has been created here by UDC/RIOC, as well as all of the residential buildings, must be turned over to the City.

2. Secondly, Mr. Berman misleadingly asserts that "since owners leaving Mitchell-Lama require additional capital to finance a purchase or upgrade the building – they want to extend ground leases to meet financial institutions’ lending requirements." While some buildings may seek mortgages to pay for capital improvements, they seek to leave the Mitchell-Lama system mainly to unlock the market value of their apartments. The present ground leases of three buildings (Westview, Island House and Rivercross) expire in 22 years; trying to sell apartments with such a short life creates little market value. Having another 40-year extension of their ground leases, however, will create substantial market value. As for financing capital improvements, the buildings do not have to leave the Mitchell-Lama system to obtain outside financing if they are financially sound; if not, they will still not be able to obtain such funds. Leaving the system does require each building to pay off its State mortgages. To do that, buildings will seek new private mortgages that expire before the ground leases. The longer the ground lease, the easier it is to obtain a new private mortgage.

3. Finally, Mr. Berman asserts that RIOC "takes very seriously our commitment to Island residents to maintain the mixed community we have been for the last 37 years." It is not RIOC’s commitment to Island residents that is at issue but rather its Master Lease obligation with the City which has a "General Development Plan" that RIOC must adhere to. The GDP mandates a mixed-income Island community and permits only a limited percentage of apartments to be conventionally financed "market rate", currently 25% in Northtown and, due to a recent amendment, now 60% in Southtown. RIOC’s extending the ground leases for Westview, Island House and Rivercross until 2068 will allow those buildings over time to become fully market rate, pushing the 25% up probably to more than 80%, thus essentially eliminating the mixed income community. To allow that to happen, RIOC must seek an amendment to the GDP.

Robert Chira
The writer, a longtime resident, practices law in Manhattan.

The Roosevelt Island Chamber of Commerce would like to thank our community, management, and organizations for their generous contributions for the holiday lights.

Any balance is paid by the Chamber.

Julia Palermo

The Board of the Island House Tenants Association wishes to express our appreciation to all the wonderful volunteers who were so generous with their time during the recent IHTA Board election.

Because of your help and support, we were able to hold open and fair elections – critical to reaching our common goal of affordable housing for all. Thank you. We hope to be able to reciprocate in the future.

Volunteers included:

Sandy Newell, Coler-Goldwater
Joyce Mincheff, Eastwood
Mickey Bauer, Rivercross
Mary Camper-Titsingh, Rivercross
Ethel Romm, Rivercross
Ron Schuppert, Rivercross
Margie Smith, Rivercross
Erin Feely-Nahem, Westview
Sherie Helstein, Westview
Matthew Katz, Westview
Damon La Scot, Westview

Dorothy Davis, Chair, IHTA