To the Editor:

Rhonda Jennings

To the Editor:

This incident makes me wonder whether eliminating the console operator position was a great idea.

However, I did learn many things. Six months after the last time the Tram was stuck and almost five years after 9/11, both the City and the State have worked hard to formulate plans to handle any emergency quickly. I know that no matter what happens in the City, Mayor Bloomberg and his portable podium will get on TV. Herb Berman showed why Governor Pataki chose him to lead RIOC. Bermie, you’re doin’ a heck of a job.

R. Meltzer

With all the serious problems in the Middle East, I was amazed to wake up in Jerusalem to the news on Israeli radio of over 60 tram passengers trapped for hours on end when all the generators failed. This was confirmed later by CNN International. So RIOC’s mismanagement of our affairs is now an international disgrace!

We have been repeatedly assured by RIOC authorities, particularly after the last outage when only one person in the whole organization knew how to handle power problems, that passengers could never face such problems again, thanks to backup generators and manual cranking procedures.

More lies, more negligence, more incompetance. The welfare of residents continually takes a back seat to these Junior Achievers and their lovely plans to pave over the whole Island as a last-minute payoff to Pataki’s cronies.

Let this be the last straw. Let’s all get together and stop these bozos until an administration that cares gets control of Albany and Roosevelt Island.

Steve Marcus,
President Roosevelt Island Residents Association

Has anyone heard any further information regarding the reported shooting that occurred on Thursday, April 13, at sometime after 10 p.m. in the Southtown section of Roosevelt Island, along the road that leads to the train station (behind 455, 465, and 475 Main Street)? I spoke with Public Safety on the morning of April 14th. One of the officers with whom I spoke on the telephone told me that someone was, in fact, shot and that they were taken to the hospital and that no perpetrators were apprehended.

This stretch of roadway where the shooting occurred has notoriously had lighting problems after dark. Currently, many of the streetlights that serve this area are not working properly.

Last year, after a young female medical trainee was assaulted after dark in the same Southtown section, increased lighting and visible police presence were promised, but only temporarily delivered.

I realize that the Tram issue is on everyone’s minds at present, however, with the increased subway traffic expected, isn’t it time that we all take a stand for our safety after dark by having the lighting and police patrols (police with guns, as the perpertrators had guns) that we deserve? After all, if Public Safety can’t handle the type of crime that we are experiencing, perhaps it’s time to put full-time NYPD in place, especially one that sits outside the train station in the booth that was designed for that purpose.

To the Editor:

I was one of the persons inside the Tram heading towards Roosevelt Island last Tuesday.

The details about the long ten hours inside the cabin have already been extensively explained by my fellow riders in testimonies given to the press.

We were 48 people – ordinary people trying our best to remain calm by using our surprisingly strong patience. We human beings, New Yorkers especially, have the mental preparation to deal with unexpected events. The situation among us was always of companionship and mutual care.

What made us a little nervous was not to be able to know in detail what was going on. We had to rely on our families, watching the news at home and reporting the news to us via cellular phones.

Finally, the police on the site were able to find out one of the phone numbers and from there we were "connected." Still, the information was not clear. From the ground, we were told over and over that it would be solved soon but, from families, we had reports from news media that it could take hours (the media were right).

When I got to the Island around 1:30 a.m, I was asked by the press about what thoughts I had during these long hours. My answer was that mostly, my thoughts were about my family, the situation and possibilities of getting out, and finally I thought a lot about the lack of planning by RIOC. This last thought kept me busy for a long period of time. I was very upset about it, because the problem of a lack of infrastructure, especially insufficient transport, has been discussed in numerous meetings and among neighbors.

We have seen new buildings being built, hundreds of new resident-families in need of sharing the already precarious transport facilities. We have seen the Tram not being able to meet the five-minute period between rides during rush hours (forced to run almost without interruptions). We have seen the F train sign on week-ends indicating that there is no service, which forced all of us to take the Tram.

Excuses of electrical failure or mechanical problem do not convince me; the Tram was out of order last September and, also, last week on Thursday afternoon.

We can not abuse a system that is not built for being over-used. We all knew this was coming – at least the members of my family did!

Carlos Gutierrez

To the Editor:

A thank you to all our Tram staff, who did a great job the other evening during the shutdown.

They are our unsung heros who spent hours in the cabins, installing, testing and operating the rescue cage. They are great professionals who are dedicated to our tram and our Island.

The NYPD, FDNY, EMS, OEM and other agencies all deserve our special thanks, too. Without the team effort, a safe outcome would have been more difficult.

Also, thanks to Trellis for sending over refreshments and all the coffee urns they had.

Judith Berdy