Understandably, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation is eager to have an emphasis placed on what went right in the April 18 crisis, rather than on the systems that failed or how prolonged the stranding was.

Since The WIRE’s last issue (April 22), for example, a RIOC Board member has pointed out that RIOC President Herb Berman and three Board members – Islanders David Kraut, Alberteen Anderson, and John Mannix – were on the scene at the Tram station until all the passengers had been removed from the stuck cabins.

In prepared testimony he read before the City Council Transportation Committee last week, Berman gave the positive spin this way:

As Lappin listened, Berman explained

"The most important thing to report is that the safety systems installed on the Tram, and the extensive training RIOC employees receive to handle emergencies, together with the Fire Department and the police, worked well. The proof is in the safe removal of the 68 passengers stranded on the Trams over the East River and First Avenue.

"Of course, we share the frustration of those stranded on the Trams over how long the rescue took, but as Mayor Bloomberg said so eloquently, safety was more important than speed. The lack of injuries is a testament to the skill and bravery of police officers, firefighters and our own RIOC Tram staff, Tram team, who worked through the night."

At the back of the hearing room, Assemblymember Pete Grannis (right) listened with his aide, Tony Morenzi. At a press conference that preceded the hearing, Grannis renewed criticism of the Pataki administration’s management of Roosevelt Island: “Unique among the entire City community, this Island is in the hands of the State government. The State is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Island. What happened last week is a direct result of years of neglect of operating support from the State.This isn’t meant to be a partisan attack, but the Pataki administration came in and cut off operating aid and cut off capital support aid, maintenance aid for this Island. At the end, this is what happens. If you don’t take care of things, they break down. Going forward, these problems [should be] avoided. I’ll be working with the council members again to force the State – not this administration but the next – to take care of the Roosevelt Island community as it should have for the last decade.

Berman then went into a lengthy discourse about the Island’s history before returning to the happenings of April 18.

"While we are not yet sure what went wrong, it is worth noting what went right.

"RIOC personnel train every six months on that rescue Tram system, which has never had to be used before in the 30-year history of the Tram. I cannot say enough about the skill and the dedication that our employees brought to the emergency rescue cage operation, which had never, which I also indicated, been put in operation in the history of the Tram. RIOC workers attached arms to the emergency cage, which is permanently stationed below the Tram’s main arrival station, and then operated the winch to lift it onto the cable. Working closely with the heroic police officers and the heroic firefighters, the cage was tested and then was sent up the cable to safely remove 47 people from the car stranded over the East River. Twenty-one people stranded over First Avenue were safely removed after City officials brought in a crane to carry out that rescue. And again, I can’t say enough about the remarkable poise, resilience, and equanimity of the people who spent all those hours stranded on the Tram. They demonstrated the best qualities that make all of us proud to be New Yorkers.

"At RIOC, we are committed to providing a safe environment to all of our residents, whether on the Island or on the Tram. We stand ready to work closely with you and others, especially including residents, to examine the future of the Tram as well as transportation alternatives, such as ferry service, as development and growth continues on the Island.

"I might say that, once the Tram went down, we instituted an express service from Roosevelt Island to Manhattan for the residents so they will be able to have access to the Manhattan side of the Tram. And the children who go to school there have the same privileges that they had on the Tram. Having said that, I thank you for the time. We stand here ready to answer whatever questions we can. I can assure you that upon receipt of the information from the investigatory services looking into this incident, we will supply you with those results. But I want to again emphasize that we are committed to the restoration of the Tram to service. That will happen when all of the investigations are completed, when everything is corrected that has to be corrected, all protocols are examined, and we are confident that everybody else is confident that the Tram can safely and properly go back into operations."

As The WIRE goes to press (late Thursday, May 4), there has been no announcement of when Tramway service is likely to resume.