To WIRE Editor Dick Lutz:

I am quite surprised that you have not attempted to sound out myself and the other [RIOC] Board Members who were on site during the Tram incident. Each of us stayed at the Tram site until the last passenger was safely on the ground. My wife left around 2:00 a.m. and the rest of us including Albertine, David, Herb, Jim, Andre, and everyone else stayed up until dawn observing and coordinating the evacuation. We were in constant communication with Judy Calogero until the situation stabilized well after midnight. No one asked the Board members to come to the scene… each of us came out of our respect for our positions and the importance of the moment. I did not see anyone else there at that hour purporting to be an advocate on Island issues. As I have previously suggested to you, my view is that your publication seems purposely one-sided rather than journalistic in nature. This is a real-life example. Please explain your rationale for this oversight. Further, please treat this as a letter to the editor and print it in your next issue. Thank you.

John Mannix
Member, RIOC Board of Directors

It’s pretty simple:

• I only know and can only report what I see or I am told.

• I did not see you at the scene.

• You’re perfectly capable of informing me of what you want me to know and report, as you have now belatedly done.

• You are correct in perceiving that The WIRE serves its readers, not RIOC. Nonetheless, for some years (almost ten, in fact) I have been urging RIOC to be more forthcoming with information, including positive information. (To encourage that, The WIRE provides the RIOC President with a column that undergoes no censorship or editing here.) But for years, you and other Board members tolerated a non-performing "spokesman" who communicated nothing to The WIRE.

In this instance, in particular, if you deemed it useful to communicate to the public, through The WIRE, that you and others were at the scene that Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, why did you not push that information through the pipeline of the public relations people who have been hired to communicate RIOC’s viewpoint, rather than assuming that I saw you and chose, for reasons of bias, to ignore your presence?

Yes, I’ll be happy to print your letter, along with this response.

Finally, I will note that The WIRE received several letters criticizing RIOC for having no representative at the scene. In each case, I communicated to the writer that Herb Berman (whom I did observe on the scene) was present, so that the letters could be cleansed of that inaccuracy. My greatest interest is in accuracy, not advocacy (except in editorials and commentaries, where you can expect a resident point of view rather than a RIOC point of view), but RIOC withholds far more information (positive, neutral, and negative) than it communicates, and that is a serious disservice both to RIOC and to the readers of The WIRE (a/k/a "residents").

And one more thought: How about sitting down for an interview (which I’ll be happy to print verbatim, up to four WIRE pages in length, because I want your point of view to be communicated as articulately and completely as possible)? No holds barred: You can slam The WIRE all you want. You can answer, in your own words with your own viewpoint, all the questions that have accumulated over your years of service on the RIOC Board.

Dick Lutz, Managing Editor
The Main Street WIRE

Editor’s note: In a subsequent e-mail, Mannix declined the request for an interview, writing, "I am very private and would leave that to others."

I was not on the Tram that day but I could easily have been. I feel outraged for the suffering of the people that were. Why did the power supply fail? Why did the backup generator not work? How often was the backup generator electrical supply tested? Where are the records of those tests? These are the first questions that should be asked.

Ultimately, this was a straightforward and gross example of negligence and incompetence. But will these questions be asked, and by whom? Who will be held accountable? Who will lose their jobs? Will RIOC condescend to answer these questions?

Richard Alderslade

Referring to Wednesday morning’s Tramway Advisory (April 19), please let me point out that by 4:21 a.m. on that day, everyone on the Island already knew the Tram was down. Too bad it was down for eleven hours before the advisory went out!

What I’m wondering is, what about Red Bus service to and from Manhattan? Not this time?

Oh, and please don’t listen to the Mayor, who rides subways but doesn’t have to try to get on an F train to Manhattan during the morning rush! His statements about the Tram were among the most ill-informed I’ve ever heard!

Editor’s note: Subsequent to Lestelle’s letter, RIOC began providing a $2.00 bus service to/from Manhattan.

First, thank you for the comprehensive reporting about last week’s Tramway incident. Regardless of the cause of the power outage and all the side stories that go with this, the fact remains that everyone was safely rescued by the efforts of the Tramway staff, FDNY and NYPD.

In yesterday’s Week in Review (April 23), on page 2, there is a photo and reference to our

"quaint relic," indicating that the Tramway became that with the opening of the subway some 16 years ago. Nothing could be further from the truth to the several thousand riders for whom the Tramway is the barrier-free, completely accessible form of public transit that the subway is not. In fact, despite some low ridership in the past, since the Tramway started accepting the MetroCard, along with the fact that anyone who tries to use the subway after 7:30 in the morning and for most of the morning rush to Manhattan has to let 3 or 4 fully packed F trains go by, the Tram remains the most direct access to Manhattan for hundreds of workers, students of all ages, hospital employees, and others who are totally frustrated in trying to use the Manhattan-bound subway.

It is no "quaint relic" when the MTA is working on the subway nearly every weekend and cannot provide direct access to Manhattan or to Queens, and riders on the Island jam the Tramway, which can bring them in. The Q102 bus to Long Island City, which stops by the two buses that go to Manhattan, and the trains which are inaccessible to people who cannot climb stairs at Queens Plaza, just do not cut it.

It is no "quaint relic" to the developers who have already built (and plan to build) new rental and condominium housing on the Island and who are counting on both the subway and the Tram to lure potential market-rate renters and buyers to the Island. It is no "quaint relic" to those of us who had operating public transportation to and from Manhattan during the recent illegal transit strike because the Tram was actually running – and in fact attracted many commuters from Queens and Long Island who shuttled to the Island to use the Tram because their public transit was on strike.

It is no "quaint relic" to the several thousand people who come to the Island each Fourth of July for some of the best fireworks viewing in the City and add several thousand dollars to the Island’s coffers, which, thanks to the fact that Governor Pataki thinks the Island requires no subsidies while subsidizing every other form of public transit, can use the extra dollars.

So let’s direct the attention to getting our "quaint relic" Tramway up and running safely, putting the pressure on the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation to find and spend the dollars to make sure the Tramway is properly staffed at all times, every generator and backup is working properly, and restoring service to this imperfect yet glorious gem as soon as possible. Our Tramway and Island have been under attack recently by columnists in another New York newspaper. Let’s stop picking on the Island and its Tramway and get back to work.

Nina Lublin

I feel things are getting out of hand, with more and more outsiders getting into the act, and quality of life on Roosevelt Island is in danger of further deteriorating. I hope to send a letter to our elected representatives but, in the meantime, I would like to set down the following perspective:

Riders on the F train – all but Roosevelt Island residents – live in neighborhoods with restaurants (plural), coffee shops, book stores, movie theatres, photo shops, shoemakers, opticians, boutiques, health food stores, and more. The prospect of having to descend deep into the underground for an F train – 40 times more crowded than the Q-train, which formerly served Roosevelt Island – to get to one of these amenities is a horrible one – enough to result in a mass exodus of Island residents, for those who are able, and misery for many others.

Neglecting to repair the back-up power system for the Tram was a monumental example of incompetence.

It is time the quality of life of Island residents is factored into plans for maintaining and developing Roosevelt Island.

Sandra Zwerling

The New York news summary titled Ancient Infrastructure (Week in Review, April 23) accuses the Roosevelt Island Tram of being an "ancient relic" because it broke down after 30 years of service. By that reasoning, the 100-year-old New York subway system should be relegated to a museum. Instead, every effort is made to update this essential people carrier, and the same criteria should be applied to the Tram.

Roosevelt Island’s F-train stop is already overburdened during the morning commute, with riders forced to let three and four full trains pass them by, and the continuing development of the Island promises increased congestion on our one subway line. The Tram now operates at capacity during rush hours, and has done so since it was incorporated into the MetroCard system two years ago.

Further, Roosevelt Island is a planned community incorporating a large senior and disabled population. Until the subway can safely and reliably accommodate motorized and manual wheelchairs and provide elevator service at all destinations for citizens using walkers and canes, the Tram remains a critical component of Roosevelt Island’s commuter web. That the Tram has become an international icon of New York City is simply icing on the cake.

The answer lies in better maintenance, government subsidy of the system as is standard with every other mode of public transportation, and more competent oversight from the State Department of Labor and especially, the State public-benefit corporation, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC), which runs Roosevelt Island like a private fiefdom.

Matthew M. Katz

This is an open letter for anybody remotely in charge of Roosevelt Island’s development and who obviously does not live on the Island.

Following the tram incident and recurring problems linked to transportation, here is some breaking news for RIOC:

• The Tram was not designed to be and cannot be a means of mass transportation.

Have you ever wondered why Roosevelt Island is the only place in the world using an aerial tram for mass transportation? Hint: because that’s a bad idea. With approximately 5,000 people commuting daily to Manhattan, and a third using the Tram, how can you rely on a means of transportation so precarious? Every time there’s some wind, some standard repairs, not even mentioning recurring serious incidents, residents are stuck on one side or the other.

If we want to keep the Tram, as I believe most of us want to, let’s keep it for what it is: a nice and folkloric complement to other means of transportation.

• In case of evacuation (by foot), we have no choice – a small pink bridge to Queens. How come the basic rule of having a second emergency exit, which applies in all public places, does not apply to our Island?

Why can’t we simply get access to the Queensboro Bridge, hence to Manhattan? At one time, the bridge was accessible by elevators. How complicated would it be to open access to this bridge – stairways at a minimum, and/or a nice elevator for residents who need the extra help?

Most commuters from Roosevelt Island using the tram actually seek access to East 59th Street, either to reach the U.N. or the close-by hospitals. That would also serve the contingency plans.

• The F line is unusable 7:30-8:30 a.m. I pity every parent with a stroller, trying to board and having to wait one or two trains before finding a spot to get in. When they have 3-6 year old kids, their kids’ faces are in people’s butts. I won’t mention the subway being out of service, working only one way, etc. What about restoring the Q line?

The Island is in mutation, bound to adapt to growing population and other drastic changes. The latest incident shows how much we are enduring, while the slogan on the RIOC website is quality of life. Who are we kidding?

At least, I hope all that counter-publicity will serve one positive purpose for Island House, Westview, and the new buildings: it should be cheap to buy a place to live here.

Jerome Coullare

We need the Tram back. Maybe we need to do a protest on Main Street. Whatever it takes. In the meantime, Rioc would need to provide more buses to and from manhattan out of courtesy. They don’t do a good job in keeping up the Tram; they should pay for their mistakes, not us. We also need to tell the MTA not to cut services on weekends. Let’s put our voices together so that we can be heard!

Maureen Leong

If you continue to disfuse the issue by your continued and boring attacks on RIOC and the Governor and now the "right" Sun and ...what next? Iraq? CIA? The religious right? The DaVinci Code?

I’m against the Tram and with your help, I’ll win.

Editor’s note: James Whalen is a member of the Residents Association Common Council. He represents 2 River Road.

I was one of the lucky ones to be on the train that broke down [Monday morning]. I had to let two trains go by, and was overhearing people on the platform complain that they had let five or six go by. We felt trapped.

Not only that, but the Red Buses seem to have gotten even more frustrating than they had been before. I don’t need to recount the absurdities in the way they operate, but now, with virtually no traffic on Main Street during rush hour, why are they still running three or four in tandem northbound, while there are 20 or more people waiting at Manhattan Park, and again at Gristede’s, to go south? Why have they added length and time to the Red Bus route, but not adjusted the number of buses running?

And to respond to the issues currently facing us, can they please consider some alternatives:

• The Red Bus schedule needs to be revamped. Bring in a transportation expert (like those who help the car rentals put together their bus schedules at the airports).

• The white bus: They really need to add stops. How about one in front of 40 River Road in both directions, as well as one at the Tram?

• How about a pedestrian/bicycle/rollerblade/wheelchair access to the 59th Street Bridge? In light of the latest problem, it is obvious that we need a self-propelled alternative – at least a ramp. Also, some sort of a lift – perhaps steam-powered by the steam plant?

• Listen to those of us who experience the transportation difficulties first-hand, and are trying to offer practical solutions. I’d be willing to serve on some sort of think-tank.

Thanks for letting me vent. I’ve been meaning to write these suggestions for months, and today’s experience finally pushed me to do it!

Laura Fels

I was one of the more than two dozen Islanders who attended the City Council hearing regarding the Tram on April 27.

It was interesting to witness RIOC president Herb Berman and vice president Catherine Johnson pat themselves on the back for what a great job they do managing the Island and the Tram, how everything worked as planned during the emergency and how no one was injured.

The credit, of course, should go the NYPD, FDNY, OEM and Tramway staff for their skillful and caring evacuation of trapped passengers and to the patience and cooperation of those passengers in a situation that didn’t need to happen if RIOC had truly done their job.

There was much discussion at the hearing about "faults" (power surges) and how "things happen" with mechanical/electrical equipment. This is true and why a backup system should be in good working order and at the ready at all times. Why, then, has the secondary backup been out of repair since 2004, as discovered by an ABC investigation, "when an engineering consultant had urged the Tram operators ‘to either repair of replace the backup generator?’" The investigation also pointed out that in 2004 and in 2005, "routine maintenance was not being completed on all items" and why the consultant strongly recommended that "at least one additional mechanic" be hired, something that did not happen until a few months ago. (See 7Online.com: Mechanic shortage on Tram).

If the company that runs the Tram, Doppelmayr, was slow in determining what went wrong in the September, 2005 Tram stoppage (they still have not figured it out), why didn’t RIOC push them more or hire a separate investigator? And why didn’t RIOC push those repairing the backup system to complete their work in less than the 1½ years, minimum, that it has taken so far? They are, after all, dealing with people’s lives here!

At Thursday’s hearing, credit must go to City Council Transportation Chair John Liu who persisted in getting answers when the Doppelmayr representative and the RIOC president and vice president tried to do a not surprising tap dancing act of illusiveness and constantly took cover under the phrase, "It’s still under investigation." Credit also goes to Assemblymember Pete Grannis, who spoke on our behalf at a prior press conference that morning, and of course to our Councilmember, Jessica Lappin, who called for the hearing and is always there for us, asking the tough questions. I must say, my favorite quote of the day came from Councilmember G. Oliver Koppell who, when referring to the dangerous rescue situation and alluding to RIOC’s self-congratulatory claim that no one got hurt, said "You had luck!"

As a member of the Maple Tree Group that has fought for self-governance since 1997, I say we don’t want to depend on "luck." We want a RIOC that is competent, has the safety and well being of residents as a top priority, and is elected by those residents whose very lives RIOC has in their hands. Do you hear us yet, Governor?

Linda Heimer

I like the bright new garbage cans but I am astounded to learn that each one cost $2000. And once again, I see there is no oversight by RIOC. I noticed several where the paint was badly chipped. I wonder how many more are in this condition. No one seemed to think that these defective cans should be returned to the manufacturer. How many of the RIOC Board would order something personally for $2000 each ($80,000 total for the 40 receptacles) and not check on the condition of merchandise when it arrived?

Doris Cherni

I rode the same Tram for nine days in Snowbird, Utah, about seven times a day; same company, same equipment; but better maintained and backed up. No stopages occur in that ski resort.

Thus, the age of the Tram is irrelevant so long as the parts are replaced and the maintenance performed, plus having the right backup for the unexpected.

What would Roosevelt Island be like without the Tram? First, those not living here have little idea of how inadequate the alternatives are: you essentially will not be able to get to work on the F train once a few more buildings are constructed here; as it is, you have a real jam from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. most weekday mornings. Wait until the word goes forth that the Island is a great place to live and rest, but not a place from which one can ever get to work in the morning!

What about the children, seniors, and disabled who find the Tram more user friendly?

What about when the subway is down or the one Bridge to the mainland (due to undergo a major repair) is stuck?

What about those emergencies that block access to hospitals?

Try selling or renting market priced apartments on this Island without the Tram.

If developers do not already have it in their subleases, smart ones will insist on the Tram as a condition of their entering into development agreements.

Those living elsewhere can write about closing down the Tram. Those who live here know it is about the worst idea imaginable.

Bob Chira

The Roosevelt Island Tram has come to symbolize the inability of the State government to manage an efficient form of transportation that is utilized world-wide. In Austria, France, Germany, and Switzerland, trams have been running in excess of three miles up and down the mountainsides. Many are 75 years old. They run 12 months a year under far more adverse weather conditions and with greater stresses on the mechanical equipment than that experienced by the Island Tram. Why do we never hear from the Europeans that their trams are chronologically old and need to be replaced? Perhaps the answer is that "Old Europe" does not have a Madison Avenue spin manager on the job. These countries simply replace worn items in accordance with the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule.

The Island Tram problems began approximately 20 years ago when RIOC took over its daily operation under the guise that their management would would be more cost-effective. They terminated the contract of the Von Roll Corporation, which designed and operated the Tram for seven years without a major incident.

Within a year, the Tram experienced daily mechanical and electrical problems and had to be shut down for several months. The Residents Association formed a Tram panel, of which I was a member, to investigate and report back to RIRA and RIOC. We reported that RIOC spent over one million dollars on outside consultants to study the electrical and mechanical systems.

The Tram panel took exception to additional costly studies because this information was already available.

Soon after RIOC took over, we needed to replace the haul cable. RIOC contracted the job to a midwestern rigging company that was low bidder. After the company dropped the cable in the East River, stopping traffic on First and Second Avenues, we were shut down for three months.

After that fiasco, you might think that RIOC would have been enlightened regarding the necessity of hiring a company with previous experience, but such was not the case. Several years later following the cable replacement, the new rigging company cut and spliced the connecting cable ends ten feet too short. This time we were shut down for three months waiting for a replacement cable.

The purpose of this letter is not to villify RIOC but to raise the awareness of all residents that RIOC relies on outside technical companies who wish to sell their services and products. For example, RIOC presently has a proposal to purchase two new tram cabins for over one million dollars. The specious argument is that the old cabins have been subjected to fatigue stresses and need to be replaced. There are many tests that can be performed to assure safety, including stress strain gauges, radiographic x-rays, etc. There has been zero proof to substantiate the purchase of new cabins. Yet the consultant and many members of RIOC continue to push for new cabins based upon the bogus presumption that the cabins have been subjected to excess fatigue stresses.

My fellow residents – If you follow the dollars, you will follow the politics! Who is monitoring the Roosevelt Island cash register and who has the technical expertise to understand appropriate purchases and maintenance?

As a licensed professional engineer, I suggest that the MTA take over the daily operation and maintenance of the tram. My reasons are as follows:

• The M.T.A. is in the business of mass transportation.

• The M.T.A. is self insured.

• The M.T.A. has mechanical and electrical engineers on staff who can oversee contracts with companies who have previous expertise.

• The M.T.A. would also ensure oversight of the daily maintenance operations.

Robert Liss, P.E.

As a resident of Roosevelt Island and the elected Secretary of the Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA), I’d like to thank you for driving to Roosevelt Island during a very trying time for many of our stranded residents and those who were visiting our community for the first time and who got "stuck" on the Tram. Roosevelt Islanders are a plucky bunch and that is one of the reasons there was little or no panic in either car.

I am writing because I am very troubled by comments I heard you make on NPR last week regarding the Tram, and now are being parroted by different media, to whit:

• That there are many other ways to get to Roosevelt Island, and

• That the Tram may be outdated.

I am extremely concerned about what would/could prompt you to make such uninformed comments. Past Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) President/CEO Rob Ryan was quoted making this very statement several years ago to the media. We thought we’d heard the last of that comment when he left his post here, but apparently not. Mr. Bloomberg, just what are the "many other ways" for us to leave or access this Island community, especially during commuting hours?

Subway: For the record and your education, Mayor Bloomberg, Roosevelt Island has only one subway line available to our community into Manhattan. At weekday morning rush hours, our riders frequently find themselves waiting for 3-4 F trains to pass by before finally being able to board one. The trains are just too full, having filled up at stops in Queens.

Tram: Contrary to your comment, the Tram is not outdated. At 30 years of age, it is quite a bit younger than the subway system. The Tram, since its inception, has always been a secondary commuting tool and, with the population growth we are currently experiencing, it is now running at capacity and about to break even financially. The Tram has been an important buffer for our residents, especially with the subway work that has recently been going on diverting us first into Queens and then back to Manhattan. It is especially important when there are subway shutdowns, which we’ve experienced frequently over the past several years. The Tram is a direct link to Manhattan and, as proven below, is essential to our large disabled population, at least until the subway becomes fully ADA-compliant. It is also a safe transit method for our larger than average elderly population. Many will only ride the Tram.

Bus: We do have a Q102 bus that does not run into Manhattan but takes riders into Queens. An experiment was done several years ago by our local newspaper with a resident in her wheelchair. It took her three hours roundtrip to get to Manhattan using the Q102 into Queens and then waiting for another bus to Manhattan. This was obviously not the most efficient way to get to the "main" Island, and I doubt you’d put up with this inconvenient transportation mode if you were in a similar position. Hence, it is an absolute requirement for our Tram to remain as a viable transportation method for a major portion of our Island population.

Boat: We have no dock and none is on the horizon, except that there is some talk about possibly putting one in at the new Octagon apartments mainly for those residents since that is quite a bit farther north of the main residential part of this community.

The reason for much of the F-train platform congestion is due to the sudden and unplanned-for population growth. I hate to mention it, Mr. Bloomberg, but you played a role in this problem. You signed an amendment to our only zoning, the General Development Plan (GDP), with RIOC, on behalf of the developers, Becker & Becker. You may recall that we do not fall under the City zoning laws. This amendment to the GDP allowed for Octagon Apartments to be built without a proper EIS study that would have shown that greater population growth in this Island community would probably add more stress to our one subway link to Manhattan. And so it has. We continue to look at additional population growth as Southtown comes on line. We are at 10,000 residents now and there will be a doubling of population with the planned (and possible other unplanned) development. This growth will most assuredly bring the Tram into the financial black.

Mayor Bloomberg, your statement that the Tram is outdated is a red herring. If that is the case, what about the New York subway system? What about the LIRR? What about the Staten Island Ferry? With subway trains crashing into tunnel walls and killing and badly injuring riders (14th Street), subway relay components found to be severely outdated, LIRR trains derailing, or The Staten Island Ferry accident that killed and injured many commuters, there were no calls for these transportation systems to be shut down, especially because of their age, or being outdated. There was talk of updating the relay systems – has that happened? Has it even begun to happen? Cleanup and thorough investigations were held for each accident. Upgrading and correcting systems is what is required with the Tram. Any and every transportation system is liable to have an accident. The Tram rescue mission actually worked according to the way it has been practiced. How about that? Failures of systems do not indicate that a shutdown for good of that system is the correct answer. Every time this idea has come up with regard to the Tram, it has failed abysmally. The community that relies on the Tram will just not allow it to happen.

There is no disagreement that it is time to bring the Tram into the 21st Century and the City should help to do this. Mayor Bloomberg, why don’t you work with our Federal representatives to help Roosevelt Island get the kind of Federal funding that other major transit entities throughout the country receive, so that we can have the Tram system modernized and the oversight that the Tram requires? That would be a much more useful and proactive use of your bully pulpit.

Furthermore, Mr. Mayor, this Tram is not only here for Roosevelt Island residents. As a tourist attraction, it appears in the NYC&Co brochure and Michelin Green Guide. The Tram is an icon of New York City now. Sylvester Stallone (Night Hawks), Spider-Man and several television programs have made it so. This usage has a financial component for our "self-sufficient" community, as well as just plain advertising for the City and Roosevelt Island. So where is the City’s support of this symbol that it should have?

The last time you rode the Tram, during your first run for Mayor, and, by the way, the last time you ever came to Roosevelt Island (until Tuesday, April 18), you commented to Matthew Katz, then Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) President, who organized your Town Meeting here, that you were shocked that you had to pay a second fare because we did not have access to the MTA’s "One City, One Fare" program via the Metrocard. Mayor Bloomberg, we do now, thanks to Matthew’s very diligent, steady, and hard work starting with a conversation he had with Larry Reuter, who ultimately joined forces with Gifford Miller to get us what, as New York City/State taxpaying citizens, we by all rights should have had from the get-go. We are now two years into being a part of this program.

Please explain to our residents, citizens of New York City, how you justify your comments and why you would want to cut us off from our secondary transit system.

Sherie Helstien, Secretary
Roosevelt Island Residents Association