My family moved into the Octagon in November. Besides feeling as if I have missed the best-kept secret in NYC – until now – I do also feel compelled to comment on a number of items reported on in the most recent issue.

First of all, in the interview with Shane, there were reported comments to the effect of "Octagon residents won’t shop on Main Street." If you think about this, it doesn’t make sense. If anyone is likely to shop on Main Street, it is the people who will walk right down it all of the time. The weather has only been nice a couple of weeks, but I can assure you that many Octagon residents are walking from the train/Tram to their home. Give us more attractive stores or restaurants to shop in and I, for one, will most certainly be there. I enjoy Trellis, but I would also like an upscale Italian or Mexican restaurant with a nice cocktail lounge.

Second, as far as transportation goes, how much support is there for a ferry? This is the obvious alternative idea. I admittedly do not know the economics of ridership/stops, but I know that the infrastructure costs would be minimal and therefore the time to implement would be minimized. Fighting for walking access to the bridge seems to me a waste of time, energy, and effort – given the impediments mentioned by Shane.

Last, in this day and age of focus on recycling and the waste of plastic, why deliver The WIRE in plastic bags? It would be more environmentally responsible – as well as less labor-intensive – to just leave the papers on the floor.

I do love it here, but I also wish the longtime residents would not be so resentful and disdainful of us who have chosen this lovely building on this lovely Island to live in.

Denise Shull

Please explain again, if possible, the reasons behind the Octagon express bus schedule. I’m sure they exist.

Ah, but do they justify the fact that an empty Octagon bus does not stop at the ‘other’ bus stops where people stand and wait, on a rainy morning (April 27, 9:15)?

It may come as a surprise, but we, the non-Octagon people, are not outlandish; all we want is get to the subway or Tram and get to work, in the most humane fashion possible.

If we promise to behave and not to stare at the high-rent-clean-hallways-non-urine-smelling-fire-staircases building tenants, will the Octagon bus please stop and pick us up, too? We’ll keep to ourselves and step right to the back of the bus.

M. Menglide

In his letter (The WIRE, April 21), Frank Farance does raise several interesting alternatives on how others could help us off the Island. A Circle Line service contract that would promise to come for us in the event of an emergency is not a bad idea. I hope they are able to come for us. I also would welcome more frequent F trains, and the addition of the Q train on those same tracks would also be a welcome improvement to our daily commute, if they can do it.

All good ideas, but I don’t see that doing these things means that we should not also have a staircase/elevator to the Bridge.

The staircase, which some have called "the Roosevelt Island Fire Escape," is the one option where we can be self-reliant, not waiting for someone else to save us. Would everyone use the stairs? No. Would everyone use it at the same time? No. But in those times when there is a less-than-perfect storm going on, when the pressure is building, this could siphon off some of the pressure for those of us who feel trapped, and not connected to Manhattan at rush hour.

I have taken measurements, and the height to the walkway on the bridge is 174 feet from the ground, 278 steps or 21 floors, and that equates to an easy three-minute walk down and a five-minute, heart-pounding walk up. I suggest that, if we do build a staircase, there be a landing with a bench halfway up for those who might need a rest stop. The stairs should be wide enough to allow for two-way traffic, and the stairs should be well-lighted.

Neal Weissman