Update: June 24th CB8 Mtg re Transportation

A couple of comments regarding the upcoming June 24th CB8 meeting regarding the state of Roosevelt Island's transportation infrastructure and needs. The first is that apparently as I have been driving the CB8 staff a bit nuts regarding the status of their April 2007 Queensboro Bridge access resolution they actually sent me a formal invite to the meeting. The second for anyone interested is they (CB8) also sent me a copy of the actual letter sent by them in April 2007 to the NYC DOT requesting a study be undertaken.

Prior to receiving either of these letters I had actually submitted a FOIL request to the DOT to see if according to the DOT records if they had even received CB8's resolution. I am being told in their below reply that I should expect a formal reply by about June 10th. I also asked what their response was to the CB8 resolution. My bet is if they actually respond all I will get is a copy of the CB8 letter to them which I now already have.

I have asked CB8 if they ever got a formal response as I though that was what CB8 Transportation Co-Chair Jonathan Horn had indicated to me. But so far the folks in the CB8 office have not provided any such response to me. If DOT shows up June 24th I am sure we will hear their response.

[Note: This blog post was initially posted on the Roosevelt Island 360 blog earlier this evening.]

Invite to June 24th Mtg.

CB8 Letter Resolution to NYC DOT

FOIL Request to NYC DOT

Tram Outage - June 10 thru June 17

Reading "The RIOC Column" by Stephen Shane, RIOC President, in this weekend's Main Street WIRE, I learned that the Roosevelt Island Tram will be off line for 8 days starting this June 10th. I don't know what is worse not being able to eat bread this Passover or learning this news. Maybe I should have have heard this news earlier but this was the first I learned of this stoppage.

As Mr. Shane indicates the work is obviously necessary and will be an interesting test of how as a community we work through the temporary loss of the Tram in preparation for the 2009 stoppage when the system is overhauled and out of service. We appreciate the steps RIOC is taking to plan alternative methods of transportation and we just hope the MTA is kind to us on the weekends and nothing goes badly during the morning and evening rush hours.

In light of this stoppage I hope the Tranportation Committee of Community Board 8 is paying attention as to my knowledge the NYC Deprtament of Transportation, still to date, has never responded to CB8 regarding their April 2007 resolution calling for a study to look at access to the Queensboro Bridge from the Island. Now would be good time for someone to follow up on that resolution. I have asked CB8 to follow up but I am receiving from no responses to my repeated inquiries as to the status.

Community Board 8 Resolution re Queensboro Bridge Access (April 2007)

The below image was taken from the April 2007 minutes of the full CB8 meeting held on Roosevelt Island. Ellen Polivy, a resident of Roosevelt Island and a member of CB8 is following up with the Transportation Committee to determine what if any response CB8 got from the DOT.


Double Click to Enlarge

Community Board 8 Called for QB Bridge Access Study (April 2007) - What Happened After That ?

Eleven months ago a proposal was put before NYC Community Board 8 regarding direct pedestrian access to the Queensboro Bridge from Roosevelt Island. The central reasons behind this request were the possible ramifications of Roosevelt Island's access off the island in case the tram, subway and RI Bridge were all non-operational or inaccessible.

At the close the CB8 meeting it was resolved that a study should be commissioned to determine the needs and possibility of such access. While the Streetsblog article pictured, and linked here, does indicate that a DOT spokesperson Kay Sarlin, knocked down the proposal citing security and landmarked status issues it is unclear whether the DOT was ever formally requested to commission a study or whether it issued a formal response to the CB8 resolution.

I hope to contact CB8 and learn more what happened subsequent to the resolution being adopted.

F Train Service Suspended – Monday Evening March 3rd – Messy Evening Rush Hour

Two nights ago, F Train service to Queens was suspended causing a massive line to form at Tramway Plaza in Manhattan with residents trying to get back to Roosevelt Island. The next morning saw spotty service to Manhattan.

The below picture is via the Roosevelt Islander’s post of that evening brightened to show the detail a bit better.

A Bridge Not Quite Far Enough For Some- NYT 2007 April 8

An article which nicely lays out the issue and why residents deserve to worry.