RI Bridge Closure 4/15-17 & 4/21-22: Emergency Preparedness

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Times affected 12:30 am to 5:30 am

------Original Message------

From: Steve Shane

To: Roosevelt Island 360
To: Roosevelt Islander
To: Dick Lutz / The Main Street WIRE
Cc: Fernando Martinez
Cc: Keith Guerra
Cc: Tom Turcic

Sent: Apr 7, 2009 5:26 PM

Subject: Bridge Closure

You have all received a copy of the DOT Notice of Bridge Closure.

1. It is absolutely necessary.

2. The Fire Department will station an engine (pumper) and a ladder truck on the Island during the outage to respond to any emergencies. In addition, there will be a fireboat available to deliver additional personnel if a big emergency occurs. An engine company (with 5 firemen) will be at the Vernon Ave. end of the Bridge to provide additional bodies as needed.

3. The Fire Dept. (EMS) will station an ambulance on the Island and an ambulance at the Vernon Ave end of the bridge. In the event of a medical emergency, the victim will be treated and taken to the RI end of the bridge and conveyed on a gurney to the other side where the other ambulance will be waiting to transport. In addition to the 4 EMS persons, there will be the 5 firemen there to assist. If the bridge is completely impassable (one of the procedures will require it to be 6'-8' above the connecting streets), then transport will have to be by Tram to a waiting ambulance on Manhattan side.

4. RIOC will run the Tram all night on 1/2 hour intervals (except in emergency) with the Red bus to match up. The Subway (F Train) should be available.

5.Only 2 nights are needed, and if the weather permits, the later nights will not be required. Steelworkers union contract and OSHA rules do not permit workers on exposed iron surfaces at heights when it is raining.

6. NYPD is also likely to station a squad car on the Island to assist.

We have coordinated all of this with NYPD, NYFD, EMS, DOT, HHC, etc. A necessary evil, but we should get through it. Please try to quell the hysterics.

Stephen H. Shane
President & CEO
Roosevelt Island Operating Corp.

Oct 21st Stringer Sponsored Community Forum re Transportation Issues

This coming Tuesday, October 21st, Roosevelt Island residents will have another opportunity to discuss transportation issues affecting the island this time not just with RIOC regarding the Tram but with our elected officials and each of the government agencies that run and maintain our bridges, subways, and buses.

The Community Forum is being lead by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and as this post appears to also include Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, State Senator Jose Serrano, Assembly Member Micah Kellner and City Councilmember Jessica Lappin.

According to a representative from Borough President Stringer’s office the agenda is not yet final but one of their goals is to make the forum as interactive as possible including discussions of issues as well as possible solutions.

As opposed to Community Board 8’s Roosevelt Island transportation forum which took place in Manhattan at the Blood Center this forum is scheduled to take place here on the Island and as such can expect a much better turnout than the less than a dozen who attended the CB8 meeting.

All residents are encouraged to attend as this is a great opportunity to ask questions and hear from all parties plans for next year when the Tram is offline for several months. The timing of this meeting is appropriate as at least one of the referendum proposed by RIRA for the November elections includes the Tram.

Bike Safety Event - A Big Success !

Kudos to the Roosevelt Island Public Saety Department for hosting a sucessful first ever Bicycle Safety event!

According to reports from PSD Director Keith Guerra 244 bicycle helmets were given away to children and those adults requesting helmets and "NYC DOT & Safe Kids NYC has agreed to come back to Roosevelt Island to do it again" based on the great turn out. Again congratulations to everyone involved in this event!

NYC Bike Sharing Outpost on Roosevelt Island ???

For a long time I have thought Roosevelt Island a great place for bicyclists to visit. I am wondering whether residents and / or NYC DOT would think Roosevelt Island a good place to establish a bulkhead for the NYC bike sharing program? I figured the bike racks could be set up near the Tram station (close to the walkway that wraps around the North end of the Racquet Club) under the Queensboro Bridge.

Tourists and visitors could take the tram or subway onto the island and then pick up a shared bike and then use the bike to ride around the island or into LIC to go to the Noguchi Museum or Socrates Park or wherever. They could then return the bikes at the end of their visit and exit off the island via the tram or subway. Residents could use the bikes to travel into Queens. Having the bikes on the island would increase tourism onto the island and into the section of LIC closest to Roosevelt Island. With the new bike paths along Vernon Boulevard it would make for a natural fit.

DOT Decision in Queens Impacts Manhattan Residents Parking

As I reported about 6 weeks ago the DOT was putting into action a plan to remove parking spaces on Vernon Blvd, LIC for bike lanes. At the time, not owning a car, I did not expect there would be an impact on Roosevelt Island car owners. Boy was I wrong.

As any resident knows Roosevelt Island has only limited on street parking, all meterered, and the only other choice is parking at Motorgate Garage on the island. Well the third choice that I forgot about was many car owners parked for free on Vernon Blvd and underneath the Roosevelt island Bridge.

The above and below images can be found as part of the larger LIC bike path plan.

Well the DOT apparently removed the parking signs this week and a few Roosevelt Island residents who were informed of this at last nights Manhattan Community Board 8 meeting were not thrilled to learn what their fellow residents had already found out when they moved returned with their cars.

The question then, at the CB8M meeting, was what did their fellow Queens CB1 and CB2 know of this and did the Queens CBs even realize that the impact on their Roosevelt Island / Manhattan cousins who are connected to them by the Roosevelt Island Bridge. And lastly should CB8M say anything to the Queesn CBs.

Reactions to CB8 RI Transportation Mtg - Ferry Service

Last night Manhattan Community Board 8 held a special joint Roosevelt Island and Transportation Committee meeting at the New York Blood Center. It was held in the Auditorium in case a large number of individuals attended. It was not needed. The following are my thoughts and reactions as well information provided to us in the order of the agenda.

Part 1 - Ferry Service

The ferry landing planned for the site by the Octagon and the Dayspring Church / Former Boathouse will not be ready any earlier than Fall 2009 and certainly not ready for the planned Tram rehab outage in March / April 2009. The NYC EDC representative, Michael Taylor, a Senior Project Manager for Maritime Transportation Policy, who attended when asked why that site basically stated that those decisions are made a pay grades exceeding his own. He made it clear that the City is only going to build the dock and at this time there are no plans to include a Roosevelt Island ferry stop in the proposed City subsidized pilot ferry program. This was confirmed by Josh Orzeck, Community Coordinator, of the NYC DOT Manhattan Borough Commissioner's Office.

It appears that while the City is building the landing that they will be simultaneously undertaking a study to determine the impact and how an Octagon Landing will fit into any larger ferry routes. Mr. Taylor did state that part of the concept was to build the landing at the North end of the island to create a separate transportation link despite the fact, brought up by those in attenance,, that the majority of possible riders are are closer to the existing mid/South transportation hub.

A lot of good points were brought up by committee members and the public. These included (1) the fact that when the UN is in session the West Channel is closed (2) any landing should be designed to handle larger craft for evacuation purposes (3) there exists a former landing on the East Channel underneath the QBBridge that perhaps coud be rehabilitated and it closer to the existing hub. Each was listened to and acknowledged politely. The reaction to the existing landing was that it would take as much money to rehab that one as the Octagon site and the decison has been made already.

It is clear that unless a ferry operator can be profitable they will not provide service. My feeling is at the Octagon location sufficient riders will not materialize to make it profitable and we will be left with a nice dock to look at. I do give Mr. Becker plenty of credit for moving the process along and working with our elected reps to secure funding. I just hope it works and that additional landings can follow but that is highly doubtful. The public officials will never give us money for a second shot at this for years.

NYC DOT Response Re Queensboro Bridge Access

It appears that if a NYC DOT representative does attend tomorrow night's Community Board 8 Meeting regarding Roosevelt Island transportation issues they will have nothing to say other than they received the April 2007 CB8 Resolution, that they undertook no feasibility study regarding access to the QB bridge, and the benefits of such access are not worth the funds needed to create such access. Nothing new here. This is basically what they told CB8 before the resolution was passed.

The below e-mail was sent to me today by the NYC DOT in response to my April 28, 2008 FOIL requests regarding the status of the DOT's response to the April 2007 CB8 resolution.

Pretty much everything in the below letter has been stated to me before including by our own Stephen Shane, President of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation. I am not disagreeing with the concepts that the benefits may be exceeded by the costs but I still believe any additional access is better than the status quo.

-----Original Message-----
From: dot.nyc.gov
Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:20:22
To: RooseveltIsland360@gmail.com

Dear Roosevelt Island 360:

We received your email regarding your question about the Community Board 8 resolution to conduct a feasibility study to determine access for the Roosevelt Island community to the 59th Street Bridge. Your request was forwarded to our Freedom of Information Office for review and consideration.

The Department of Transportation had addressed this issue to the Board, prior to them passing the resolution, that the installation of any kind of access was unfeasible for several reasons. The installation of a stairway would require meeting ADA requirements. An elevator installation would require the removal of a lane of traffic from one of the busiest bridges in NYC. Also of major concern are the security, maintenance, access, and Landmark issues. Additionally, the cost would be extraordinary yet the value would be extremely limited, particularly as compared to the existing and significantly greater capacity of existing alternates to the tram such as the subway and, most importantly, the Roosevelt Island Bridge.

Thank you for your interest in this matter.

Sincerely,

Margaret Forgione,
Borough Commissioner

CCU-08-2898
Man. Log #9159

-----Original Message-----
From: rooseveltisland360@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:36:09
To: dot.nyc.gov
Subject: Re: Access to QB Bridge

Dear Ms. Forgione:

Thank you for your response. I greatly appreciate it. I understand your points although I do respectfully disagree with some of them.

The one point I am continually confused by is the statement that a lane of traffic would be impacted by an elevator. Is the DOT counting as a lane of traffic the outer pedestrian walkway?

I would think an elevator if built would connect to the pedestrian wakway and not an actual lane of traffic. Perhaps this option was not considered.

In closing I wanted to ask if a representative of your office will be attending the Manhattan Community Board 8 meeting tomorrow evening at 6:30 pm where transportation issues affecting Roosevelt Island are being discussed. It is my understanding that a representative of the NYC DOT was to be invited.

Thank you again for your response and time.

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.

Invite to June 24th Mtg.

CB8 Letter Resolution to NYC DOT

FOIL Request to NYC DOT

New Bike Lane for Vernon Blvd at Expense of On-Street Parking

StreetsBlog is reporting today, May 29, 2008, that as part of NYC’s goal of expanding cycling infrastructure that the DOT may be removing parking spaces along Vernon Boulevard (located just over the Roosevelt Island Bridge) in Long Island City in favor of adding bike lanes and pedestrian islands.

The plan, according to StreetsBlog, calls for the removal of the majority of the parking spaces on the East River side of Vernon Blvd from 45th Avenue all the way across to Main Street (down by Costco and Socrates Park). The parking spaces would be replaced by a painted dedicated bike lane.

What is amusing about the DOT PDF presentation regarding this plan is that it indicates that currently the Roosevelt Island Bridge includes an “existing off-street path” which indicates to me they are considering the pedestrian walkway that path. In an earlier post I reported on a possible plan to add a dedicated bike path to the Roosevelt Island Bridge. No mention of that possibility was evident in the DOT presentation or StreetsBlog posts.

NYC DOT re CB8 Request for Roosevelt Isle Queensboro Bridge Access: No Way

According to Manhattan Community Board 8 Co-Chair Jonathan Horn the NYC Department of Transportation response to CB8's April 2007 resolution calling for a study to look at access to the Queensboro Bridge was in summary "No Way". Mr. Horn was unsure when the DOT response was received but believes it was only in the last few weeks. He admitted that publicizing DOT responses to CB8 resolutions is sometimes slow but in this case I am amazed that the DOT responded at all given the fact that the resolution was passed over one year ago.

This coming June 24, 2008 the DOT and the MTA have been invited to a joint CB8 meeting of both the Roosevelt Island and Transportation Committees where several issues will be discussed including access to the Queensboro Bridge as well as the F Train, the Tram, and the ongoing process, as noted in the news this week, of bringing ferry service to Roosevelt Island. I was unclear as to where this meeting would be held but one would presume it would be on Roosevelt Island.

When I asked Mr. Horn if the physical DOT response could be made public he indicated that I needed to contact the CB8m office to make that request.

In the end the DOT response was not surprising. Mr. Horn indicated that while representatives of both DOT and the MTA are being invited to the planned June 24th meeting it is not guaranteed that they will attend. I would expect and suggest that if enough constituents contact our elected officials (Maloney, Serrano, Kellner, and Lappin) that we would see not only the elected officials but more likely the DOT and MTA will attend as well. Again nothing is a sure thing but at least we can gripe to the elected officials with the hope they can lobby both of these organizations as responses to average Joes and Josephines are virtually nonexistent. Heck it took a year for CB8 to get a response.

For prior media coverage regarding Queensboro Bridge access: NY Times and Streetsblog.

RI360 to DOT: Did You Even Get the CB8 Resolution re QB Access?

It is now more than a year ago that Community Board 8 passed a resolution requesting that the NYC DOT investigate the question of direct pedestrian access to the Queensboro Bridge from Roosevelt Island. Next month island residents will lose the Roosevelt Island Tram for 8 days. Last night our subway station was temporarily shut down due to some sort of gas leak. If both of these stoppages were to occur at once we would have been left with only one way off the island, the Roosevelt Island Bridge. That result is unacceptable hence the need for direct access to the Queensboro Bridge.

To date it is still unclear to me if that resolution was ever received by the NYC DOT or if CB8 has ever followed up with the DOT. I can not even get an answer from CB8 regarding what they know of the resolution’s fate. At this point I am not even sure in what format CB8 transmitted the resolution and to who at NYC DOT. The above image is of the online inquiry I have submitted to the DOT Commissioner’s office regarding the resolution.

On Tuesday, May 6, 2008, the Transportation Committee of Community Board 8 is meeting at 6:30pm. I hope to attend and to ask Committee Chairs Jonathan Horn and Charles Warren directly. It is unknown if the DOT will ever send me a response to my inquiry.

RIOC: No Tram - June 10 thru 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 regarding the track rope adjustments 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.

Roosevelt Crusoe: What Happened to the CB8 Requested Study re QB Bridge Access?

Today I posted the below post on the Roosevelt Crusoe blog regarding last year's Community Board 8 Resolution regarding pedestrian access to the Queensboro Bridge.

Do you have any information I can follow up on?

"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."

Next Week: Limited Access 2 of 3 Roosevelt Island Transit Links

Recipe for a "Perfect Storm"?

Next Tuesday 10/30 and Wednesday 10/31 two of three transportation links onto and off Roosevelt Island will be affected by either construction or maintenance. I just hope there are no rain storms those days that affect the subway system.

As issued earlier this week the Roosevelt Island Bridge on those dates will open but with one lane affected due to the installation of the paint containment barriers that are obviously required for the reconstruction project. The hours affected are 10am to 3pm. As issued today, RIOC announced that on each of those days the Tram will be on an hourly schedule for the same 5 hour period 10am to 3pm for normal maintenance work.

You may recall that in August 2004, the island experienced for an hour all three transportation links being down at once. As reported in the New York Times (Times Select) and in an April 2007 StreetsBlog post:

"The tram was down for a periodic tune-up. The Roosevelt Island Bridge, which lifts to allow boat traffic to pass through, was stuck in the open position. Electrical problems temporarily halted service on the F train."

Granted next week the Bridge will not be opened as part of the installation being planned but you never know. It will be Halloween after all.

RI Bridge Construction - DOT Signage

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

According to the DOT via RIOC, construction work was to begin last week on the Roosevelt Island Bridge. This past weekend it appears that the above LED sign was set up waiting for the project to begin. I hope they remembered to angle the sign better by yesterday morning as otherwise only the kids playing ball at Grandpa Al Lewis playground would know the timing of the construction schedule.

Roosevelt Island Advisories: Bus and Bridge

Bus Advisory

In an effort to showcase the Encampment project, Starting tonight Oct. 5 through Sunday October 7, the Roosevelt Island Bus Service will extend it's normal route to include the entrance of Southpoint Park between the hours of 7:00 PM and 1:00 AM.

Roosevelt Island Bridge Advisory

As part of their rehabilitation effort of the Roosevelt Island Bridge, the New York City Department of Transportation has advised RIOC that beginning Tuesday October 9, 2007 and continuing until further notice, there will be a partial lane closure of the east (Astoria) bound lane, Mondays thru Fridays from 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM.

Two way traffic will be maintained over two reduced width lanes. The effect will be reduced traffic speed over the bridge that may contribute to minor delays.

NYCDOT promises to keep RIOC advised of any future actions that they take which will affect bridge use

Shortlived Bridge Outage - How Many More to Come?

Apparently the bridge is now operational and has been returned to a "closed" position allowing vehicles to cross onto and off the island.

RIOC's newest advisory as of 11:00 am - "Special Roosevelt Island Bridge Advisory":

"The NYCDOT has affected repair and operation of the Roosevelt Island Bridge, and the RI Tram has resumed normal operation schedule. "

So the question is with constant opening and closings due to the UN how many more outages can we expect? Probably a few more unless they have figured out what caused these last two.

LIC Rainey Park - Teach your Child How to Ride a Bike