Routinely negligent, RIOC gambles with safety, absent and irresponsible as riders without face masks jam onto busy Tram cabins. Mostly tourists, which the soulless state agency covets, boarded without interference on Saturday.
By David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
“A PSD officer boarded the Tram on Roosevelt Island, confirming that everyone wore a mask, and the operator reminded everyone to mask up,” our reader wrote.
“But the opposite happens on the Manhattan side. A lot of riders do not mask up. There is no PSD presence, and the operator says nothing.”
RIOC gambles with safety…
Repeated reports show RIOC taking a leisurely approach to public safety on Red Buses. Face mask enforcement is spotty and uneven as the coronavirus Delta variant swells infection rates.
But because tourists add to crowded Tram conditions, especially on weekends, there’s greater risk for everyone. But no evidence suggests RIOC’s even dimly aware.
Each five minute float across the East River poses the threat of a super spreader event, which RIOC continues taking lightly.
Either that or they’re ignorant of the hazards, but maybe it’s some of both.
RIOC gambles with safety, even as risks increase for infections, leaving residents helpless.
And some furious, but at a loss over what to do about it.
The state agency is an expensive demand on local incomes, but the return on investment is poor. The public safety department alone, in fact, rings up an annual $4 million charge on residents.
With few signs of earning it.
Buttressing an effete board of directors, already failing at meeting legal residency requirements, elected officials also take a hands-off approach toward Governor Cuomo’s minions.
Few options remain for local protections against COVID.
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What the Promenade Remembers
The light on the East River in the early morning is different from the light anywhere else on the Island. It comes in low and sideways, catching the water in long, uneven flashes. On certain days it makes the promenade feel less like a walkway and more like a corridor someone once meant to finish but never quite did. When I was younger I found the suggestion to stop and look at it faintly ridiculous.
