It’s a Friday morning rush, and a resident reports, “3 separate maskless riders on the 9:15 (non-express) and one of them is actively coughing.” But he has seen, photographed and reported similar before. And after all these months of COVID cases, RIOC has not changed. Well, really, it has. It got worse.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Even after the Tram tightened up COVID precautions, arming operators with face masks, making clear announcements and enforcing rules, RIOC’s hapless on-Island team doesn’t get it. Or doesn’t care. (The Tram is not operated by RIOC)
COVID infections are on the rise across the U.S. and one county – Alameda in California – restarted its mask mandate. There’s a simple way of preventing that here: Follow the guidance concerning face masks and social distancing.
But some people won’t without encouragement or even enforcement, when necessary. RIOC doesn’t get that, and Roosevelt Islanders, including infants, get exposed every day, just by using needed public transit.
How do face masks help prevent the spreading of COVID infections?
Face masks are meant to protect other people in case the mask wearer is infected with COVID-19. The CDC says a face mask “covers your nose and mouth to help prevent the spread of germs.”
“Masks are most likely to reduce the spread of COVID-19 when they are widely used by people in public settings,” the CDC adds. “Masks should be used as part of a comprehensive strategy of measures to suppress and control COVID-19 in public settings, especially where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.”
The bottom line is that wearing a face mask helps protect other people, and it’s something we should all be doing whenever we’re in public.
But here on Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island, layered in direct taxes at four levels, may be the highest taxed community in America. But your taxes, including around $30 million annually paying for RIOC, are probably the worst investment you will ever make.
“For some reason,” our reader wrote, “the Express bus hasn’t arrived and this bus has been sitting here since before the departure time of 9:08……so it seems they have a shortage of buses or drivers today also.”
That also earned them extra exposure from a collection of five maskless passengers undisturbed by drivers or PSD.
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“I Can Ask”
Chair Fay Christian opened the Operations Advisory Committee on February 12th, reading out member names from a prepared sheet that omitted Melissa Wade. It didn’t feel intentional, but it struck me as odd precisely because it came from something prepared. Lydia Tang gently corrected her, noting that Wade was, in fact, a member of the committee. Wade met the moment with grace, or perhaps she simply wasn’t bothered by it.
