Our article yesterday on the Roosevelt Island Tram’s chaotic operations and looming financial disaster encouraged one Roosevelt Island to write about the “weekday sardine-can-crush…”
by an Anonymous Contributor
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
The Weekday Sardine-Can-Crush
I think it’s essential that you add that the weekday sardine-can-crush between 9:30 am & about 3:30 pm is totally aggravated by the ongoing, wrong-headed decision by RIOC. Or was it POMA? Or both?
Only running a single cabin on weekdays despite the increase in ridership, mostly composed of totally rude visitors clamoring to be near all the windows with their phones and selfie sticks, etc. is not just wrong-headed but also completely inconsiderate of the needs of folks who live here.
Oh, yeah — and barely a mask in sight when rules were in force, even now recommended but optional.
I’ve taken a yellow cab home from Manhattan on a few occasions because it was my best option.
Recently
My three recent trips in the past 10 days, returning to Roosevelt Island between 9:45 & 11 a.m. have been awful beyond words. I live here, am over 70, and I need a seat. One is never available by the time I can board, and the tourists never move aside.
I feel bad for some of the cabin attendants, and for a few of the PSOs occasionally assigned. But this could be addressed by RIOC, POMA & PSD if they really cared about the folks who actually live and work here and for whom the Tram is actually their primary form of transit.
Limiting the number of folks in the cabin and running both cabins on weekdays would make a good start.
It’s only a matter of time till the first verbal or physical altercation between visitors and residents results in a PSD / NYPD event. I won’t even go near the Tram anymore on weekends.
Adding a Personal Note
Around 3:00 yesterday afternoon, I boarded the Tram with two friends, one a husky male, the other a small, disabled woman.
While we talked and our cabin crossed the East River, a tall tourist – camera in hand – shoved my disabled friend aside to get to a window. No apology. No hint of regret.
Gotta get that picture.
How long, RIOC…? How long Leitner-POMA…? before you make any effort at returning Roosevelt Island to Roosevelt Islanders?
DJS.
