Over the Easter weekend, the Roosevelt Islander blog posted a fresh video of Roosevelt Island Tram cabins swinging over traffic on 2nd Avenue. Then, it happened again on Monday, but operator Leitner-POMA continued its silence, unable to find a fix for the incidents and icily unconcerned.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
The Truth Is in the Swinging
Here’s what the Roosevelt Islander posted…
This is not new. The first reports came in early last fall, more than six months ago. Other than a weak and misleading presentation at a RIOC board meeting, Leitner-POMA remained silent. The company has not addressed the community even once.
No press releases. No soothing reassurances. No explanations. Nothing.
Numerous reports from people experiencing the swinging incidents firsthand tell of being sickened and terrified. An article in the New York Post recounted a Cornell Tech student’s seeing passengers thrown to the floor.
Still, nothing from Leitner-POMA or from RIOC, which owns the Tram. After the operator soft-petaled safety concerns, RIOC chimed in with support.
The state agency is in a rough situation because there isn’t much in the way of competition from other Tram operators. But board member Ben Fhala has floated the idea of a more independent operation, and that may open some doors.
State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright Challenges Leitner-POMA
In October, after having heard enough from residents and with no action forthcoming from RIOC, Rebecca Seawright asked the state Department of Labor for help. The DOL responded promptly.
Although a full report has not been made public yet, the DOL brought some changes. For the first time, RIOC posted signs advising riders to hold on while in motion. But this came only after Tram operators stopped making announcements.
More significantly, the DOL got Leitner-POMA to add dampeners to Tram cabins that lessen the force of the wild swings. That was surprising as you wouldn’t expect an experienced operator to need that kind of help.
This takes us to the ghost in the room. Although it has mumbled about bluetooth communications problems, Leitner-POMA has neither clearly identified the problems leading the cabin swinging nor found a solution.
After seven months…
In context…
Leitner-POMA’s indifference couples powerfully with the rudeness of its operators and its massive impact on RIOC’s finances.
Put it this way: Leitner-POMA gets a million more out of RIOC’s budget than its 50 member Public Safety Department. The cost of their management contract alone guarantees that the Tram loses money and that Roosevelt Islanders must pay for it.
For this, we get shaky operations and persistently rude personnel. Cabin operators, even after urging from RIOC, can’t be bothered to make announcements about safely holding on nor any effort at protecting reserved seating.
They stand in silence for the most part, except of course when carrying on cellphone chats with friends.
We’re in a bad spot here. So, who’s going to deal with Leitner-POMA?
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