RIOC intolerable gaffe of the day: “11:10 am. 30 minutes waiting for a bus at 10 River Road that disappeared into garage 10 minutes ago.” RIOC managers were again unplugged and out of the loop until frustrated riders spoke up.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
You’d think that, given the situation with just one bus running on Main Street, dropped down from an ideal of five, that RIOC would be on double alert for any issues. There is, after all, no wiggle room. But you would be wrong.
“Must have been a refuel,” was the answer we got, but maybe it wasn’t. Does anyone know?
That’s not so bad really. It’s not what makes the current situation intolerable, but we can explain what does.
What makes it intolerable
Upsets like the above are inevitable, and while the weather is still good, residents will get through it. Today, guessing that the last Red Bus was down after watching it turn into the garage and not return. Roughly 20 finally boarded a Q102. They paid the fare because free Red Buses – which they already pay for – were not running.
“The Q102 let some of us with shopping carts get on for the ride from 10 River Road to the Chapel,” a resident told The Daily.
All well and good on a mild summer day. It’s not be ideal, but what about when autumn builds? Weather worsens into winter. How will RIOC work this out?
Here’s what might make your blood boil.
Money Comes In From Roosevelt Island, But Goes Out Somewhere Else
RIOC’s interim leadership team did the research. They already know how they can bring in leased buses. These buses would supplement the broken down fleet because the fleet will only get worse over time. The only reason they haven’t done so already, they say, is because it’s too expensive.
Let’s get real. New York State under Governors Cuomo and Hochul dumped a patronage-laden mess on Roosevelt Island. The Haynes administration – purely an Albany creation – foundered. It excelled only in firing good people. It also rewarded loyal executives with huge pay raises. The governor’s office hatched the mess, then refused to clean it up.
The result? A crowded field of endless investigations and expensive lawsuits. Those costs make the decision not to act on bus replacements intolerable.
- RIOC now – out of money collected on Roosevelt Island – pays suspended executives Shelton J. Haynes and Gretchen Robinson, CEO and Chief Counsel respectively – $50,000 a month in salaries and benefits. That’s $600,000 annually, almost enough for one new Red Bus.
- In the last fiscal year, ending on March 31st, RIOC paid about $3.9 million in legal fees and court costs for lawsuits involving Haynes and, often, Robinson. That’s roughly the cost for five new Red Buses, enough to completely replace the superannuated fleet.
All the funds come from Roosevelt Island and not a penny comes back.
Fixing Intolerable
Although Roosevelt Islanders contributed nothing to this mess, residents pay for it. RIOC says it can’t afford replacements or new buses. On the other hand, it can dole out millions to Manhattan law firms. It can ease Haynes’s and Robinson’s idleness with big cash for about eight months now.
The only fix, no joke, is for Team Kathy Hochul to acknowledge the shambles it dumped on Roosevelt Island. It must set up a cash fund to fix it. Then, dump its awful board and appoint a group that will not let anything like this happen again.
As the Dust Settles
The way the wind cuts across the river this time of year. The way older buildings hold heat but never quite hold air. I told myself that was why my chest felt tight again on certain mornings. Age, perhaps.
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Is there anything we, Roosevelt Island residents, can do to get Albany off their behinds on this?
Call Seawright. Call Krueger. Demand change.