It was bizarre, termed a “Clarifying statement.” RIOC reneges, kicking seniors and disabled Tram riders back into cramped crowds of rude and uncaring tourists. This violates the spirit of the state’s mission on Roosevelt Island. It’s also unethical, illegal and unwise.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
RIOC Reneges and It’s Roosevelt Islanders Dead Last Again
Is it RIOC-Speak or Just Plain Lying?
This time, it’s so bold. It must be lying. It’s a fabricated CYA for Public Safety Chief Kevin Brown and Deputy Chief Anthony Amoroso. Here is the falsehood-saturated “clarification” released late Wednesday:
Just to clarify, there is no priority boarding or tram access policy for island residents; that would not be legal as it violates transportation law. What we have continually said is if a senior or disabled rider needs help reaching the tram platform, they should speak with a PSD officer or POMA station attendant who will help those in need reach the platform at their discretion. Boarding the tram cabins through the exit doors is still prohibited. Riders must always pay their fare and pass through the turnstiles to ride the tram.
RIOC Communications Director Bryant Daniels
Of course, this is not a clarification at all. It’s a complete reversal, a return to the insensitive policies of the past. Given what Brown and Amoroso both verified with the Roosevelt Islander, it reverses a commitment to seniors and disabled individuals:
Fellow Roosevelt Islanders: Please be reminded: Seniors and Disabled have PRIORITY, and MAY board trams FIRST. Here’s how:
- Put your MetroCard through the reader at the gate, swing turnstile around so no one else can enter on your card,(or in Manhattan, you can put the card in the reader by the gate, near the Tram overseer stall),
- Then go to the DISEMBARKATION side of whichever tram car you’re waiting for.
- When the incoming tram riders are done disembarking that car, the Tram operator will let you on before he/she opens the doors for regular boarding. RIOC/TRAM employees know this is the method devised to help older and/or mobility challenged residents.
The Roosevelt Islander read it, word for word, to Brown and Amoroso. They confirmed its accuracy.
Today, though, RIOC invites Roosevelt Islanders to pretend it never happened.
A Brief History
As RIOC reneges on its promise to seniors and disabled residents, a flashback might help explain their logic.
When the Tram first opened in 1976, UDC – RIOC’s predecessor – gave Roosevelt Islanders priority passes. That was because tourists started jumping on the chip thrill ride immediately. That lasted four years and ended on a curious note.
UDC and a handful of resident elites cut a deal with Universal Studios that shut down the Tram for a week in 1980. Protests were loud and angry. For one thing, it was illegal. Numerous agreements restrict shutdowns to repairs and maintenance only. Secondly, residents were outraged over not being consulted on the intrusion. Remember, in 1980, there was neither subway nor ferry.
UDC ignored the contracts and, of course, residents, and the movie shoot went on as scheduled. But almost immediately, there was what appears to be retaliation.
The tradition continues.
RIOC cites this 44 year old decision as an excuse for handing over Tram cabins to tourists. Roosevelt Islanders fund the Tram’s multi-million dollar annual deficits, although many can’t use it.
We believed the priority board plan approved by RIOC and its PSD was a solid, thoughtful gesture toward healing gross misconduct. But now, RIOC reneges. That’s wrong for the obvious reasons of stiffing needy residents, but there is more.
RIOC Reneges: Why It’s Illegal As Well As Unethical
The agreement RIOC leans on for refusing help for residents is shaky. As the Roosevelt Islander and others explain. Only “unreasonable” priorities are denied. In other words, RIOC thinks aiding residents who pay all the bills is wrong. They believe that protecting their rights to essential transportation is unreasonable. That’s weak, and it’s unethical.
Moreover, according The Mobility Resource, RIOC has several responsibilities under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. It’s often referenced as the “ADA.” (As a federal statute, ADA supersedes conflicting local laws.) RIOC fails on several of them.
The article lists requirements for all public transportation. The requirements on which RIOC fails are listed in bold:
- Adequate and accessible rider information (large print, braille, electronic format)
- Adequate time to board and exit the vehicle
- Assistance features (lifts, ramps, wheelchair straps) fully functioning at all times
- Properly trained operators and personnel
- Service animals allowed
- Priority seating (pertains to all public transportation methods)
Additionally, specific to fixed route transportation, there is this:
Complimentary paratransit services must be available anywhere that a fixed-route transportation service exists, and they must be accessible on the same days and hours as the fixed-route transportation.
RIOC Fails on that as well.
Finally…
RIOC’s cavalier thumbing their noses at Roosevelt Islanders must end. Not only are they disrespectful of the community, they dig their heels in without viable legal standing. This most recent outrage, setting up priority boarding, then suddenly trashing it, must be the last of it.
It’s time for our elected officials to act. Unelected at any level, run out of Governor Hochul’s Albany, closed doors operations, RIOC must be brought under effective control. Reigning in the abuses is the responsibility of those we did elects. That includes Hochul, Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright, Senator Liz Krueger, City Council Member Julie Menin and Congressman Jerry Nadler.
A Different Kind of Bet
For years, Roosevelt Island did not behave like a system constrained by limits. Internally, the budget was often treated less as a boundary and more as a reservoir to be used.
