This page will be frequently updated, reflecting the current status of local transportation options. This a service of the Roosevelt Island Daily News.
Updated: April 17th, 2022
Roosevelt Island Tram
Both Tram Cabins are now in service. Limits on cabin capacity have been removed. The Tram closes every night from 1:00 a.m. until 6:00 a.m.
The Tram participates in MTA Easy Pass system, including free transfers between it and MTA buses and subway. Caution: The Tram is not set up with OMNY readers. If you use OMNY to enter the system, you will not get a free transfer.
Normal schedule is every fifteen minutes on the quarter hour, except during rush hours when cabins run every 7 1/2 minutes.
MTA Subway, F-Train, Roosevelt Island Station
- April 19th to 21st, Tuesday to Thursday, 11:45 PM to 5 AM
- F trains will skip Roosevelt Island in both directions because of accessibility improvements.
- Free shuttle buses will run between Roosevelt Island and 21 St-Queensbridge.
- Transfer between trains and buses at 21 St-Queensbridge.
Face masks are required for all on New York public transit, including subways and buses.
Click here for up-to-date information on all MTA subway lines.
RIOC Red Buses
Red buses are free and operate at all marked stops at 15 minute intervals on a route that circles from Southpoint Park and The Octagon. Rush hours increase service to 7 1/2 minutes.
NYC Ferry
NYC Ferry brings full time service to Roosevelt Island on the Astoria Line. Connections are available for all city boroughs, except Staten Island. Spring schedules begin April 5th.
Latest news for Roosevelt Island
- RIOC Board Meeting, May 2022: A New Exercise in Bunker Mode
Bunker mode fits as well with New York’s Open Meetings Law as a whale on a shrimp boat. They’re antithetical. One reveals things; the other hides them. But controlled by an irresponsible governor and a board of virtual lacky arthropods, it’s what we’re likely to get for the foreseeable future. No one within that framework - Another One Bites the Dust: Markus Sztejnberg Exits RIOCMarkus Sztejnberg, the latest domino to fall in a row of RIOC executives, left recently after just a few months on staff. He “…is the latest RIOC executive to resign,” an informant tells The Daily. “Haynes is keeping quiet about it in his bunker. It all looks and smells bad.” by David Stone The Roosevelt
- Losing Maloney, Maybe. Serrano for Sure. Final RedistrictingFinal redistricting by a Special Master appointed by a Steuben County judge guts the voting map approved by Democrats. The same judge threw them out as unconstitutional, and New York’s highest court agreed. Big change for Roosevelt Island is certain. It’s only a question of how big. by David Stone The Roosevelt Island Daily News
- What Went Wrong? Bungling Public Purpose Grants AgainUnderstanding what went wrong – again – with distributing public purpose funds starts with a single point. It’s an aggravating factor that’s existed for years. RIOC knows it but won’t fix it. While showing extraordinary generosity to its executives, the state agency under Governor Kathy Hochul is an unsparing cheapskate when it comes to the
- Spring is here, and the Southpoint Rock Farm is… RockyThe Shelton J. Haynes/Langan Southpoint Rock Farm promised pathways with “lush vegetation.” Promise fulfilled? You decide. by David Stone The Roosevelt Island Daily News The Southpoint Rock Farm Today The secret deal cut between the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) and bestie Langan yielded significant seawall safety improvements. And torturous esthetic sins. A rock garden
