Report From 5/6 RIRA Meeting- Red Bus Fixed Schedule Experiment, RIRA To Receive $10,000, Octagon Tenant Turnover Worries & RIRA Wire Column

Image of Roosevelt Island Red Bus from RIOC

Learned the following at last night's Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Common Council Meeting.

• Assembly Member Micah Kellner has secured $10,000 for RIRA;
• RIOC will experiment with a fixed schedule for the Red Bus starting next month;
• during a discussion on Roosevelt Island ferry service, an Octagon RIRA delegate said there was immense concern over tenant turnover at the Octagon by building management;
  
• some RIRA members were concerned with the harsh tone of RIRA President Farance's 5/2/09 Main Street WIRE column regarding the recent Transportation Study conducted by Columbia University students (column is not yet available online) and
• during the discussion on the RIOC Board Nomination Elections to be held on May 19, it was reported that current RIOC Director Charlee Miller has retired and that RIOC Director Patrick Stewart was not going to be re-appointed to the Board
  

I inquired of RIOC President Steve Shane the following:

At last night's RIRA Common Council meeting, it was disclosed that there will be a new Red Bus Schedule, with fixed timing rather than a continuous loop, that will be implemented on an experimental basis next month. Is that true and if so, can you provide some additional details as to what the schedule will be?

Also, it was stated during the meeting that RIOC Director Patrick Stewart will not be re-appointed to the RIOC Board. Is that true?

Mr. Shane replied:

As to the experimental red bus schedule, we have agreed with Frank Farance to try a schedule from 9:55 until 11:30 AM which contemplates a 45 minute loop for the 3 buses in service, departing Octagon at 9:55, 10:10, 10:25, etc.

As to Patrick Stewart, I know that neither he nor anyone else has been nominated by the Mayor/Governor for the seat which he presently occupies and which, by statute, he continues to occupy until a successor is named.

Update - 12:30 PM - Advised by a reader that the 5/2 Main Street WIRE is available online in PDF file format. Also, if you have not read it yet, there is an excellent in-depth interview with RIOC President Steve Shane in that same WIRE issue marking Mr. Shane's two year anniversary as RIOC President. Happy Anniversary!