Report From RIOC President Leslie Torres - Congratulates Super Bowl Winning NY Giants, Roosevelt Island Verdant Tidal Enery Project, 2.1 Million Tram Riders, NYPD and FDNY Tram Rescue Training, Red Bus GPS Tracking Fix, Grandparents Safety Day and Black History Month

 Image of Roosevelt Island Red Bus GPS Tracking Screenshot from Itunes

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) President Lesie Torres sends the following report to Roosevelt Island residents.

Congratulations to the Super Bowl champion New York Giants! I’m sure all of you Giants fans enjoyed the game and the celebration in the days that followed. Hopefully the team’s display of hard work and unity can give us all a little bit of inspiration.

Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy Project Moves Forward

While the south end of Roosevelt Island prepares to become the host site of the new Cornell/Technion Applied Sciences Campus, the waters off the north end of the Island will soon be home to another kind of groundbreaking innovation. Last month the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted Verdant Power the first-ever 10-year license to create a tidal wave energy plant right here in the East River. Verdant launched a pilot version of the project in 2002, culminating with the delivery of electricity to Gristedes and Motorgate. The expanded field of underwater windmills, to be located in the waters north of the Roosevelt Island Bridge, is projected to supply electricity to more than 9,500 homes on the Island by 2015. Dubbed the Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy (RITE) project, it is another example of the Island a leader in innovation and green technology, not only for the city, but for the world as well.

More Than 2.1 Million Ride Tram in 2011

RIOC is excited to announce that a record 2,109,878 people rode our Tram in 2011, the first full year since the Tramway modernization project was completed. That’s over 5,700 riders per day! The new Tram system, which opened in November 2010, offers a quicker, smoother, safer ride, while simultaneously using less electricity – not to mention those breathtaking views of the Manhattan skyline. Also, you’ve probably noticed that it doesn’t shut down during inclement weather as frequently as the old Tram did. The new Tram has truly been an innovation in mass transit for residents and visitors alike, and will serve the Island well in the exciting – and busy – years ahead.

NYPD and FDNY Use Tram for Periodic Training

If you were near the Tram between 10 am and 2 pm this past Wednesday, you may have noticed NYPD officers conducting exercises on one of the cars. They were part of routine training sessions that NYPD and FDNY periodically conduct on the Tram to test their equipment. These sessions take place only during off-peak hours and use only one car, so that regular ridership on the other car is unaffected. RIOC always distributes an advisory via email before each training sessions to let residents know when they will occur. To subscribe and receive our advisories, you can send an email to subscribe@rioc.com.

Apps Track Red Buses

Last week RIOC received word that the iOS RBT Red Bus Tracking App wasn’t functioning properly. This is a good opportunity to explain how riders can use their mobile devices to track buses’ progress, for those who aren’t aware. A service called NextBus tracks RIOC’s Red Buses, which are equipped with a GPS system. Riders can see the location of each bus on www.nextbus.com, and by accessing the aforementioned RBT App or the R.I. Bus Tracker App for Android devices. You can plan your trip by checking the next arrival times at the stop closest to you. When the RBT App stopped working last week, RIOC discovered that NextBus was still showing the location of all the buses, and thus the problem was with the app, not the GPS. At the risk of getting too technical, it turns out that the app required an update in order to continue communicating with NextBus’ GPS. As of the evening of February 2, the RBT App was back up and running. We hope you will take advantage of this technology to make your travel as smooth as possible.

Grandparents Safety Day

I encourage seniors and their grandchildren to come out to our annual Grandparents Safety Day on Thursday, February 23 at the Roosevelt Island Senior Center (546 Main Street), starting at 11 am. Co-sponsored by RIOC’s Public Safety Department and Safe Kids NYC, the event will feature safety tips, goodie bags and light refreshments. It’s part of the Public Safety Department’s on-going efforts to keep citizens young and old safe.

Black History Month Celebration

Please join us on Saturday February 25 at the Senior Center as we celebrate the achievements and contributions of African Americans throughout history with music, poetry and dance. Festivities begin at 2 pm and light refreshments will be served. RIOC is proud to partner with the Roosevelt Island Senior Association to bring you this fun event.