Report From The RIOC Interim Leadership Team On Roosevelt Island Red Bus Service, Tram Operations, Infrastructure Repairs, Executive Management Search & More Among Topics In Very Interesting January 2025 Newsletter From RIOC

According to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC): 

Dear Roosevelt Island Community:

The first RIOC Newsletter of 2025 is here!

Hear from the RIOC Interim Leadership Team, meet new Assistant Manager at the Roosevelt Island Tramway Darren McCarthy, read the latest updates from RIOC and much more!

Hard copies can be picked up starting later today at the Roosevelt Island Older Adult Center (546 Main Street), the Public Safety Department (546 Main Street), and the Roosevelt Island Public Library (504 Main Street). You can also view it anytime by visiting the RIOC website 

Here is the RIOC Interim Leadership Team Letter of CFO Dhru Amin, Acting Chief Operating Officer Mary Cunneen and Associate General Counsel Lada Stasko from the January 2025 RIOC newsletter.

Dear Roosevelt Islanders:

We wish everyone on Roosevelt Island a very happy New Year! This year marks the 50th anniversary of residents moving to the island— what an incredible milestone! 2025 got off to a strong start for us at RIOC with the arrival of our two new Red Buses, which went into service starting January 8th. It was a long road to get here, but we want to thank our finance, procurement, and transportation teams for their months of hard work in bringing these buses to Roosevelt Island. As many of you know, the state of our Red Bus fleet has been severely diminished over the course of many years, resulting in reduction of service in August of last year. Since then, the corporation has succeeded in rebuilding the fleet, adding transportation personnel, enhancing maintenance efforts and restoring service to the appropriate level . As of this month, we are on track to meet our goals; most mornings now see four Red Buses on the road for local service, while our minibus has become the new Octagon Express shuttle. In addition, we have restored the weekly Shoppers Bus service for elderly and disabled riders, which we know is an important lifeline for many islanders. Some challenges remain, and we are currently planning our next bus purchase, given the advanced age of most of our fleet. But we are on much firmer footing today than we’ve been in quite some time, and we appreciate the patience the community has shown us during this journey.

Regarding the Tram service, as you’ll read further in this newsletter, we’ve made some operational adjustments, including additional PSD presence on the Manhattan side even when lines haven’t formed, installing new priority seating signage inside the cabins, and working with our Tram operator, Leitner-Poma, to improve the visibility of station attendants on the Tram platform, all of which we hope will improve the overall rider experience. Over the winter holiday break, we experienced several days of heavy ridership, due in part to the influx of tourists and favorable weather conditions. Our focus remains on working with Poma and state regulators to return the Tram to its previous schedule, which should help alleviate some of the wait times when lines form. Please be aware that while we recognize residents’ efforts advocating for the Tram priority boarding, the reality is that the Tram is a common carrier and a form of public transportation subject to state laws and certain inter-agency agreements. Rest assured that will continue focusing our efforts on working with Poma to expedite repairs to the Tram’s communication system, which will allow us to resume running the Tram permanently at a faster pace and return to the prior, normal schedule.

Looking ahead to 2025, we have several infrastructure projects we aim to continue or close out, including our Roadways Redesign Project, replacing the railings along Eleanor’s Pier, repairing the concrete around The Girl Puzzle Monument, and completing the remediation work to fix the persistent flooding in front of Sportspark at the corner of North Loop Road. For the Tram, we have budgeted a capital project for Tram modernization to improve the cabins and brakes. We will also work to expand the footprint of our new digital signage, including adding new kiosks at the Manhattan Tram station and the F-train stop. Additionally, we’ll continue making everyday quality- of-life improvements, from fixing Z-bricks to ensuring our grounds remain beautiful and well-kept, as they always need attention. And in 2025, RIOC has partnered up with New York Community Trust (NYCT) to provide $250k in funding to be distributed in public purpose grants to island non-profits. NYCT plans to release the RFP for grant funding in mid-February, which will be available on their portal and open to all Roosevelt Island nonprofits that wish to apply.

Finally, a quick update on RIOC’s leadership situation. While we have been proud to step up and work together as an interim leadership team for almost a year, filling multiple high-level roles without a President/CEO and General Counsel can be a challenge, especially over an extended period. In December 2024, RIOC issued an RFP for an executive search firm, which, once in place, will begin working to find a new CEO and General Counsel for the corporation. This process will take some time, at least several months, before any roles are filled. So, we appreciate the community’s continued patience and understanding. As soon as these vacant executive positions are approved by RIOC’s Board of Directors, we will be able to move forward collectively at full strength.

Dhru, Mary, Lada

 and the full newsletter.

Click here for the RIOC Newsletter.