RIOC Announces Preparations For Large Crowds Coming To Roosevelt Island For Cherry Blossom Season And Warmer Weather - Hosting Online Cherry Blossom Community Preparation Meeting Tuesday April 1, You're Invited To Give Feedback
The 2025 Roosevelt Island Cherry Blossom season has begun with trees blooming next to the Roosevelt Island bridge on the east side of Capobianco Field
Dear Roosevelt Island Community:The warmer months always result in an uptick in visitor and pedestrian traffic to the island. With Cherry Blossom season fast approaching, the following controls have been activated and will remain in place through the end of April:
Overcrowding Safety Controls:
- Large crowds on the island will be managed by PSD officers with the assistance of the 114th Precinct.
- Parks will be monitored by PSD throughout the day. Please note that parks will close in the occurrence of overcrowding on the island.
- Additional signage will be placed near the entrances and exits of the Tram on the Manhattan side to help ensure an orderly travel process.
Transportation & Island Services:
NOTE: Please plan your travel accordingly. While delays in Tram travel are to be expected due to increased ridership, the Ferry is a viable option; the F-Train remains a quick and efficient option for travelling to and from the island.
Subway: F train service will run on normal weekend hours. Please plan your travel accordingly and visit mta.info/weekender or call 511 for more information. For electronic updates on F Train service, sign up for MTA Alerts at mymtaalerts.com.
Q102 Bus: The Q102 is also available to help riders traveling on and off Roosevelt Island. You can check the Q102 schedule here.
RIOC Weekend Mini-Shuttle Buses to Manhattan: RIOC’s Transportation Department will once again run a Mini-Shuttle Bus from Roosevelt Island to Manhattan on weekends during the month of April. Shuttles will run hourly (traffic permitting) from 11AM to 7:30PM. The shuttle will depart at the top of every hour from the Roosevelt Island Tramway. The shuttle will then depart on the half hour from the Manhattan Tram station, from the corner of 60th Street and Second Avenue to the Tram. The last shuttle trips will depart from the Roosevelt Island Tram at 7 PM and Manhattan at 7:30 PM.
Tram: PSD officers will be present at each station. Passengers should plan accordingly as they may experience long lines. Before traveling, make sure to check the Tram cams on the RIOC website to see up to the second conditions at the Manhattan station: https://rioc.ny.gov/673/Roosevelt-Island-Tram-Station-Livestream
Ferry Service: Ferry service will run on normal weekend service hours. For schedule info, visit: Ferry.nyc
Vehicular Traffic: In the event of overcrowding, vehicular access to the island will be restricted to island residents and workers only. PSD and NYPD will be stationed at the entryway of the bridge (Vernon and 36th Ave.) to monitor and redirect, if needed.
Bicycles: Citations will be issued to any cyclist/motorized scooters who do not adhere to NYC bike laws.
Garbage Removal: There will be an increase in waste management this weekend to address any littering caused by overcrowding.
For more information, please call PSD at 212-832-4545.
A Long Time Roosevelt Island resident shares this message to RIOC Director of Communications and Community Affairs Bryant Daniels:
Is that Mini-Shuttle you refer to that same, awful, not completely barrier-free & accessible vehicle that looks like a truck? If it is, it is not usable for a variety of folks with physical challenges ... Why can’t RIOC use one of the Red Buses, especially now with 2 new buses (and the rest in pretty good condition). They are safe, barrier-free and accessible....
Mr Daniels replied:
Thanks for the feedback. Yes, it’s the shorter bus—taking a 40-footer off-island right now is a bad move. Maintaining Red Bus service on the island has to be the priority, and the amount of people who utilize this shuttle generally doesn’t exceed what the shorter bus can accommodate.
The shorter bus is also much easier to navigate for our drivers on Queens and Manhattan roads, and with the roadwork going on just off the island, that’s an important consideration, too.
I also think, generally speaking, we need to be thoughtful about not repeating history with the Red Buses. That’s a lot of extra wear and tear going off-island, just when we got our fleet back into shape.
Two of the buses are also about to have mid-life overhauls which will take them out of commission for a few weeks each.
Dear Roosevelt Island Community:
Following the release of our 2025 Island Travel Advisory, RIOC will be hosting a special online community meeting to discuss preparations for the upcoming Cherry Blossom season on the island. This online meeting will be held next Tuesday, April 1st at 6pm via Teams.
The meeting will include a discussion about operational adjustments made to help accommodate for the added foot-traffic to the island during the busy spring season, and will offer residents an opportunity to provide feedback and suggestions to RIOC leadership.
To join the meeting, simply click the link here: Join the meeting now
Thanks and we hope to see you then!
-Team RIOC
During the March 11 2025 RIOC Public Safety Department (PSD) Community Engagement meeting, Chief Kevin Brown spoke about how PSD will handle the large crowds at the Tram with the warmer weather arriving.
According to Chief Brown:
... Warm weather is coming. With the warm weather there's long lines at the Tram. We will be out there. Public Safety will ensure that people are safe on the Tram. We've limited to 50 persons on the platform so that everybody can be safe....
... if you need the elevator for any reason you are allowed to take the elevator. You don't have to prove that you're a certain age. Whoever you are, if you need the elevator you will be allowed to take the elevator and if anybody stops you tell them that you spoke to Chief Brown...
When asked, Chief Brown added that people will have to wait on the long line before using the elevator although PSD Officers have discretion to use "common sense" to allow some people to skip the line and go directly to the elevator.
Here are Chief Brown's full remarks on the subject from the 24 minute mark until 33 minute 50 second mark.
