NY State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright, Chair Of Aging Committee, Asks The MTA Bus Company To Send Mobile Sales Vehicle To Roosevelt Island To Help With Reduced Fare Application And Other Services

The MTA has a Mobile Sales vehicle program that travels to various NYC neighborhoods offering services such as:

• Get help with a Reduced-Fare application
• Get more information about OMNY and sign up
• Transfer MetroCard balances (full-fare and Reduced-Fare to OMNY account)
• Report a lost/stolen Reduced-Fare MetroCard
• Ask our team about any OMNY-related issues
• Add money to your OMNY card

As far as I'm aware, the MTA Mobile Sales service has not come to Roosevelt Island.

I asked Roosevelt Island's NY State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright if she could help get the MTA to bring a mobile sales vehicle to Roosevelt Island.

Today, Ms Seawright shares this letter she sent to Senior Vice President Department of Buses/MTA Bus Company Frank Annicaro.

Dear Vice President Annicaro:

Thank you very much for your leadership at the MTA.

On behalf of my constituents on Roosevelt Island, I am writing you today to request that a mobile sales vehicle return to the Island. 

As you know, Roosevelt Island’s over twelve thousand residents have limited public transportation options. The Tram’s recent, well-chronicled overcrowding has only intensified these challenges.

Over twenty percent of residents are older New Yorkers and thousands are people with disabilities.  Both groups are eligible for reduced fare and would benefit from the mobile sales vehicle.  As Chair of the Assembly’s Aging Committee, I request the return of the Roosevelt Island mobile sales service providing access to reduced fare applications, OMNY guidance and other customer services, that would otherwise be inaccessible to older people and people with disabilities.

I remain thankful to your department for providing these vehicles to my district on the Upper East Side. I have witnessed firsthand the benefits they provide, especially during the current MetroCard-to-OMNY transition.

Thank you for your consideration. I appreciate your attention to this important matter of accessibility. If we may provide additional information, please do not hesitate to contact my Chief of Staff, Courtney Ferrissey, at 212-288-4607.

Sincerely,

Rebecca A. Seawright,  New York State Assembly Member

I'm grateful to Speaker @CarlHeastie for this incredible opportunity to champion New York's nearly five million older adults. pic.twitter.com/ZMWDZr1pCf

— Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright (@SeawrightForNY) January 9, 2025

Here's Assembly Member Seawright as Chair of the Committee on Aging, speaking with the New York State Office for the Aging's Acting Director, Greg Olsen, during a February 25 joint budget hearing on Human Services. 

Big Changes For Roosevelt Island Coming With MTA's Proposed Final Queens Bus Network Redesign Plan - Q102 Eliminated Replaced By Q104 Going To Sunnyside Via Broadway In Astoria, No Access To Queens Plaza Subway Hub From Roosevelt Island

Queens riders! We are thrilled to share the Proposed Final Plan of the Queens Bus Network Redesign 🚌

Driven by your feedback, this plan focuses on more reliable service, faster travel, better connections, and ease of use.

Read the proposed plan: https://t.co/8jV9G8R1rP

— MTA (@MTA) December 12, 2023

This is the new Roosevelt Island bus route and schedule proposed by the MTA's Queens Bus Network Redesign Plan.

 According to the MTA:

PROPOSED ROUTE SUMMARY

The proposed Q104 would be extended to serve Roosevelt Island at its western terminal, replacing Q102 service, which would be discontinued. The Q104 would continue to serve Broadway and 48 St, maintaining its connection with the 7 train. Most existing Q102 train connections would be maintained on the proposed Q104. Existing Q102 service along E Loop Rd/W Loop Rd south of the Roosevelt Island F train station would be discontinued. Existing Q102 service along 31 St would be replaced by the proposed Q105. 

To match stop spacing on other Local routes, Q104 stops would be spaced slightly further apart than existing to speed up buses and improve reliability. 

Both frequency and span would be increased to resemble Q102 service.

The proposed Q104 will connect to the N and W trains at the 31st Street/Broadway subway station which is handicapped accessible and connect to the M and R trains at the 48th Street/Broadway subway station which is not. The Q104 will also connect to the 7 train at the 48th Street subway station which is handicapped accessible.

The proposed bus route will be a big change for Roosevelt Island residents and workers who will no longer have access to the Queens Plaza/Queensboro Plaza subway hubs via the current Q102 bus 

which will be eliminated under the proposed Queens Bus Network Redesign Plan. But we will have better access to Socrates Sculpture Park and Costco on Vernon B'lvd as well as the restaurants and attractions in Astoria.

NBC New York reports on today's Queens Bus Network Redesign plan announcement by the MTA

and Passengers United has the full MTA press conference on the subject.

And, of course, we still want your feedback! ✍️

Leave us a comment on our website or attend one of our forthcoming Open Houses or pop-up events — details on those will be announced shortly.https://t.co/YpUoDynu6P

— MTA (@MTA) December 12, 2023

Update On Changes To Roosevelt Island NYC Bus Route Proposed By MTA Queens Bus Network Redesign - RIOC Says They Don't Want Reduction In Service And Will Discuss With MTA, Resident Blasts MTA For Lack Of Knowledge About RI, LIC And Astoria Q102 Bus Riders

Reported yesterday on the new Roosevelt Island NYC Bus Route to replace the current Q102 proposed by the MTA's Queens Bus Network Redesign:

Roosevelt Island will be served with a new QT78 NYC Bus Route

Image From MTA

under the Queens Bus Network Redesign Draft Plan proposed by the MTA replacing the Q102 route currently serving Roosevelt Island.

The proposed Roosevelt Island bus route will travel on 36th avenue to and from Roosevelt Island bringing better access to Astoria but will no longer travel the current circuitous route to Queens Plaza.

It appears that the new Roosevelt Island NYC Bus Service does not cover area north of the Roosevelt Island Bridge including Coler Hospital and the Octagon Building or south of the Tram Station as the current Q102 service does

I asked Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) President Susan Rosenhtal:

... Is RIOC giving any input to the MTA on proposed new route?

Any statement from RIOC on the proposed new MTA Bus route?...

RIOC Public Information Officer Terrence McCauley replied:

RIOC staff is in contact with the MTA to discuss these proposed changes. We certainly do not want to see any reduction in service. We also encourage our residents to contact the MTA directly to voice their concerns.... The map you got from their website certainly looks like there are changes to the route on the Island, but those maps aren’t always accurate.

The MTA asks for your online comments on the new Roosevelt Island bus route.

Longtime Roosevelt Island resident and retired Public Transit advocate Nina Lublin responded to the MTA's proposed new Roosevelt Island NYC Bus route:

My rage towards the MTA, Mr. Byford & the dopes who came up with this plan is the seemingly total lack of regard -- or knowledge -- of the Roosevelt Island community, and the many LIC & Astoria folks who depend on the Q102 to get to Queens Plaza (or RI) for both Bus & Subway access to Queens, Brooklyn, & especially the 3 buses that go to & from Manhattan.

Coler Hospital  employees without cars? Or the folks who visit them? I'm sure HHC & 1199 are not happy

What about the many folks from who depend on wheelchair-accessible / disability friendly bus service to & from Roosevelt Island -- especially when there is no F Train service?

The folks at the Queensbridge Houses will be impacted severely as for many of them the Q102 gets them to & from shopping, doctor appointments, the F train at 21st street & much more.

You too, can tell the MTA what you think of the proposed plan.

More on the proposed change to Roosevelt Island NYC bus service here.

New Roosevelt Island Bus Route Proposed By MTA's Queens Bus Network Redesign - Replaces Current Q102 Route For New 36th Ave Route Thru Astoria To Middle Village, New Plan May Not Cover All Of Roosevelt Island

Queens! The proposed #queensbusredesign draft plan is here, and we need your feedback. See the new route profiles, check out the interactive maps, and most importantly, share your comments with the planning team here 👇https://t.co/yls4EMOH1u

— NYCT Buses (@NYCTBus) December 31, 2019

According to the MTA:

For the last few months, we’ve been diligently working to completely redraw the Queens Bus Network to create a faster, more reliable system of interconnected routes. To do this, we wiped the map clean and started from scratch, which means there are a lot of changes proposed in this proposed Draft Plan. Read it carefully, and make sure to review the new routes, see what your commute would be like in the new network, and most importantly, let us know what you think

Read the introduction and next steps, and download the entire Draft Plan here....

And about the new Roosevelt Island bus route:

... Route Statistics

Length: 7.1 miles
Number of turns per mile: 0.6
Priority Corridor: No

Route Summary

We propose the QT78 - Roosevelt Island-Middle Village route, the purpose of which is to link neighborhoods, key transit connections and important destinations. It operates between Middle Village/Fresh Pond Road and Roosevelt Island....

Roosevelt Island will be served with a new QT78 NYC Bus Route

Image From MTA

under the Queens Bus Network Redesign Draft Plan proposed by the MTA replacing the Q102 route currently serving Roosevelt Island.

 Image From MTA

The proposed Roosevelt Island bus route will travel on 36th avenue to and from Roosevelt Island bringing better access to Astoria but will no longer travel the current circuitous route to Queens Plaza.

It appears that the new Roosevelt Island NYC Bus Service does not cover area north of the Roosevelt Island Bridge including Coler Hospital and the Octagon Building or south of the Tram Station as the current Q102 service does and:

... Bus stops on the QT78 - Roosevelt Island-Middle Village are spaced approximately 1,325 feet apart, excluding non-stop portions of the route...

The Draft Plan also eliminates the Q103 Vernon B'lvd route that has a stop at the foot of the Roosevelt Island Bridge on 36th Ave.

Image From MTA

You can tell the MTA your thoughts

 Image From MTA

on the proposed new Roosevelt Island bus route here.

No Roosevelt Island F Train Service At All Overnight Monday Thru Friday August 26 To 30 - MTA Says Take The Free Overnight Bus Shuttle Between Roosevelt Island And Queens Plaza During Late Night Hours

There is no Roosevelt Island F Train service to and from Manhattan overnight this Monday August 26 thru Friday August 30.

The MTA will provide free overnight shuttle buses between Roosevelt Island and Queens Plaza.

According to the MTA:

TRACK MAINTENANCE

Aug 26 - 30, Mon to Fri, from 9:45 PM to 5 AM
F Trains run via the E in both directions between Roosevelt Av, Queens and 5 Av/53 St, Manhattan

No service at 21 St-Queensbridge, Roosevelt Island, Lexington Av/63 St and 57 St.

Free shuttle buses provide alternate service and run between Roosevelt Island and Queens Plaza, stopping at 21 St-Queensbridge.

Travel Alternatives:

For 21 St-Queensbridge and Roosevelt Island, take a bus.

Earlier today, I spotted these MTA No Drop Off signs at the Q102 bus stops and asked the MTA via Twitter:

Can @NYCTBus translate what the @Mta drop off only signs at Roosevelt Island bus stops mean. Is the Q102 bus not picking up riders? @RIOCny @BenKallos pic.twitter.com/bzJWJtIbIl

— Roosevelt Islander (@Rooseveltisland) August 26, 2019

MTA replied:

Got a quick answer - those "Drop off only" signs are for the F Shuttle Bus tonight from Queens Plaza to Roosevelt Island station, as per the route instructions and signage created, the F Shuttle is to make all Q102 stops on the island as well, dropping off only. ^JP

— NYCT Buses (@NYCTBus) August 26, 2019

The Roosevelt Island Tram operates until 2 AM.

Good luck getting to or leaving Roosevelt Island during these hours.