During the Sunday, June 8 Reclaiming The Tram Rally In Support Of Priority Boarding For Roosevelt Island residents and workers, NYC Council Member Julie Menin told us:
So many residents on Roosevelt Island have come to me in the past couple months to say they really want to have residential preference on the tram and so I set up a meeting with the Governor’s office later this month. I’m including a lot of local residents who’ve been working on this issue and it really makes a lot of sense…
The Zoom meeting with the Governor Hochul’s office took place last Monday, June 16, with Ms Menin, Roosevelt Island residents Paul Krikler, Margie Smith, Joyce Short and NY State Deputy Director of Operations Greg Anderson participating.
Yesterday, I asked Ms Menin:
How did the meeting with the Governor’s office go concerning the Roosevelt Island Tram boarding preference?
Are they willing to implement any sort of boarding preference for residents and workers? Do they agree with RIOC’s legal opinion that it is illegal to have boarding preference for residents and workers?
What about the idea of a Fast Pass for everyone that is obtained on Roosevelt Island?
Ms Menin replied:
We met with the Governor’s Office on Monday to discuss solutions to the ongoing tram boarding delays affecting Roosevelt Island residents. The Governor’s Office explained that RIOC’s interpretation of state law prevents the implementation of priority boarding for commuters.
However, they were receptive to the idea of a general pass, available to anyone willing to visit the Island to obtain one. This Roosevelt Island pass will receive serious consideration from the Governor’s Office.
They support a solution that does not depend on specific classifications, such as priority status, but instead offers streamlined boarding to anyone with a pass.
The Governor’s Office will consult with the council to ensure this approach aligns with existing agreements with the City and the MTA. I am encouraged by their willingness to consider this solution and look forward to resolving the issue before the start of the school year in September.
Ms Smith adds:
The residents greatly appreciate how much help Julie has been with this.
More on the Roosevelt Island Tram Line Fast Pass idea from this prior post.
UPDATE 8:20 PM – Paul Krikler adds:
We presented our arguments for why residents and workers need priority boarding of the tram. What seemed to stick most was the idea of a FastPass available to anyone as long as picked up on the island. The people we met with promised to look into this idea.
I’d also like to thank Julie Menin for arranging the meeting and adding her voice to ours. Julie has been so helpful to this effort from day one in so many ways.
Oh this rules