Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation

RIOC is guided by a 5-member board of directors.[2] Its management team is headed by President and CEO Shelton J. Haynes, who reports to the board.[1] In 2017, it had operating expenses of $26.09 million and a level of staffing of 175 people.[3]

Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation was created by New York State in 1984 to manage development and operations of Roosevelt Island. Before RIOC there existed other state agencies which ran the island's day-to-day operations such as the Welfare Island Development Corporation and later the Roosevelt Island Development Corporation. The first RIOC Board and President were appointed by the Governor in 1986.

The New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC) operated New York City’s Welfare Island, as Roosevelt Island was previously known, prior to RIOC. Development of the island was based on the principles of urban "new communities" under President Lyndon Johnson’s "Great Society" programs of the 1960s and early 1970s, and development of the "new" community there was authorized by the 99-year ground lease and accompanying General Development Plan (GDP) agreed upon by New York City and New York State in 1969. The NY State GDP, which has been amended from time to time, provides for the development of housing, shops and community facilities for a mixed-income, handicap-accessible residential neighborhood.

Roosevelt Island requires specialized operations and infrastructure maintenance such as the aerial tramway, an on-island bus system, an underground pneumatic tube garbage collection system, and seawall improvements. Basic services such as MTA stops on the subway (Roosevelt Island station) and bus routes (Q102 bus), as well as water and sewage input and output, are provided by other agencies such as the MTA and the City of New York. Meanwhile, RIOC supplements these services with its own specialized operations, infrastructure, and capital improvements.

Today, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation manages a mixed-income community of about 12,000 residents featuring numerous parks and greenspaces, recreational facilities, and six city-designated landmark buildings.[4] The waterfront promenade circling the island provides panoramic views of New York City icons such as the United Nations Headquarters, the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Queensboro Bridge, and the landmarked Pepsi-Cola sign in Queens.

Roosevelt Island Red Bus

Now-retired OBI Orion VII OG HEV 07.501 #2 on the Red Bus shuttle.
Parent	Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation
Locale	Roosevelt Island
Service area	Roosevelt Island - Octagon, Main Street, Tramway, Cornell Tech
Service type	Shuttle bus
Routes	5
Fleet	see below
Fuel type	Diesel and Hybrid
Operator	Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation
Chief executive	Shelton J. Haynes
Website	Official website

The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation operates the Roosevelt Island Tram and the Red Bus, which connects the tram to island locations. As of 2014, the bus service is free.[5]

Bus roster

Active Roster
Fleet Number(s)	Photo	Year	Make	Model	Powertrain		Notes
5-6		2009	OBI	Orion VII NG HEV (07.501)	Cummins ISB	BAE HybriDrive hybrid system
8-9		2016	New Flyer	XD40 Xcelsior	Cummins ISL9	Allison B400R	Purchased to replace Orion VII OG HEV buses due to unreliability.
10-11		2018			Cummins L9
Retired Roster
Fleet Number(s)	Photo	Year	Make	Model	Powertrain		Notes
1-4		2005	OBI	Orion VII OG HEV (07.501)	Cummins ISB	BAE HybriDrive hybrid system	Retired in 2018 1 and 2 were bought by PANYNJ for JFK shuttle use
1-3, 6, 8[8]		1994	New Flyer	D40LF			Likely retired by the purchase of buses 1-4 and 5-6
7		2007	OBI	Orion VII NG HEV	Cummins ISB	BAE Hybridrive Hybrid System	Ex-OBI demo. Demoed with the MTA as #1294. Purchased in March 2010. Last ran in June 2023 and confirmed retired October 2023

[9]

RIOC operates the island's high-tech sanitation system, called automated vacuum collection (AVAC). In this system, a computer turns on the trash receptacles in each building every hour, opening a valve that releases garbage into one of two underground pipes. These pipes then suck the garbage into the AVAC complex, where dust and waste are filtered, packaged, and released. When the system was installed, the only other pneumatic garbage system in the US was in Disney World.[10]

RIOC operates the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department (RIPSD), the law-enforcement agency that patrols the island under the 1968 contract between the city and the state. The department protects the island's property including all public/state facilities, storefronts, and certain contracted residential buildings, and enforces state and city laws on the island. It employs approximately 40 officers.

RIOC maintains and rents out sports fields around the island for public use. The Sportspark exercise facility at the southern end of Roosevelt Island features a pool, basketball court, and ping-pong room.

• Hudson River Park Trust
• Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority
• Lower Manhattan Development Corporation
• Municipal Assistance Corporation for the City of NY
• New York Convention Center Operating Corporation
• United Nations Development Corporation

• Official website
  • "Parks & Recreation". RIOC. Events, memberships, permits
• "RIRA Online". Roosevelt Island Residents Association.