Background What is now Roosevelt Island was, until the mid-20th century, known as Blackwell's Island or Welfare Island; it was largely occupied by hospitals and asylums. The
Queensboro Bridge, which connected the island with Queens and Manhattan, opened in 1909. A
trolley (streetcar) line ran across the bridge when it opened, stopping in the middle of the bridge at an elevator that took passengers down to the island. a
bridge to Queens had been completed two years earlier. After the state government leased Welfare Island from the city in 1969, several large housing developments were built there in the early 1970s, necessitating the construction of a public transit connection. Welfare Island was renamed Roosevelt Island in 1973, and residents began moving onto the island in mid-1975. The
Roosevelt Island subway station on the
63rd Street Line was being developed to serve the new community, but the entire line was delayed significantly by the mid-1970s. The first residents of Roosevelt Island had to travel through Queens to leave the island, making it difficult to travel to and from Manhattan via car.
Development Planning Because of the delays in building the subway line, an alternative mode of transportation between Manhattan and Roosevelt Island had to be devised. At a meeting of
Manhattan Community Board 8 in September 1971, the Welfare Island Development Corporation proposed an aerial tramway, which the board narrowly approved the next month. The tram was to run between the Motorgate parking garage on Welfare Island and
72nd Street on Manhattan's Upper East Side, with two 120-passenger cabins that ascended above the East River.
The Christian Science Monitor wrote that the tramway "ought to be the classiest transportation buy in New York City". Although the 72nd Street location had been selected because it was far from the subway, wealthy Manhattan residents objected to the tramway's terminal being placed there. The
Urban Development Corporation (UDC), a New York state agency, had studied the feasibility of a ferry, a bus, and an aerial tramway by 1972. Ferry routes to 34th, 63rd, and 71st Streets were studied but were ruled out due to high operating costs, lack of mass-transit connections, and lack of union support. Other alternatives under consideration included an elevator extending directly from the Queensboro Bridge. UDC architect William Chafee proposed an aerial tramway, which was ultimately selected because it was cheap, direct, and fit into Roosevelt Island's quiet character. By early 1973, the UDC was finalizing plans for a tramway, The tramway was to be the main means of travel between Roosevelt Island and Manhattan, The plans called for two 125-passenger cabins that would travel across the East River's western channel, just south of the Queensboro Bridge. Officials hoped the tramway would help the UDC's sales campaigns for the island. Residents of
Sutton Place, a street facing the East River in Manhattan, opposed the tramway plan because they felt the tramway would cause
urban blight. The
United States Coast Guard also needed to approve the project because it crossed a
navigable waterway. UDC president Ed Logue said that "no prominent people lived" near the bridge's north side. The state government was given a franchise for the tramway in December 1973, allowing construction to begin.
Construction Swiss firm
Von Roll was selected to supply and erect the tram and its equipment, in part because, according to the
New York Daily News, Von Roll made the "Cadillac of tramways". VSL, a subsidiary of Von Roll, installed the equipment. The footpath on the Queensboro Bridge was shuttered that July in preparation for the tramway's opening, and a pair of lampposts at the Manhattan end of the Queensboro Bridge were removed to make way for the tramway. On the Roosevelt Island side, work was delayed because of the need to relocate the island's municipal laundry building. Work on the route began the first week of October 1974. An interim commuter bus to Manhattan via Queens was launched in March 1975; the bus route took up to an hour to reach Manhattan, whereas the tramway was expected to take five minutes. The tramway's engineer, David Ozerkis, predicted the next month that construction would be complete within the year. The towers for the tram route were erected by July 1975, when completion was projected for that December. The first cables for the tramway were installed the next month. in part due to strikes and inclement weather. The tramway had cost $6.25 million or $6.8 million to build As built, there was one elevator at the Manhattan terminal; the Roosevelt Island terminal was at ground level. The route was free on its opening day, but rides were 50 cents () thereafter. Following Roosevelt Island residents' complaints, the UDC stopped selling fares in Manhattan, gave "priority passes" to Roosevelt Island residents, limited the capacity of each tram, and prohibited several activities onboard. Bicycles were allowed in the cabins, but the UDC gave priority to passengers.
Paul Goldberger of
The New York Times wrote that Roosevelt Island's popularity rose significantly after the tramway opened, while a writer for the
Gannett News Service said the tramway had become both a tourist attraction in itself and an icon of the island. there was no bidding process before VSL received the contract. The UDC received a $2 million annual subsidy from the state government (equivalent to $ million in ) for the tramway and other projects on Roosevelt Island. In 1977—its first full year of operation—the tramway recorded an $800,000 deficit (). The tramway's
liability insurance policy cost $900,000 per year (), almost equal to its revenue from fares; such an expensive insurance cost was necessitated by the fact that there were no other aerial commuter tramways in the U.S. In addition, operating expenses amounted to $1 million a year (equivalent to $ million in ), The tramway was shuttered in mid-November 1978 so workers could replace the haul cable, which was beyond the end of its service life. The cable replacement project cost $75,000 and took two weeks. Afterward, the tramway had to be closed every two years so workers could replace the haul cable.
1980s A plaza around the tram's Manhattan terminal was established in 1980. After the tram was closed in November 1980 for haul cable replacement, the new cable fell twice in one month, prompting investigations by the state government. The months-long closure caused overcrowding on Queens bus routes and did not end until March 1981. The extended closure of the tramway had also prompted proposals for a year-round ferry to Roosevelt Island, but interest in the ferry disappeared after the tram reopened. Further haul-cable replacements occurred in November 1983 and August 1985. Although both cabins were originally red, one of the cabins was repainted blue in 1984, prompting complaints from some residents. State officials warned in late 1985 that tram passengers could have to wait as long as 45 minutes if the subway line to Roosevelt Island were not completed within three years. The
Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC), a state agency created in 1984 to manage Roosevelt Island, took over the tram service when it was created. The tramway's insurance cost $677,000 a year () when the liability insurance policy expired in early 1986; at the time, the tram served 150,000 people a month. After the insurance expired, the
New York State Senate failed to pass a bill that allowed the state to
self-insure the tramway; the
New York State Assembly, the state's other legislative body, had already approved the bill. This was in part due to objections from
upstate politicians who wanted liability insurance for their communities as well. The route stopped running in February 1986. After the State Senate initially rejected the self-insurance bill again, it ultimately allowed the state government to pay $8 million a year in insurance (equivalent to $ million in ), The State Senate failed to pass a separate bill that would formalize the state government's involvement in paying insurance. By mid-1986, the tramway was operating at full capacity. The tramway closed for a week in August 1986 due to an electrical issue, and the blue cabin was repainted red. Under an agreement with the city government, fares on the tramway were raised by 25 cents after the 63rd Street subway opened in October 1989. RIOC estimated that the tram would lose $1 million in a year (equivalent to $ million in ) because of competition from the subway.
New York magazine wrote that some residents opposed the tramway's closure because it provided a wheelchair-accessible connection to more bus routes in Manhattan than the subway did. Two thousand people signed a petition in support of saving the tramway, Dryfoos's bill called for the city to stop charging the tramway a $136,000 annual franchise fee (); remove a requirement that a tram ride be more expensive than a subway ride; and allow students to ride the tram for free. The Board of Estimate agreed to provide discounted senior fares and free student fares; while the
Office of Management and Budget agreed to fund the senior fares, the
Department of Education would not pay for the student fares. RIOC also wanted the city government to attract tourists to the tram. In late 1990,
NYNEX received permission to build a phone substation and an observation deck directly beneath the tramway, next to one of the support towers. Ultimately, the tramway remained as a permanent transit link. The tram was closed in October 1993 due to electrical issues and was repaired over the next three months. It reopened in February 1994 but closed again that July for a $2.1 million renovation (equivalent to $ million in ). During the 1990s, RIOC promoted various programs and events to increase its revenue and the tramway's ridership. To promote museums in
Long Island City and
Astoria, Queens, RIOC started selling "Tram Artlink" passes in 1994, which included tram tickets, connecting bus service, and museum admission. By 1995, further financial troubles forced RIOC to propose reducing service by four hours on weekdays and five hours on weekends. RIOC's agreement with the city government expired in 1995. at the time, the tram was operating at a $1 million annual loss (equivalent to $ million in ). Despite protests from residents, With the elimination of the state subsidy, Roosevelt Island residents feared that the tram could not be repaired in an emergency, since many parts for the tram were manufactured in Switzerland and imported at a high cost. Residents also expressed concerns over decreases in service. The tramway was again temporarily shuttered in January 1998 when a crane hit a cabin and injured 11 passengers; after the damaged cabin was repaired, the tramway reopened one week later. The tram was still losing $700,000 a year (), and twice as many people used the Roosevelt Island subway station as the tramway. Roosevelt Island's chief operating officer, Jerome Blue, wanted to reduce operating hours to save money, but many of the island's residents objected. In particular, disabled and senior residents preferred using the tram over the subway. The elevators to the subway station were often out of service, and the island's wheelchair-accessible buses traveled only to Queens. Blue also wanted to eliminate free fares for students, but this was unsuccessful, as was his attempt to cut back operating hours. By the late 1990s, tramway riders were advocating for free transfers to the bus and subway systems; at the time, riders had to pay another fare if they wanted to transfer.
21st century 2000s: Increasing unreliability By 2001, there were plans to halt all service from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. due to low ridership. Each nighttime trip effectively received a $6.45 subsidy from the RIOC (equivalent to $ in ), more than double the subsidy for each daytime trip, and the line was losing $1.7 million annually (equivalent to $ million in ). The tramway was temporarily closed for cable replacement in November 2001. Although the closure was supposed to last one month, the tramway did not reopen until March 2002 because the original replacement cable was too short. During the closure, the cabins were also restored. The RIOC's chief operating officer Robert Ryan proposed running advertisements on the tram cabins in mid-2002 to reduce the line's operating deficit, though New York City Council speaker
Gifford Miller said such advertisements were illegal. but the Roosevelt Island Tramway continued to use tokens exclusively. RIOC announced in January 2004 that the tramway's turnstiles would begin accepting
MetroCards. The tramway switched to using MetroCards on March 1, 2004, allowing tram passengers to transfer to the subway or bus for free. On September 2, 2005, more than 80 people were trapped on the tram for over 90 minutes, and an engineer had to be transported from his suburban home via helicopter to turn on a backup generator. After that incident, state inspectors issued two violations against the tramway and ordered RIOC to install a diesel backup or
motor-generator system. On April 18, 2006, at about 5:22 p.m. EDT, the two trams stalled over the
East River, trapping 69 people for up to eleven hours; they had to be rescued using a crane, as well as via a cage that traveled from one terminal to the stranded cabin. Both the primary and secondary power systems were not operational, In the meantime, RIOC spent $500,000 upgrading the power systems. By May 2006, the primary electrical system had been replaced, and officials wanted to reopen the tramway within three months. The tram's backup electrical systems were refurbished, and each cabin was equipped with emergency supplies. The tramway resumed operations on September 1, 2006. Following the breakdown, officials announced that they would spend $15 million (equivalent to $ million in ) on a major overhaul of the tramway in two or three years.
2010s to present On March 1, 2010, the tramway was closed for what was supposed to be a six-month renovation. French company
Poma was hired for the project, which included replacing all components except for the three tower bases. The improvements included a new "dual haul" system that allowed the cabins to travel independently of each other; previously, the cabins had to be run simultaneously. The old cabins were to be preserved on Roosevelt Island, in a museum, or both. The cabins were attached to the cables in October 2010, and test runs began in mid-November. The tramway reopened November 30, 2010, two months later than originally planned. The late opening was also attributed to delays in obtaining permits for construction, as well as inclement weather. In 2016, engineering company GC Eng & Associates was hired to renovate the Manhattan terminal. Repairs to both terminals' platforms began in July 2017, during which one cabin was taken out of service at all times. Headways were increased to 15 minutes, which created severe overcrowding during rush hours. One of the cabins' gearboxes was also rebuilt in 2018. The platform reconstruction project was finished in February 2019, at which point RIOC was in the process of installing two elevators at the Manhattan terminal to replace the original elevator. With the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic in New York City in 2020, ridership decreased significantly, and each cabin was limited to 24 percent its normal capacity. The elevators at the Manhattan terminal were completed in April 2022 for $7 million. This work also included an expansion of the Manhattan terminal's platform and renovations to the plaza underneath it. On August 24, 2023, the Roosevelt Island Tramway started to accept OMNY fare payments. The launch of OMNY coincided with a long-term partial closure of the 63rd Street Line. The subway line's closure created more overcrowding during late 2023. By 2024, there were calls to give priority boarding to Roosevelt Island residents and employees due to increasing crowding. At the time, RIOC refused to implement a priority-boarding system, saying it violated a state law against giving "undue or unreasonable preference" to any group of riders. == Description ==