Roosevelt Island residents and workers are petitioning the city to give them priority boarding on the popular tram that runs from Manhattan to the tiny enclave — claiming it’s become so overrun with tourists that they can’t use it as a reliable means of transportation anymore.
“It’s meant to be a transportation means, not a sightseeing tour thing, circus thing,” said Paul Krikler, a Roosevelt Island resident who created the petition and is putting pressure on the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, which runs the tram, to make the change. “It’s a public transportation, and it’s lost that for many people who live here and work here.”
Tram enthusiasts may be forgiven for treating the ride as an attraction. The gondola-like carriage makes an arc from Manhattan to the spit of land that’s home to hospitals, diplomatic housing and a scenic park — providing aerial views of the city and the East River.
Residents say the tram has grown in popularity since the pandemic and after being featured in social media videos and popular lists of cheap things to do in New York City.
Krikler said that when the F train, which services the island, was shut down for about seven months earlier this year, the problem became more serious. Residents had to rely on the tram and an F train shuttle and were competing with people from all over the world just to get home.
“The amount of tourists coming just mushroomed and ballooned fantastically,” he said.
Each car can fit a maximum of 109 passengers plus an operator, which is less than the standing-room capacity of a typical subway car. The system transports more than 2 million passengers annually.
Krikler said the limited space and long lines mean that residents must often wait for several trams before they can even get on to go home — and for those with disabilities or small children, it becomes a real hassle.
“If you turn up and you see it’s crowded upstairs and you’re not going to get on the first tram, you may not get on the second tram either. And then all of a sudden you’re waiting for 15, 20 minutes,” he said.
Giving priority boarding for Roosevelt Island residents and workers hinges on a New York transportation law that prohibits carriers from giving “undue or unreasonable preference” to anyone, for any reason. The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation has cited that language in the law when pushing back on the proposal.
“The law that the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation is quoting, they’re taking a very conservative view of that, what it means,” Krikler said. He and other supporters of priority boarding argue that it is not “unreasonable” to give preference to the island’s 12,000 residents, who only have one other subway line and an unreliable bus to get to Manhattan and other boroughs.
The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation said in a statement that it has no intention of implementing any passenger prioritization system, because doing so would violate the state law as well as multiple contracts the corporation has with the city and the MTA. It also said a priority system would undermine the tram’s role as a mass transit service.
“RIOC is … tasked with operating and maintaining Roosevelt Island, yes for residents, but also for all New Yorkers and any visitors alike,” the statement said. “RIOC is proud of the iconic Roosevelt Island Tram, and we are proud that it is open equally to all New Yorkers and to the millions of people who visit New York City every year.”
The petition had more than 2,000 signatures as of Monday, with comments from residents about the struggles they face daily — including long lines, pushing and shoving and crowded tram cars.
“It’s like a bad day at Disney,” said Nicole Izsak, who has lived on the island for six years. “I’ll … have to plan an alternative way of getting home [because] I know the tram’s going to be hideous.”
Izsak said crowding on the tram has become a constant topic of conversation among residents. An influx of tourists began riding the tram after the pandemic and the number of visitors has only risen in recent years.
“Sometimes the tourists are [so] eager to get on the tram, they don’t seem to understand that it’s actually a vehicle for us to get home,” she said.
Krikler, the petition author, said he was not exactly sure how priority boarding would look in practice, but suggested that the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation could introduce a registration system where residents could show proof of their home addresses or workplaces to qualify. People with disabilities should also be able to qualify, he said.
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