Everything You Need to Know About the Roosevelt Island Tramway in NYC 

Just be sure to watch out for the green goblin when you ride that thing.

Including Pig from Barnyard at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="424">7:04</a>...truly a man of culture! That Trader Joe's used to be Food Emporium that opened in 1999, but it closed in 2015 and became a Trader Joe's in 2021! It honors how that space was first used as a market when the bridge opened in 1909 and lasted until 1933. Worth mentioning that the streetcar station on the Manhattan side isn't the only thing preserved regarding the streetcars that served Roosevelt Island, as the Roosevelt Island Visitor Center next to the aerial tramway's station on the Roosevelt Island side is inside a former streetcar kiosk that once stood on the Manhattan side as well, it was moved to RI and became the visitor center in 2007. Like that Trader Joe's, the visitor center is one of the places in NYC you can find Guastavino tiling, a version of Catalan vault. Guastavino vaulting is a technique for constructing robust, self-supporting arches and architectural vaults using interlocking terracotta tiles and layers of mortar to form a thin skin, with the tiles following the curve of the roof as opposed to horizontally (corbelling), or perpendicular to the curve (as in Roman vaulting). The recognizable tile arch system, created by Valencian-born Rafael Guastavino and implemented by him and his son can be found all over New York City, including the Grand Central Oyster Bar, Ellis Island, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and the decommissioned City Hall Loop subway station. The Red Bus is free and does continuous loops around the island, as well as a Shopper's Bus for seniors and those with disabilities to Costco in Astoria. The Q102 bus serves the island as well, connecting the island with Astoria. The tramway was actually the last in NYC to stop using tokens, as they still accepted them until March 2004, and during the NYC transit strike in 2005, it transported three times its passenger count! And to add on to what you mentioned in the 1960s, they didn't just want residential housing, but a master-planned TOD community centered around the subway station, as the island's unique circumstance gave them a blank slate to build a car-free community (mostly; they allowed cars later on because the hospitals needed vehicular access), which is why they wanted the subway to serve it! Besides the TOD proposal, the American Institute of Architects' NY chapter proposed that the island instead become a park (eventually the southernmost point became a state park in 2012), while another plan called for the island to become housing for United Nations staff. And they were able to achieve TOD because the NY government's New York State Urban Development Corporation leased the island from the city in 1969. Like the MTA, the RIOC is a NYS public-benefit corporation! The Octagon designed by Alexander Jackson Davis (who worked on the former 1833 North Carolina State Capitol, Litchfield Villa in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, and the Lyndhurst mansion in Tarrytown), a remnant of a hospital made famous by Nellie Bly, has since been incorporated as part of a large apartment complex! The TOD plan called for two neighborhoods named Northtown and Southtown, separated by a common area. With services such as parks and schools near every residence, and a pneumatic trash collection system which was the second AVAC system in the US after Magic Kingdom's Utilidors. Their AVAC system is one of the largest in the world, and trash is collected from each tower to the Central Collections and Compaction Plant at up to 60 miles per hour.

It's also nice at sunrise, and going toward Roosevelt Island early in the day it's not crowded at all.

"The itsy bitsy Spider climbed up the waterspout. Down came the Goblin and took the Spider out!" I remember seeing this on Spider-Man and The Green Goblin singing this lololol😂😂😂😂😂. It’s so corny and campy like The Adam West Batman Series of the 60s.

I used to take this every day. One of the safest ways to travel during covid as they had a person on board making sure we were all masked! Thanks for the video.

Should you ever get the chance to be in Albuquerque NM, I highly recommend riding the Sandia Peak Tramway. It is 2.7 miles long and rises about 6000 feet. At one point on the trip you are nearly 1000 feet above the terrain. At the peak on a clear day you can see around 11,000 square miles of land. It is awe inspiring.

I literally just rode it yesterday! Nice that it is compatible with OMNY and that I got a free transfer from the subway.

If you want a magnificent view of New York, take the free Staten Island Ferry back from Staten Island at sunset!

Hi. My family moved to Roosevelt Island in 1976. I've been riding the Tram since it opened. My kid loves it when we go visit her grandmother. I have to say, I've _never_ seen both trams moving independently of each other! Back in the day they were on one cable. This was something new. Thanks!

Thom, a Trader Joe's under the Queensboro Bridge, that's slick!!!

I lived in Manhattan for many years but left before the tram opened. I'll probably never see NYC again, so this was really interesting. Thanks as always!

I unfortunately didn’t get a chance to ride the aerial tramway when I visited NYC last year, but I have ridden similar systems in Portland, OR and Estes Park, CO. Definitely on my list for my next trip to NYC

One other selling point of going with an aerial tramway: the East River has to be navigable to large ships per Coast Guard requirements (not sure the exact name), so whatever went in to connect Roosevelt Island and Manhattan would need to either go way up high, under the water, or be movable (such as a swing or lift bridge). Under the water is expensive and takes forever (as seen with the eventual subway connection) and movable bridges have their own set of issues (see the Gateway bridge in New Jersey). Going way up high usually has the issue that you can't take wheeled vehicles up and down steep slopes, requiring extensive landings on each side to bring the transit vehicle back down to grade, but an aerial tramway or gondola system sidesteps this by allowing the vehicle to rise up quickly to go over the river and maintain that clearance. This is the reason why the leading alternative for a new Oakland Estuary crossing between Oakland and Alameda in the SF Bay Area is a gondola. BART would be better, but more expensive and take forever. And surface-level buses or light rail would also provide better service, but would conflict with Coast Guard requirements. So gondola it is.

To go further into detail on the streetcar/trolley history of NYC that you mentioned: The Park Avenue main line, now used by the Metro-North Railroad, was initially a street railroad built by the New York and Harlem Railroad and ran to what is now Lower Manhattan. In fact, the New York and Harlem Railroad was the WORLD'S first street railway! In 1907, the streetcar operator New York City Railway went into receivership. The New York Railways Corporation converted the line to bus operation in the 1930s. The Murray Hill Tunnel now carries a lane of road traffic, but not the buses. The Park Avenue main line was gradually truncated through the 1860s, until Grand Central Depot was opened at 42nd Street in 1871. The line was placed in a grade-separated structure in the late 19th century as part of the Fourth Avenue and Park Avenue Improvement projects and was electrified in the first decade of the 20th century as part of the construction of Grand Central Terminal which opened in 1913. The Steinway Tunnel now used by IRT Flushing Line trains was also meant for streetcars. The Steinway Tunnel is named for William Steinway, and during the 1890s, Steinway began a project to construct a tunnel for trolleys under the East River to link Manhattan to his company town, Steinway Village, in Astoria. The dirt removed from the tunnels was formed into a small island in the middle of the East River, now called U Thant Island after the third secretary-general of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971. Steinway died in 1896 before the tunnel was completed, and the project sat dormant for several years, before the Interborough Rapid Transit Company acquired the tunnel, resumed work in 1905, completed the tubes in 1907 and was briefly opened for trolley service that September. Due to legal disputes, the tubes closed within a week and did not reopen for another eight years when the IRT converted them to subway use and opened as part of the Flushing Line in 1915. Trolleys were once such a part of the Brooklyn scene that the local baseball club was named the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers, which of course was shortened to the Brooklyn Dodgers! An urban explorer Bob Diamond dreamed of reviving the Red Hook trolley line that ran to Atlantic Terminal and Downtown Brooklyn. Diamond was the one who discovered the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel, believed to the world’s first underground transit tunnel. The NYCDOT supported the project, new tracks were built by the waterfront, PCCs from Boston were acquired, but then the DOT withdrew and ordered most tracks removed.

I recall the Namsan cablecar as an example of these kinds of systems in a megacity. But from this video, I can agree that this system has a really rare feature that it runs in right ahead of the city center.

From the Tramway looking North, you can see the Sydney Harbour Bridge prototype, the Hell Gate Bridge, a railroad-only bridge used currently by Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and in a few more years (hopefully not longer than that) the Metro North New Haven Line.

Thom- this is an EXCELLENT VIDEO! You are a great Travel Guide / Host on RU-vid… and other social media platforms. The other “hosts” will only TALK and TALK and be on video- almost ALL the time on-screen! You show MORE EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INFORMATION- without your face in front and center! That’s what an experienced video host should present! Your beautiful, high-resolution, expertly shot, ORIGINAL video scenes were the “icing on the cake!” I really enjoyed this, it was impressive! ⭐️🌟👍😎

I took the Roosevelt Island Tramway a few months ago when I first visited NY. It it the perfect way of going to Manhattan for the first time! Luckily it wasn't so busy as when you rode it...

I've taken this a few times while in NYC. Love it at sunset.

Once again, your awesome video brought new information to me. I had absolutely no idea this unique and interesting transit system existed. Thank you for your research and thorough explanation and demonstration of how to use this awesome tram!

Great video with a lot of information, as usual! A scenic way to view the east side skyline. I rode it just a week ago and was also fortunate to be by the window.The smallpox hospital on the island is kind of creepy but a piece of history left for Mother Nature.

Hi Thom... Great video... I'm on the job as I'm writing this at Church Ave. Bklyn and I already did an interval through Roosevelt Island, going back north soon...😂 @ <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="307">5:07</a>, you captured the remains of the old 2nd Avenue stub structure over the 59th Street Bridge(Queensborough Bridge) and you did point out the decommissioned streetcar station... The Tram was featured in the movie Nighthawks years ago. If you haven't seen it yet, it's worth a viewing... Thanks for another fun video... Gotta go make that interval now...☮️

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="587">9:47</a> worked on building the housing project in 88? off and on until the last time on the new university about 10 yrs ago.

Fantastic video! Very well presented :)

Great video! So cool and what incredible views. I'll have to put this on my list of things to do in NYC!!

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="100">1:40</a> as someone one from the US I would agree that that first vehicle is a tram, I would also agree that the second vehicle is a cable car, but I would call that third vehicle a streetcar. Fans of Mr.Rodgers neighborhood might even call it a Trolley.

Great video! I love the detailed explanation of the differences between the American and European definitions of cable car and tramway!

I forgot about that tram that’s in NYC. My mom has been talking me to go there maybe next year and visit my cousins that live there who are both originally from Chicago just like me. I’ll try to see if the tram is something I can consider next time I’m there. It kind of reminds me of the tram I’ve seen in Gatlinburg, TN but I haven’t rode on it before. I’ll want to check that one out sometime. That one is of course used on the mountains there.

I love this tramway! Amazing views and for just a subway ticket. This is a great video - so informative and entertaining.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="116">1:56</a> I call them gondola’s. Edit: I understand the difference now, my bad

Great video! I've been thinking about this tram since I saw it featured in the 2005 film Dark Water with Jennifer Connelly.

Rode it once when it first opened in late May of 76 on the last day of a research project at Goldwater hospital. Scare the crap out of me. Before you either had to take the E/F or the R/N trains to the stop in the bridge (Queens Bour. Plazza, one set was on the bridge the other "under" it) then the Q-102 ( was easy to remember as it was the "call" of a Philadelphia radio station, over the bridge to the island. They had said the subway would be coming, but didn for years.. It used to also have the fire training facility at the north end along with a VA hospital. I know that Goldwater is gone and I belive that's where they planted the Cornell facility. Haven't been back since then.

Awesome video Thom 🤩🤩

Wulfgar rode in that in '81.

Made that same exact trip when I visited NYC a couple years ago, the aerial tram is definitely better than the subway ride - and that's saying a lot since I think the subway is amazing

I have to admit that this is new and interesting information. Thank you.

I never rode it, but the old Kongfrontation ride at Universal Studios Florida simulated the Roosevelt Island Tramway during an attack by King Kong.

Fascinating! Great job as usual!

Ingenious system. In Cologne there is a kind of similar system with four-person gondolas over the Rhine, which has been going on for 100 years.

Great video. I find skilifts & ropeways are just as fascinating and cool as trains.

Glad to see they finally got Omni installed had to have my sister swipe me in with her MTA card a few years ago. I hope we can go open loop payment country wide.

Another enjoyable video full of information.

Neat!!! (is that still a word?) great photography and a fascinating aspect of NYC transportation.

Excellent video Thom! I loved it

There is a proposal to connect Dodger Stadium with nearby Union Station in Los Angeles with a cable car system (although a gondola system technically). Other than buses, there is currently no public transit access to Dodger Stadium, and backups to leave the parking lot after games are legendary, so this is really needed. Thev area is quite hilly, so the gondola makes sense from that aspect as well. Unfortunately, there is significant local NIMBY opposition to the project, so it may never happen.

If not yet already done, please do a video on Mexico City's cablebuses.

Great video

I always enjoy a ride on the Roosevelt Island Tram. What is nice is that you can get a free transfer to the subway. But you are right, the tram has become way too crowded with inconsiderate tourists over the years.

I took the Roosevelt Island Tram before. It's nice way to travel. It's a bit of a bummer the RI Tram doesn't goes into Queens.

Great video sir. Was Lyndsey keeping an eye on you?

I have ridden it, and I think it works as a free transfer.

Ride the Q102 to Long Island City for an alternative to the F train.

When i visited NYC i was wondering what that was lol

WARNING - London's is separately priced (and is more like a ski resort one).

Besides goblin, watch out for King Kong!

LOVE it! Never never knew mentioned to a friend from NY and he did not even know about it wow. One thing that gondola tram packed so full imagine if you had like White Castle and or Taco Bell and some beers night before and farted. That ride would start to rock like crazy.

I didn't even know nyc had cable cars

NIGHTHAWKS billy de williams syvster stallone

can you ride njt port kervis line?

i what would be the easiest way to connected it to the subway.

Could those students have been returning home from a field trip instead of just touristing the tram?

Is that the same tramway that Spider-Man battled green goblin on?

Is it normal to have a mechanic on the roof?!? (<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="725">12:05</a>) 😳

Hi Trains Are Awesome