Over 1 Thousand People So Far Sign Petition Seeking Priority Boarding For Residents and Workers Who Use Roosevelt Island Tram As Essential Transportation Before Crowds Of Sightseeing Tourists

In less than a week, more than 1 thousand people have signed this Petition

seeking priority boarding for residents and workers who use the Roosevelt Island Tram as essential transportation before crowds of sightseeing tourists riding the tram 

to gawk at the view or a photo op to be shared on social media.

According to the petition:

The Roosevelt Island Tram has ceased to be available to residents and workers as a reliable method of transportation. We, the residents and workers, demand priority boarding of the tram.

A combination of factors has led to a massive increase in the use of the tram by tourists, particularly since the tram has recently appeared in a number of “Top 10 things to do in NYC” lists and videos.

The platforms are crowded and lines often form outside the platform. What used to be only certain limited times of day and certain times of year is virtually now a constant.

Residents and workers now struggle to get on to the tram, often starting in the morning till late into the night.

Many people have given up on the tram while others struggle through the chaos

This is particularly onerous for our neighbors who may be elderly or unable to walk / stand easily. The island is home to a lot of elderly folks and folks with limited mobility.

The same is also true for families with young children.

Comments describing reasons people signed the petition include:

• I am a long term now over 65 year old resident. It is becoming impossible to get on the Tramway especially when on the Manhattan side. Overcrowding on platform and on Tram is horrendous and dangerous. Let residents and worker's on the Island board first.
• My simple commute has become a nightmare. The tourists are nasty and push folks out of the way to get onto a tram. Grab seats designated for the handicapped and don’t even sit in them as those seats provide them with the best views. After a stressful day at work I just want to be able to commute home peacefully and not wait in lines, get trampled cursed out, have someone put their feet on me to get a photo.
• I’m a resident of Roosevelt Island for 15 years. The amount of people taking the tram due to tourism has been so overwhelming. People are rude and don’t respect personal space. Because of this, I hardly use the tram. Hope something can be done to remedy the situation.
• I am a senior resident and taxpayer of RI for almost 40 . It is very disappointing that RIOC brought us as far as having to launch a petition to get to our homes . At this stage at life I have more medical appointments, need an easer way for shopping and that’s why we need a safer and more reliable way to get home , like the tram that served us for so many years . Remember there were times they wanted to shut it down but survived due to us the residents of the island !
• I don’t live on Roosevelt Island, but I have many friends who do and it’s shocking that they have such a long wait to get onto the tram when that’s their main method of getting back home to pick up their children and get to their families. Non-residents touring the island and visiting should either wait or take one of the other methods onto the island: metro or the ferry.
• The rapidly increasing population of Roosevelt Island makes a functional transit system imperative. Explosion of tourists taking the tram as an amusement (simply forward and back, with most no longer bothering to get off and explore) severely hampers the ability of the growing population to access work, school, healthcare and grocery shopping, and more. The impact on our most vulnerable populations - senior and disabled residents, as well as parents of small children, is especially unacceptable. The tram used to be a reliable and accessible option for their populations, but is now written off. Roosevelt Island desperately needs a transit study and rapid implementation of the resulting needed fixes. Please take urgent, coordinated action (RIOC, POMA, DOL, etc.) to address the transit crisis on Roosevelt Island.

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Solutions to overcrowding from tourists on the Roosevelt Island Tram was discussed during the November 4 Community Board 8 Roosevelt Island committee meeting by CB 8 Roosevelt Island committee chair Paul Krikler, Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Communications Director Bryant Daniels and approximately 20 residents. Suggestions including resident/workers boarding preference and covering the Cabin windows to discourage tourists from riding the Tram.

Here's what some other cities have done to protect their residents use of essential services from crowds of tourists.

VIDEO: Work has begun in a small Japanese town to erect a barrier blocking views of the country's most famous sight, Mount Fuji after locals complained of bad behavior by photo-hungry tourists pic.twitter.com/TQoc0HCTOk

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 3, 2024

    

Barcelona bus route removed from Google Maps after complaints over tourists

👉 https://t.co/KbtSH8FGpb#urbanmobility #publictransport #transit #liveability pic.twitter.com/QhAJ9KSi6K

— Cities Today (@Cities_Today) April 19, 2024

According to an opinion drafted by the RIOC legal department, a residents/workers Tram boarding preference would be illegal.

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As previously reported in response to RIOC's legal opinon:

... nobody that I’m aware of is asking for a reduction in the Tram fare for residents. That would do nothing to alleviate the long lines and overcrowding. It’s a straw man argument.

Second, the statute cited by RIOC relies on an “undue or unreasonable preference or advantage” standard.

Proponents of a separate line for residents/workers would argue that the Tram is an essential mode of transportation that has limited capacity. The overcrowding by tourists causing long lines and waiting times exacerbated by the current F train service disruption has a substantial negative effect on the quality of life for residents and workers including elderly, disabled, parents with strollers, students going to school etc.

It is entirely “reasonable” for RIOC to permit preferential boarding on the limited capacity Tram for residents who need the tram to pursue their daily activities over tourists who are using the Tram as a sightseeing amusement attraction.

Also, several residents have reported that at one time the Tram did give priority to Roosevelt Island residents over tourists. Here's an excerpt from May 29, 1976 NY Times article that proves it.

Resident preference for the Tram was already done. Why not again?...

Click here to sign the Petition.

UPDATE 11/13 - Roosevelt Island Daily shares this photo of a February 1980 article from an early Roosevelt Island newspaper, The View, showing that Roosevelt Island residents had priority boarding on the Tram for about 4 years from the time operations began in 1976 until 1980. According to publisher David Stone:

While researching an article on the making of Nighthawks in March 1980, I found this article in the Island View newspaper, which came before the WIRE. It documents when Islanders lost thier priority passes for the Tram.

The 1980 legal opinion also does not appear to address the “reasonableness” issue of Roosevelt Island resident Tram boarding preference.

The Roosevelt Island Daily article asks if taking away the Roosevelt Island Tram boarding preference for residents in 1980 was in retribution against residents for protesting against the filming of Nighthawks movie on the Tram.