THE TRAM: Last week, at an official midmorning ceremony, New York City opened to the public the Roosevelt Island Aerial Tramway, and thereby became the only urban community in the country with aerial-tramway transportation. The tramway, which serves the newly developed residential community on Roosevelt Island, runs thirty-one hundred and thirty-four feet alongside the Queensboro Bridge. There are two cars, and they are never in either station at the same time. The tramway has a maximum travelling speed of sixteen and three-tenths miles per hour, and each tramcar can carry a maximum of one hundred and twenty-five passengers, plus one operator. It takes three and one-half minutes to get from station to station.
When we arrived at the ceremony, which was being held at the Manhattan end of the run, we were met by a band called Al Madison and the Dixie Dance Kings, who played “When the Saints Go Marchin’ In” over and over. On the
boarding platform, there was some confusion. We saw a group of television reporters huddled together in a circle, all trying to talk at the same time. We later realized that they were interviewing Mayor Beame. We saw people boarding the tramway and then being asked by the conductor to debark. And we saw people drinking champagne. At ten forty-two the first tramcar, which carried dignitaries and members of the press, started across for Roosevelt Island. All the passengers, some with glasses in hand, cheered. It climbed up and up, reaching a peak of two hundred and fifty feet over the East River. Someone pointed out a fireboat gushing water and bellowing a greeting. The passengers cheered. Someone pointed out the United Nations. The passengers cheered. And when the other tramcar, coming from Roosevelt Island, passed by—empty—the passengers cheered for that, too. Then the eastbound car started to descend. It felt a little bit like a roller coaster, and the passengers, in unison, said “Whoooo!”
At Roosevelt Island, Mayor Beame, looking quite distinguished in a navy-blue suit, made a speech. He said, “We just took a ride over in this tramway, and, believe me, it’s safe. This is the only aerial urban tramway in America, and it shows that New York is first, as always.” Then he broke a bottle of champagne on the tramcar, and everybody cheered. Immediately afterward, there was a party for dignitaries, press, and Roosevelt Island residents in a park on Roosevelt Island. When we got to the party, Al Madison and his Dixie Dance Kings were playing away—only this time the tune was “Has Anybody Seen My Girl?” People were waiting in line for
hot dogs, fried chicken, or a drink. They ate and drank two thousand hot dogs, thirty-five hundred pieces of chicken, eight hundred cups of Pepsi, eighteen hundred cans of Schlitz, one hundred and twenty bottles of New York State Gold Seal wine, and a case of champagne—all donated to the city.
—May 31, 1976