It’s that time of year again. with very long lines at the Roosevelt Island Tram station down the stairs to the 2nd Ave Plaza area and 59th Street with sightseeing tourists overcrowding the Tram for views of the East River waterfront.
With the arrival of warmer spring weather, cherry blossoms blooming
and spring break, the Roosevelt Island Tram gets overcrowded with long lines of tourists that frustrates and angers local residents and workers who just want to get home or go to work.
On Friday April 3, the Roosevelt Islander Instagram Page asked:
What happened to the Roosevelt Island Quick Pass ( RIQ) plan for priority Tram access available to anyone who picks it up on Roosevelt Island presented in June 2025 to @govkathyhochul @rooseveltislandny . The plan is supported by NYC Council Speaker @julmenin NY State Assembly member @seawrightforny and maybe @senatorlizkrueger .
Roosevelt Island resident Paul Krikler was among those who met with Governor’s Hochul’s office to present the RIQ plan. Mr Krikler reported last Friday:
NY City Council Member (and now Speaker) Julie Menin got us a meeting with the Governor’s Office in June last year. She led the meeting. We presented the idea of a pass available to anyone but picked up on RI. It wasn’t dismissed and we were told they would think about it. That’s where the disappointment is. The Governor’s office has not replied to any follow ups I have made or any made by Julie.
I plan on asking Julie to contact the Governor’s Office again. I fully expect Julie to follow through. In my few year on Roosevelt Island, Julie has been a strong advocate for Roosevelt island in so many ways. I am so disheartened by the lack of follow through from the Governor’s office. They have never even bothered to reply to any of my emails in the months after we met.The meeting was June 16 last year.”
“We can’t easily walk our way to another transit option when our two main transit options are both failing us at the same time.”
This was the Tram line at 2:30 pm today.
Roosevelt Island residents reacted to the long Tram lines the last few days:
- This is why most residents, especially senior and disabled are not using it and I think someone should talk to the most affected groups and ask how they feel about this and how their commute been changed.
- I had to go to the Urgent Care for my son and our return needed to be swift, but instead we were shocked to see these lines, even an injured resident can’t get to their home when they are hurt. It is amazing how much RIOC doesn’t care … not even to let a child who is hurt to get on the tram to get to their home! SO so utterly sad.
- At 3pm the line at the tram was so unbelievably long. So, I walked to the subway. Wait time to go 1 stop is 15 minutes. Nothing works anymore!Incompetency is running this country. There are 2 police guarding the line. What a waste of resources and inefficiency! Subway is another disaster.
- I took the tram at 2:15 on the island and it was full with tourists. I had to ask some not to push.
- The tourists are a top rated nuisance to our peaceful environment
- On Friday morning, Brian Lehrer had a segment about spending a day in NYC for relatively little money and one listener called and mentioned our Tram as a cheap outing in NYC (and mentioned “anywhere from 6 to 7 designated landmarks”. Brian thanked him and mentioned the local residents’ complaint about tourists overcrowding the tram. I was glad to hear his reaction, it shows that our message has gone through to at least some public figures.
The Roosevelt Island Tram caller on the Brian Lehrer show is at the 8 minute mark.
According to Brian Lehrer:
… there was a recent controversy about the tram being overcrowded and residents requesting priority boarding…. It’s not quite the roller coaster at Coney Island. Yes, there’s this feeling of amusement park ride up there for sure.
Here’s more on the Roosevelt Island Quick Pass idea.
During the March 11 2025 RIOC Public Safety Department (PSD) Community Engagement meeting, Chief Kevin Brown spoke about how PSD will handle the large crowds at the Tram with the warmer weather arriving.
According to Chief Brown:
… Warm weather is coming. With the warm weather there’s long lines at the Tram. We will be out there. Public Safety will ensure that people are safe on the Tram. We’ve limited to 50 persons on the platform so that everybody can be safe….
… if you need the elevator for any reason you are allowed to take the elevator. You don’t have to prove that you’re a certain age. Whoever you are, if you need the elevator you will be allowed to take the elevator and if anybody stops you tell them that you spoke to Chief Brown…
When asked, Chief Brown added that people will have to wait on the long line before using the elevator although PSD Officers have discretion to use “common sense” to allow some people to skip the line and go directly to the elevator.
Here are Chief Brown’s full remarks on the subject from the 24 minute mark until 33 minute 50 second mark.
UPDATE 9:50 PM – Some comments from Roosevelt Islander Instagram post today:
- This is crazy and all the Cherry Blossoms haven’t bloomed yet. We need a line for residents only.
- The wild part is when the tram pulls up, some European and Latin American tourists won’t even board—they’ll wait for the next one even though there’s clearly room for another 10–15 people. All because they want a seat or a window spot to film the same recycled TikTok and Instagram clips everyone’s already seen. Meanwhile, residents have full-time jobs, family responsibilities, and are hauling groceries from Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s back to the island. Honestly, there should be a separate line for residents.
- good that we moved last year
- priority boarding for island residents and employees
- workers and psd let me pass every time with no problem they know deep down this situation is totally unfair to us normal folk
- something needs to be done to get these people to screw off. besides the obnoxious behavior ive experienced on the tram, the most disappointing thing is that many of the tourists will never venture onto the island, they just get back on the next tram. @rooseveltislandny please please please address this
UPDATE 4/9 –PIX 11 News reported in June 2025:
Same old song. It should be obvious to anyone by now that the “team” of RIOC, Menin and Hochul will do nothing to help. It became clear while I was still covering the Island that showboating by officials was the game. Anyone could fix this problem quickly – if the desire was there. It isn’t. PSD and Chief Brown on site…? You’re kidding, right? How does standing around accomplish anything?
For RIOC and the MTA it’s $$$$ earned during this busy season.
Like most issues that go nowhere it’s either taxation without representation (RIOC) or the decision makers not living in the community.
Ps. I’m going to guess the collapsed pier opposite The Sanctuary will get fixed first as it’s the money maker for weddings and events.
The other two west side “pier” structures I am sure will take longer to fix even though they have been closed for what seems like years. Doesn’t matter what the recently installed signs on the fences say. I don’t see any repairs underway. Let’s see if I am wrong.