From the Times:
Operator of the Money-Losing Tram to Roosevelt Island Wants to Sell Ads. It's a New York vista: the red Roosevelt Island aerial tramway soars across the East River above the New York skyline, above the boats on the water and the graceful split-level Queensboro Bridge.
For those of you not from around here, Roosevelt Island lies in the East River, just across from the Upper East Side. It's a planned community, mostly co-operative, with no cars allowed. When it was first built, access was via a bus from Queens or the tramway -- which was intended as a temporary solution.
Cars still aren't allowed on the island's streets, but the subway now runs to Roosevelt Island. Every time someone suggests shutting down the tram, which loses money, great squawking occurs. Usually people on the mainland -- the "mainland" being Manhattan Island -- talk about closing the tram when it goes out of service for weeks at a time, requiring expensive repairs to keep what was a temporary solution running safely. The thing is as much a theme park ride as it is effective mass transit.
My favorite graf:
"In `Spider-Man,' the climactic scene takes place on the tram," he said. "They would have been the natural customer to wrap it."
I haven't seen "Spider-Man" yet, but I bet that climactic scene wasn't one that would want to make people ride the tram, any more than the scene in "Nighthawks" did.
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