By Amy Zimmer
DNAinfo News Editor
ROOSEVELT ISLAND— The revamped Roosevelt Island tram took its inaugural run Tuesday morning after a nine-month, $25 million renovation to make the 3-minute ride over the East River smoother and safer.
The modernization project took three months longer than anticipated — much to the dismay of many residents who had to commute on packed F trains or multiple buses.
“When it was closed it was really hard,” said Anna Ivanova, 33, whose 23-month-old daughter, Mariam Khelashvili, loved to glue herself to the window and gawk at the view. “We love it.”
The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation said the tram was due for an overhaul after the 2006 breakdown that stranded 69 passengers 230 feet in the air.
Adverse weather and problems with permits held up the project, according to RIOC officials.
The 1976 tramway was supposed to be a temporary link to Manhattan as residents awaited a subway line (which didn’t arrive until 1990). It was designed to last 17 years but ended up with a life span double that, and is now expected to last another 30 years, said Leslie Torres, RIOC's president. The agency anticipates an increase of the tram’s 2 million annual riders after housing development and new park projects are complete.
The entire aerial tramway was replaced — save for the tower bases — with the cars from France, Swiss cables, a hangar from Italy and fabricators hailing from Colorado. Its new “dual hall” system allows for the cars to operate on independent tracks rather than like a clothesline as it did before.
Besides its prominent roles in movies such as Woody Allen’s “Manhattan,” “Spider-Man,” and “Nighthawk," it's also been seen on the TV show, “Fear Factor.”
“Roosevelt Island without the tram is like Brooklyn without the bridge,” said Assemblyman Michah Kellner.
At least one person, however, was disappointed by the tram’s reopening.
“My wife got a free bus to her job [as a nurse] at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center,” said Paul Baker, 42. That free ride ends, “but she gets to sleep an extra hour now.”
The tram will be offering free rides Tuesday until 3 p.m.
