Aerial Tram Proposed to Connect Staten Island and Manhattan

"Mayor Bill de Blasio is open to a proposed aerial tramway over New York Harbor connecting Staten Island with lower Manhattan," reports Anna Saunders.

The $175 million proposal is the work of the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation (SIEDC), which hopes the project will benefit the "large-scale residential and commercial projects coming to the North Shore."

According to Mayor Bill de Blasio, as quoted in the story, "[a]ny proposal for how to move people around is worth examination." 

As for how many people a tram could move around: "A tram running 24 hours per day could move about 15,000 people the 5.7 miles to and from Manhattan, according to a report on the proposal developed by the SIEDC. That's 21 percent of daily Staten Island Ferry ridership." Tor next steps, the SIEDC is asking the city to released a Request for Expressions of Interest for tram system developers.