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Celebrating the Rebirth of the Tram

November 30, 2010

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I am pictured at top on the inaugural Tram ride, and above, speaking
at the re-opening ceremony outside the Roosevelt Island station.

Today, the Roosevelt Island Tram re-opened for service after a nine-month overhaul. I was excited to take the inaugural ride on the new Tram and to be a featured speaker at the ceremony celebrating the occasion.

Roosevelt Island without the Tram is like Brooklyn without the Bridge. While most New Yorkers struggle to push onto crowded subways and buses each morning, Roosevelt Islanders can once again fly to work every day with the greatest city in the world spread out at their feet.

Originally the Tram was meant to be only a temporary solution until a subway connection to the Island could be completed. But the Tram became more than just a stopgap measure—it’s the defining symbol of Roosevelt Island, a unique form of transportation for a unique community.

While the skyline below has been transformed with time, the Tram remains an icon of New York, immortalized in films like Woody Allen’s Manhattan—taking off to the tune of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue—and from Sylvester Stallone saving the day in Nighthawks to Spiderman rescuing Mary Jane, the Tram has been at the center of so many high wire action films. It has even become a fashion statement—you can buy your very own Tram earrings at the Roosevelt Island Historical Society kiosk.

But after 30 years of service the Tram needed a reboot. And now we have version 2.0—faster, steadier and more reliable than ever before.

I’m particularly proud to have preserved the funding for the Tram upgrade over several budget cycles—ensuring that New York State keeps its commitment to Roosevelt Island’s infrastructure.

I congratulate all those who worked so hard to make this project a success, and I’m especially happy to welcome back the great men and women of the Operating Engineers who make the Tram run each and every day. I’m looking forward to many, many more high-flying rides across the East River.

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Written by Micah · Filed Under Blogroll, Community, Roosevelt Island | Leave a Comment 

Taxi of Tomorrow: A Chance to Make History

November 16, 2010


Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg announced three finalists in the competition to design and build New York City’s Taxi of Tomorrow. This is a historic opportunity for the Mayor and the Taxi and Limousine Commission to make New York the world capital of accessibility by mandating a 100% wheelchair-accessible taxi fleet. The Mayor has stated repeatedly that he wants the Taxi of Tomorrow to be iconic—and I agree. It should be an icon of inclusiveness. A city that welcomes all people should have a taxi that everyone can get into. The yellow cab is often the first thing people see when they come to New York, and there should be no barriers to using this terrific mode of transportation. This is why I sponsor legislation to require that all new cabs put on the road beginning in 2013 be fully accessible.

I am very concerned that two of the three finalists continue the status quo of inaccessibility. It’s incredibly important that the vehicle chosen to be the Taxi of Tomorrow is wheelchair-accessible right off the assembly line. The TLC should learn its lesson and stop trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. For too long the approach has been to take every vehicle under the sun and try to cram it into taxi form—but just because you paint it yellow doesn’t mean it will work as a taxi. The whole purpose of this exercise is find a vehicle that is designed and built to be the right taxi for all New Yorkers.

Choosing a purpose-built accessible taxi will change the way people get around the city and will go a long way toward reducing the enormous cost of paratransit that is such a burden on our city and state budgets. If the Mayor can’t choose an accessible vehicle, he needs to go back to the drawing board.

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Written by Micah · Filed Under Albany Report, Blogroll, Budget, Community, Legislative Updates, Roosevelt Island, Upper East Side | 1 Comment 

A Key Victory for East Side Students

November 9, 2010


The NYC Department of Education announced today that the Yorkville Community School will have a permanent home of its own for the 2011-12 school year. This is tremendously exciting news. It wasn’t too long ago that I was sitting with parents in the basement of a community center, working to make PS 151 a reality. Now it will be right where it should be – in the former PS 66 building on East 88th Street, which was always meant to be an elementary school.

Moving the Yorkville Community School to a new home is a major piece in the school rezoning puzzle. Now that we know how many students PS 151 will ultimately be able to accommodate, I hope that the District 2 Community Education Council completes the Upper East Side rezoning so that every parent will finally have the security of knowing where their children will be going to school.

This move shouldn’t happen in a vacuum. The parents and kids at the Yorkville Community School came to love their temporary home at Our Lady of Good Counsel, and while they may be moving on, it would be a shame to have wasted so much time and money for only a short-term gain. The DOE should work with the Archdiocese to retain the space—they could use it as the new home for an expanded PS 77 Lower Lab, which could include grades K-8, helping to alleviate the middle school crunch that is surely coming to our neighborhood. If the DOE does this right, it will be a double victory for East Side families.

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Written by Micah · Filed Under Blogroll, Community, Upper East Side | 1 Comment