Roosevelt Island Tramway is becoming a popular tourist spot. Here's why locals want priority.
NEW YORK -- High above the East River, the Roosevelt Island Tramway is becoming a high priority tourist attraction. But locals are starting to get fed up and fight back.
The moment the doors open to the tram, it's a mad dash. Among the tourists filling their cameras with scenic city views, New Yorker Steven Cohn is trying to go play tennis.
"There seems to be a lot more tourists, to a point you can't even get on the tram sometimes," Cohn said.
Social media videos fueling tram's popularity
Photos show long, snaking lines of people waiting to take the five minute ride from Manhattan's East Side to the island.
The new popularity seems to be from social media videos targeting tourists about the affordable attraction, which is only the cost of a subway ride at $2.90.
"TikTok, I saw a video and I said that sounds pretty cool," said Sara Gilli, a tourist from Italy.
"If you can find something that is fun and inexpensive to do, people gravitate toward that," Leona White-Wallace, of Florida, said.
But locals are paying the price for the new demand. Some say they've had to wait up to an hour for a tram.
"It's 12 months a year now. It used to be around the marathon, the holidays," said resident Fadela Rijal, who has lived on Roosevelt Island for nearly 40 years. "My husband barks every day he wishes he had wings."
Residents, workers call for priority boarding
People can still access the island by driving over a small bridge and there is a subway stop, but residents say the tram used to be the most convenient.
A group of residents and workers started a petition, called Trampled by Tourists, to make boarding them a priority. It collected more than 2,000 signatures in a month.
"We have 12,000 people who live on the island, and we have a bunch of people who work on the island. They deserve to have a reasonable urban transit set of options," said petition co-founder Paul Krikler.
The Roosevelt Island Operating Cooperation says the petition cannot move forward because the tram qualifies as a common carrier and is "prohibited by law from discriminating against people based on their residency."
Krikler said he believes "they're wrong in the way they're interpreting the law," saying a proper resolution should be higher on their list.
Officials add when they see lines forming on the Manhattan side, they send public safety officers to help move things along smoothly.
