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New York City’s Roosevelt Island Tramway A Six photo story

Story and photographs by Brenda J Pederson

May 2016

I love Manhattan and visit as often as possible. I have favorite neighborhoods and hangouts, but each trip I visit at least one new area of the island or one of the other NYC boroughs. I have a pretty comprehensive understanding of the city, even if I haven’t seen it all.

Heading to Roosevelt Island on the tram. The tram runs alongside the Queesboro Bridge.

Coming across a reference to Roosevelt Island a few weeks before a recent visit was a complete surprise. How has a decent sized island in the middle of the East River escaped me for so long? And, it’s only a short tram ride across the river.

View looking Northeast from the tram. The Queensboro Bridge is reflected in the window.

On my way to the tram station I got off at the wrong subway station which made for quite a hike. But, once on the tram, it only took 3 minutes to span the distance from the Upper East Side to the island terminal. In that 3 minutes, you’re transported to a different world. Once the tram passengers dissipated, only a few cars and pedestrians were moving about and the island was amazingly quiet. The hustle and bustle of Manhattan's streets was left behind.

The pathway at the Roosevelt Island Tram Terminal. On this side of the island is the Manhattan skyline; on the other side you view Queens.

With limited time to spend on the island I took a quick, short walk and then made the return trip to Manhattan, but I’m looking forward to future explorations.

Part of the Manhattan skyline, including the Chrysler Building, as seen from Roosevelt Island.

At less than $6 round trip, “free” if you have a Metro card, this might be the best sightseeing value in the city!

The tram arriving at the Roosevelt Island terminal.
Created By
Brenda Pederson
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All content and photos copyright © Brenda J Pederson

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