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With all of the passengers of the Roosevelt Island tram stoppage safely on land, officials are trying to get to the bottom of what happened. It turns out the rescue schemes - the crane and the cade - were improvised in the middle of the night, since the backup system did work nor did the second backup system work (the second electrical backup was busted because it failed an inspection over a year ago and was never fixed - why have redundancies when you're transporting people?). The president of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, which manages the island and tramway, Herbert Berman, said that a power surge had disrupted the main system; Con Ed didn't have an reports of a surge (and why would a surge only effect the tram and not other businesses). so perhaps it was an internal surge? Mayor Bloomberg promised an investigation and praised the emergency responders, though there's some question why the police took the lead when the fire department has more experience in this area (one idea: the Mayor LOVES Commissioner Kelly). While there is much public bickering, we have to hand it to the passengers for being good-natured, if freaked out, about everything. We doubt we would have been that strong!
The Daily News has notes that fell to First Avenue: "Please give us ... bottles and diapers for babies," and one asking for a "'pee bucket' and 'water bottles,' adding, 'If you can fit a pizza in, we'd appreciate it'." The News' Richard Huff looks at the local news coverage.
Photograph of rescue basket being sent to the tram from the AP
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Um, I know this is a blog and all, but you guys really need a copy editor. Please, clean up your grammar!
I tuned into channel 7 a few minutes before 10, expecting to watch Boston Legal. I found the tram story sufficiently compelling that I allowed WABCs coverage to form the backdrop to my evening (yeah, I know, 'get a life'). I thought their coverage was decent: providing a history of the tramway, an insight into previous incidents and a minimum of speculation about the outcome. They basically let the story tell itself. Their cellphone conversations with passengers were mostly small talk, but sometimes bits of wit and wisdom came through. I have to say, however, that by midnight, one more mention of Dax (nee Zach) Maier would have made me puke. Sure, he was clever and articulate and he had a scrappy New York viewpoint. But, how much of a precocious New York prep school kid do we really need? I had to laugh when the first rescue cart was loaded with an apparently large Orthodox family. One of the commentators referred to them, I think, as "some kind of Jewish family."
There will be an official postmortem on the event.
I think everyone involved is quite happy that there were no cardiac patients or other seriously ill people on those trams. What is the chance that in any group of 80 New Yorkers not a soul would have a serious medical problem? Sure, the FDNY and NYPD did a fine, albeit slow, job. But they are probably thanking their lucky stars they were spared such a disaster.
I heard that same remark, I think it was made by Bill Ritter who's Jewish himself.
Oh and right before they signed off, Bill Ritter mentioned all the water that's falling from one of the trams. Then they realized, it might not be water.
Roosevelt Islanders used to take a Queens-Manhattan trolley on the Queensboro Bridge. They got up to the bridge with "elevator building" next to it.
"Progress" demands that trolleys, er, LRT are yesterday...or is it tommorrow.
Hey, RI is close enough to Manhattan. They should use a Mythbusters-style human slingshot. Woo hoo! Get to and from the island in seconds instead of minutes. It'd be a hell of a view ... for about five seconds. So who needs Coney Island?
from the NY Times:
For three frustrating hours, police officials said, dozens of highly trained rescue workers stood by as Armando Cordova, the tram's director of operations, spoke to the system's manufacturers in Switzerland.
Switzerland? i mean really.
would any of these people be able to sue the city for their inconvenience? i mean, that'd be a nice way to cash in and make a quick mil.
Dan: Y'know all those lawyers who advertise (along with foot doctors, hemorrhoid doctors, Jonathan Zizmor, MD et al.) on the subways?
Don't think they haven't already put the word out that eleven hours suspended above the East River is worth $3.6 million in pain and suffering.
Ah, the American tort system.
i can almost, but not quite, forgive ms. chung's all too often bad grammar for the excellent word "tramalysis". i hope she originated it.