Cable Car

This cable car goes from 3rd Avenue and 60th Street on the Upper East Side to the southern tip of Roosevelt Island. Although there are better and quicker ways to get to the island, this is probably the most scenic route.

So have you ever taken the scenic route to work?

Roosevelt Island Tram

I took this photo last Sunday when I was on my way to Bed, Bath & Beyond on 61st and 2nd Avenue on the Upper East Side. The Roosevelt Island Tram happened to approach my direction as I was walking east so I took out my camera and snapped a few quick photos before going on my merry way.

So have you ever been on a cable car before? If so, where was it at?

Kayaking on the East River

This photo was taken from the pier at Long Island City two Saturdays ago at about 8:15 AM. I noticed this guy kayaking alone on the East River. Who on earth wakes up that early to go kayaking on a Saturday morning?!?!?!

In the background of the photo, you can see the Queensborough Bridge that links Queens to Manhattan. You can also notice some weird splotches in the sky. Those are dust particles from the INSIDE of my camera lense. ARGH!! It's an old camera so I think it's time for me to get a new one.

So what time do you usually wake up on Saturday morning?

Queensborough Bridge

Fabrizio from Torino Daily Photo asked about the bridge seen in Woody Allen's movie, Manhattan (1979) and I promised I would post a photo of it this week.

Here is the Queensborough Bridge that connects Manhattan to Queens across the East River. Roosevelt Island is located right beneath the bridge. A cable car/tram runs parallel to the bridge but it reaches only halfway to Queens. It connects Manhattan to Roosevelt Island.

This photo shows the pedestrian and bicycle lanes on the bi-level bridge. There are 5 lanes for automobile traffic on the left behind the guard rails and an additional 4 lanes on the second level.

In the photo, you can see the original concrete structure (right) built in 1909 and the iron support structure added later in the century.

Ravenswood Keyspan Generating Station

The Ravenswood Keyspan Generating Station is a power plant located on the north west section of Queens, across the East River from Roosevelt Island. The area, notoriously known as "Asthma Alley" by environmentalists, is also home to Queensbridge Houses, a huge public housing project in Long Island City.

The seemingly harmless and beautiful chimneys in the photo expel exhaust fumes containing sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matters, which have been linked to severe respiratory problems in children and adults. The 60 year old power plant is one of the reasons why New York City is known as the asthma capital of America.

Unfortunately, the power plant is a necessary evil because it generates over a quarter of the electricity consumed in New York City. Without it, many people would not have electricity for their homes.

Roosevelt Island Tram

Roosevelt Island is a narrow little island that sits in the middle of the East River between Manhattan and Queens. It is approximately 3 miles (1 km) long and 800 feet (240 m) across at its widest end.

There are a number of ways to get from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island, but none is as exciting as the cable car/tram that floats 250 feet (76 m) above the East River. The view from the tram is breathtaking but it is definitely not for one who has an extreme fear of height. Last summer, mechanical problems caused two trams to stop midair, and 69 people were stranded for over 5 hours.

This photo was taken from the pedestrian and bicycle lanes of the Queensborough Bridge, which connects Manhattan to Queens. The neighborhood on the left is the Upper East Side.

East River

Manhattan is a long but narrow island bordered by the East River on the east and the Hudson River on the west. It is 13.4 miles (21.1 km) long; and 2.3 miles (3.7 km) across at its widest and 0.8 miles (1.3 km) at its narrowest.

This photo was taken from the elevated Roosevelt Island Tramway, which is a cable car system connecting Manhattan to Roosevelt Island across the East River on 60th Street. In the photo, you can see the northern view of Manhattan on the left and Roosevelt Island on the right.

The East River is a beautiful and narrow waterway that attracts a fair amount of single engine plane and helicopter tours along it. Unfortunately, the tall buildings on the Manhattan side can be hazardous to inexperienced pilots who fly this route. Recently, a small plane piloted by baseball player, Cory Lidle smashed into one of the buildings during an attempt to turn the plane around after flying up the East River.

N.B.: Macky of Tokyo Photo Daily posted a similar photo last Sunday. How appropriate since Tokyo is a sister city of New York City.