Here in the advertising capital of the world, where buses are shrink-wrapped, taxis tout The Lion King and subway posters invite riders to eat peanuts, drink spiced rum and commune with gorillas, the Roosevelt Island Tramway stands virtually alone in its mass-transit non-commercialism.

It's not that the Tram's moneymaking potential has been overlooked. The nation's only commuter tramway is a destination in itself, and the station on Second Avenue is listed in the AIA Guide to New York City as a "spectacular exercise in transit architecture."

But attempts by the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) to cash in on the Tramway's visibility have run into opposition from the City Council, which controls the franchise for Tram operations.  On May 23, the Council approved a resolution that tightened the Tram's advertising ban to include the "interior portions of the stations and the Tramway" and the "exterior of the Tramway cars" and any related structures.  Previously, the ban covered, basically, only the exterior of the stations on both sides of the East River.

RIOC wanted to sell advertising to help make up for its large losses in running the Tram.  It reported a deficit of $662,000 for the year ending March 31, 2000, but that figure, reflecting only direct expenses, cannot serve as a guide to the current situation, according to RIOC's chief financial officer, Patrick Siconolfi.  He is projecting a loss of $1.7 million in the 2001 fiscal year, an amount that includes depreciation and capital costs, as well as higher costs for insurance and electricity.  Operating revenues, which amounted to about $1.4 million last year, will be about the same, he said.

Rental income from the filming of Spider-Man and other movies will provide only a "nominal" amount of relief, said Robert Antonek, RIOC's Vice President.  He said the Tram was only one part of the "Spider-Man" deal, which used other Island property.

That leaves ad revenue as a major source of alternative revenue and, earlier this year, RIOC President Robert Ryan told The WIRE:  "We think there could be some great advertising made by shrink-wrapping the buckets" – the two Tramway cars.  Had there been any clamor among the voters of Roosevelt Island and the Upper East Side for a total ban on advertising?  Several participants in these discussions on both sides of the East River, including Councilmember Gifford Miller, who represents the Island, said no, although aesthetic considerations were certainly part of the decision.

Rather, the ban stems, in part, from Miller's long-held insistence that any ad revenue be linked to the Tram's integration into the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's "one-fare" or MetroCard system.  The basic Tram fare is $1.50 and passengers can't use their MetroCards on it, as they can for buses and subways.  Miller said he would not support advertising unless he received some assurance that the revenue would benefit the community.

The total prohibition, he added, was the Council's attempt to "force RIOC to come back to the table again to make it a part of the one-fare system."  He criticized RIOC for what he described as months of delays and indecision.  The Council's franchise authorization could be amended, he said, if RIOC came to terms.

The Council's decision may have had some effect, because Ryan, who has repeatedly said that the MetroCard system is not feasible for the Tram, reported this week that he would meet with the MTA; the meeting is to be on July 10.

A final agreement could depend on the resolution of partisan differences.  Miller, a Democrat who won election in the 5th District in January, 1996, has criticized the administration of Republican Governor George Pataki for eliminating Island subsidies.  "The State of New York has walked away financially – and almost every other way – from the Island.  That's the main issue," he told The WIRE earlier this year.  Why is it, he asked, that a State-controlled operation is the only component of the City's mass-transit that is not tied into the overall system?

But Pataki's chief delegate on the RIOC board, Leo Kayser, said at the June 14 board meeting that advertising revenue may be needed to pay for capital improvements required  "to maintain the safety level of the Tram." In subsequent comments to The WIRE, he took sharp exception to Miller's remarks on the MetroCard, saying the need for increased revenue and the matter of the one-fare system were separate questions.  He also maintained that RIOC's inability to secure advertising in the past was not for lack of effort, and estimated that the possible total revenue – while untested thus far in the market – could "perhaps be a six-figure income."

At the RIOC session, Kayser noted that the May 23 City Council vote broke along party lines, "and you can imagine which way that is in terms of the vote – there are only four Republicans on the City Council."

He urged Island residents to contact Councilmembers to ask them to reconsider the resolution.  "All that's happening is the risk of shutting down the Tram because of safety issues and the inability to raise revenue unless we have a freer hand," Kayser said.

He warned residents, "We're not going to have a Tram operate that might not be safe," suggesting a need for the ad money to insure safety.  He also cautioned that "it takes two to work out any agreement with another authority, like the MTA.  We don't have that ability."

One of Kayser's fellow Republicans, James Kaufman, a well-connected Island lawyer with interests in transportation and disability-law issues, agreed with that assessment.  Kaufman, who has served as an adviser to the Metropolitan Transit Authority, said one of the problems in negotiating a MetroCard agreement is that the bulk of fare income accrues to the primary use – whether a bus or a subway – so the Tram would lose out on income when it is the second swipe on a trip.  The cost of the MetroCard equipment would be another issue, he said.

At its June 14 meeting, RIOC Board members said they would review their options in terms of service in awarding a new contract for Tram operations.  Mary Beth Labate, who chairs the meetings, said that "we are particularly interested in taking a look at ridership on that third leg, the third shift, both in terms of ridership and the costs of operating."  Labate is Deputy Commissioner for Administration of the State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR).  She asked Siconolfi to gather data on late-night Tram usage.

But Kaufman said RIOC has little maneuvering room on this matter because the subway system has not been judged to be an acceptable alternative access to the Island under the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1992, which he described as "a federal statute with real teeth."  For someone in a wheelchair, he said, the Tram is the only access.

Furthermore, Kaufman said, the Manhattan station itself is vulnerable to a legal challenge.  It would be in clear violation of the ADA, he said, if both elevators were out of service at once.

At the last RIOC meeting, David Kraut, a resident board member, said:  "To eliminate the third shift appears to work a hardship on a certain portion of the population, and this has to be taken into consideration.  Another consideration is that, as I think most people in the community are aware, the Tram is getting old, and we're going to face another capitalization of the Tram in terms of ropeways and things like that, which we have to replace."