Looks like a serious proposal – as reported in CityLab:
The East River Skyway is a proposal for a multi-phase urban gondola to connect the growing residential and commercial corridors between Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. The proposal calls for an aerial transit system to be built out in stages, with the first line connecting the Lower East Side and Williamsburg. …
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While an urban gondola might sound rather fantastical for Brooklyn—or all too fitting, depending on your read of the place—it’s a transit option that’s increasingly viable. Oregon Health & Science University operates and largely funds the Portland Aerial Tram …
Many more gondola systems are built in places like Squamish, British Columbia—the “Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada”—where it serves primarily as a draw for sightseers. (Though Squamish is close enough to Vancouver that the gondola is probably used by some who work in Vancouver but call Squamish home.) Whether it works for Brooklyn depends in part on how well the existing transit infrastructure can meet ridership needs, especially as new housing projects emerge at the former Domino Sugar Factory, Greenpoint Landing, and Brooklyn Navy Yard
New York is no stranger to gondola transit – the Roosevelt Island tramway, also on the east side of Manhattan, is almost 40 years old. And it has a service frequency of 15 minutes (and even more frequent during rush hour) – so it qualifies as part of a “frequent transit” network.
The phrase “used by some who work in Vancouver but call Squamish home” makes me think that they are seriously hazy about the geography.
Forget Squamish, check out Medellin, Colombia: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/03/13/443330/medellin-metro-system-colombia-public-transport/
Not just Medellin but La Paz!
I think the Burnaby Mountain Gondola should be built. The study was overly conservative and I think a payback of 27 instead of 25 years would still be acceptable.