Your Choice Leather or Nylon Straps

Last week I ran a post titled "The Last Straphanger" referring to a drawing made of an individual holding a hand strap in the Roosevelt Island Tram.

My post stated that the straps in the Tram are probably the last leather strap hand holds in the NYC mass transit system. In response to that post one commenter was left wondering if the straps in the Red Buses were also leather. The above picture demonstrates that the Red Bus straps are some sort of synthetic nylon material and certainly not leather.

So if leather is your thing come by and take the Tram now as its possible once the Tram is overhauled in 2009 these last leather straps will probably end up as souvenirs of a lucky few RIOC employees.

If the tram straps are ever replaced I would hope RIOC would allow them to be auctioned off with the proceeds benefiting a local charity. In truth I'd rather see them rehung into whatever new tram cabin is built to add a bit of continuity from old to new.

The Last Straphanger

In this City we use the term "Straphanger" to refer to bus and subway riders but in truth the City's buses and subways stopped using real straps many years ago. The last place to see real straps in place today are on the Roosevelt Island Tram.

Jason Polan, an artist captured the above image as part of a project to draw "Every Person in New York". Check out his blog to see other images of individuals from around the City.

In the meantime for all you Roosevelt Island residents was this you?