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Officials Consider Building Aerial Gondola System Between Bayonne & Staten Island

BAYONNE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Officials are considering an early-stage proposal to build an aerial gondola system between New York and New Jersey.

The idea of traveling from Bayonne to Staten Island on a suspended gondola has a lot of appeal for some folks, WCBS 880's John Metaxas reported.

"Oh I think it's excellent. I live like 10 blocks from the Bayonne Bridge, I go there all the time, we go to Great Kills," one man said. "It's just the traffic is pretty hectic."

The Staten Island Economic Development Corporation is calling for a nearly two mile-long system with gondolas that are somewhat smaller than the Roosevelt Island trams. They would rise 500 feet above the Kill Van Kull and run adjacent to the Bayonne Bridge.

Another man said he'd like to avoid the bridge toll.

"I fish, so I drive over Staten Island. But $15 – that's a lot of money," he said. "If it's cheaper, that's a lot better."

The system is estimated to cost $62 million to be funded privately.

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