Here's The Wild New Plan To Connect New York's Boroughs With A $100 Million Gondola System

As New York subways continue to become more crowded, one company is looking to the sky.

Real estate firm CityRealty has unveiled a proposal for an urban gondola system, known as the East River Skyway, that would connect Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.

The design was presented at the Massey Knakal Brooklyn Real Estate Summit by Daniel Levy, president of CityRealty, and was inspired by the efficiency of high-speed gondolas in London, Rio de Janeiro, and Germany.

According to CityRealty, the proposed gondolas would span the East River, be safer than buses and subways, and reduce travel time by an estimated 20-30 minutes for Brooklyn residents commuting into Manhattan.

The gondolas would travel 12-17 miles per hour over New York and be able to carry more than 5,000 people per hour in each direction. According to CityRealty, the gondolas would also have zero emissions and be eco-friendly.

The first phase of the project would connect Williamsburg to downtown Manhattan, South Williamsburg, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Later phases would possibly extend the system to Greenpoint, Long Island City, Midtown East, DUMBO, and South Street Seaport stations, among others.

"New York City is a natural fit for cable transit systems given its severe topographical challenges," Steven Dale, president of Creative Urban Projects and Cable Car Consultants, said in the press release. "New gondola technology would be an effective means to address the ever-increasing traffic in Manhattan, Brooklyn and perhaps even farther afield."

The initial plan would cost around $100 million to implement, according to The New York Daily News. That's small potatoes compared to the Second Avenue subway, which could eventually cost $20 billion when all is said and done. And with the MTA reporting subway ridership is at its highest since 1949 with over 1.7 billion rides in 2013, the city could use a transportation revamp.