CITY HALL -- Mayor Bill de Blasio is open to a proposed aerial tramway over New York Harbor connecting Staten Island with lower Manhattan.

With large-scale residential and commercial projects coming to the North Shore, the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation has suggested a $175 million tram as an alternative form of transportation for tourists and commuting residents.

De Blasio said at an unrelated news conference on Monday that he hasn't seen the specific proposal but that the ambitious idea merited consideration.

"I'd have to look at it," he said. "Any proposal for how to move people around is worth examination."

A tram running 24 hours per day could move about 15,000 people the 5.7 miles to and from Manhattan, according to a report on the proposal developed by the SIEDC. That's 21 percent of daily Staten Island Ferry ridership.

At 25 miles per hour, the tram would take 13 minutes and 41 seconds to travel between St. George and Whitehall terminals. Based on an existing tram system in Portland, Ore., the SIEDC estimates each cabin might hold about 78 passengers and an operator.

The SIEDC is asking the city to issue a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) for tram system developers. A spokeswoman for the city Economic Development Corporation, which issues RFEIs, said the tramway is not an area that has been studied. This needs to happen before an RFEI is issued in order to determine if a proposed project is viable.

The idea is a bit of a long shot. Potential developers have said the technology to build a tram spanning 5.7 miles doesn't exist yet.