This ferry was used in a 2003 failed pilot ferry service program, which ran between Jacob Riis Park and midtown Manhattan. (photo courtesy of Rockawayferry.com)A long-awaited pilot program to open ferry service between the Rockaways and lower Manhattan is expected to be up and running this summer, according to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who announced plans last week to establish a five-borough ferry service.
The two-year, city-funded project, first introduced by Quinn and Mayor Michael Bloomberg in May, has received praise from area residents and representatives.
“We’re ready to go in Rockaway,” said Councilman Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach). He has been fighting to implement a successful ferry service in the Rockaways since he took office in 2001, and has so far put more than $300,000 toward that effort.
“The more south you go into Queens, the worse transportation gets,” Addabbo said, adding that the primary mode of transit is the “deplorable” A train, which often gets stuck during the winter when rails freeze.
The councilman believes utilizing the city’s waterways will provide residents an alternative, get them to Manhattan in 45 minutes instead of 90 and “be a success once it gets started,” which could be as early as April, pending final negotiations with the carrier, which Addabbo would not name.
The city’s Economic Development Corp., which will run the ferry service, issued a Request for Expressions of Interest last year. It received responses from several private ferry operators, including New York Water Taxi, NY Waterway and Circle Line. The selected carrier should be named in a detailed development plan expected to be unveiled next month. It should also contain information regarding operating costs and other financial specifics.
Estimates from the mayor’s PlaNYC 2030 report released in April put the program’s cost at about $40 million. According to published reports from May 2007, Bloomberg had earmarked a $3 million to $6 million subsidy for the service, which would run during weekday rush hours at a fare of $4 each way. Addabbo said he believes the charge is now set at $7.
The speaker’s suggestion to expand ferry service to other parts of the city, including Astoria, Hunts Point in the Bronx and a possible location in Brooklyn, was well-received.
“(This) is an absolutely great idea,” said Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing), chairman of the council’s Transportation Committee. “We need to rediscover and utilize this tremendous natural transportation resource to overcome many of the challenges faced by a growing city.”
The New York League of Conservation Voters applauded Quinn for the proposal, which it said assists those in waterfront neighborhoods who have difficulty tapping into the economic opportunities available at the central business district in Manhattan.
"(This) is an excellent way to bridge the gaps in our mass transit system,” NYLCV Executive Director Marcia Bystryn said.
Operating costs for the five borough ferry service could reach up to $100 million annually, according to Liu, and will require the city to combine them with debt service on capital expenditures, like building docks. But when compared with other mass transit expansions, he added, “this is a very manageable investment for the long term.”
Fast ferry service from the Rockaways and other parts of the outer boroughs is also a critical component for congestion pricing, Liu and Addabbo said, as it would encourage more commuters to use mass transit.
Before other pilot programs are considered, plans for the Rockaway Peninsula ferry must be finalized, Addabbo indicated. “Everybody down there’s ready to go. We have a newly renovated pier, free parking, lots of it.”
The patient peninsula residents have waited 15 years for their ferry service idea to become a reality. Addabbo noted that although the journey has at times lifted their spirits and often vanquished their hopes, they held steadfastly to the ultimate goal.
They were first let down in 2003, when a pilot weekend ferry slated mostly for tourists traveling from Breezy Point to Manhattan failed because of the $26 round-trip fare.
The residents quickly regained their faith in 2004 when Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn and Queens) secured $15 million to buy three fast ferry boats for the Rockaway pilot. He also acquired $1.7 million for the construction of a ferry dock at Breezy Point’s Riis Landing.
“I am thrilled that the city has changed its tune on ferry service to the Rockaways,” Weiner said. “I have long argued and campaigned for this. It’s exciting news.” But it’s also somewhat perplexing for the congressman, who said he was puzzled about the city’s choice to implement this pilot service using taxpayer money instead of the $15 million in federal funds he secured. When the city rejected the idea for Rockaway ferry service in 2005, it also rejected the funding, which Weiner now intends to use for further ferry service expansion.
The City Council has also put in motion plans for the city’s existing ferry fleet through legislation unanimously passed last week. The bill requires that by July 1 all city-owned ferries use low sulfur-emission fuel and technology to reduce fuel exhaust pollutants. Ferries too old to meet the standards would have to be retired.
