BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP MAY 11 - MAY 17, 2018 10M
ayor announes upgrades to NYC Ferry at Pier
BY JAIME DEJESUS
JDEJESUS@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
"We're gonna need a bigger
boat."
Mayor Bill de Blasio
repeated the famous cinematic quote
as he discussed the success of NYC
Ferry and plans for its expansion by
2023.
On Thursday, May 3, de Blasio was
joined by Councilmember Justin
Brannan, New York City Economic
Development Corporation (NYCEDC)
President and CEO James Patchett,
community leaders and representatives
of NYC Ferry at the 69th Street
Veterans Memorial Pier in Bay Ridge
to reveal plans to improve the service
over the coming years, including a
$300 million investment.
"Like so many ideas, this started as
a dream," de Blasio said. "We all know
the famous phrase, 'If you build it, they
will come.' Well they have come and
come in numbers much greater than
we ever could’ve imagined. People
have really taken to NYC Ferry, and
this has a lot to say about what we can
do going forward to make this a better
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Councilmember Justin Brannan announce plans for expansion from the
69th Street Pier.
city."
Indeed, he said, ridership projections
have now doubled, from about
4.5 million to nine million riders a
year, within the next few years.
To accommodate this, the mayor
said the new executive budget includes
$300 million in capital funding
over the next few years, allowing NYC
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photos by Jaime DeJesus
Ferry to increase service as soon as
this spring.
"We saw what happened last summer,"
he added. "Demand was astronomical
so we’re going to be able to
increase service right away and cut
wait time in the process. We’re going
to be doubling the size of our fleet. And
there are going to be a lot more bigger
boats that will allow us to reduce the
waits and lines."
Piers and docks will also be improved
so commuters can get on and
off the boats more easily.
"All of this is needed because we
have a success story here and what we
are seeing is people in neighborhoods
in the city that were underserved, like
here in Bay Ridge," he said, "are enjoying
NYC Ferry. It’s a game changer for
them."
Brannan — who called the R train
"hipster kryptonite" — also celebrated
the service's success, given the
headaches trains and traffic create
for locals.
"There are two ways out of here, the
R train and the Gowanus, and neither of
them are pretty so the ferry has really
been a game changer for this neighborhood,"
he said. "You have folks moving
now because they know there’s the
ferry here and we’re looking forward
to expanding it and bringing it to other
neighborhoods to show them just how
good we've got it here.
"I’ll take the ferry over the R-train
any day of the week. This is the stuff
we have control over so we can do this
right now," Brannan added. "We don’t
have to wait for things to get better.
We can take advantage of this blue
highway we have here."
The ferry, he added, is "just another
option and it works for some people.
It doesn’t work for others. But we
are finding that people prefer it over
sitting on a crowded train or getting
on the BQE. But it’s just another alternative
just like CitiBike, just like
the subway, just like the buses – it’s
another way to get around and people
are certainly enjoying it."
According to Patchett, three
350-person boats "will start to come
online this summer." In addition, the
waiting time between boats is also
being reduced "to an average of 25 to
35 minutes."
This, he stressed, "means more reliable
service because people, if they
miss one boat, they can get on another
vessel more quickly. It also means that
there’s more overall service because
vessels are coming more frequently."
Additional capacity will be added
at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. In
addition, new express service is being
launched from Pier 11 to the Rockaways.
NYC Ferry is also adding staff to
places like Brooklyn's Pier 11 and Pier
6, considered the two busiest piers.
More capacity at Pier 11 and the 34th
Street Hub will also be added in the
future. However, Patchett said, ferries
may still be crowded.
"On a really crazy, beautiful day in
the summer when it seems like everyone
in the city wants to go to the beach
at the exact same time, there are still
going to be lines but we are going to
be serving a lot more people and we’re
going to be getting them where they
want to go faster," he said.
"This is a key to New Yorkers being
able to get around more easily,"
stressed de Blasio, "and being able to
have the kind of choices they deserve."
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