Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance

[Press Release: Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance]

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

Friday, May 9, 2008
Contact: John Quaglione
(917) 232-2966

SENATOR GOLDEN TO MEET 58TH STREET FERRY MONDAY AT THE BROOKLYN ARMY TERMINAL

Brooklyn- State Senator Marty Golden (R-C, Brooklyn) will be at the 58th Street Pier at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, Monday at 8:15 a.m., to greet passengers and see the first ferry off as it set sails to Manhattan. The ferry service, which begins in Rockaway, restores the service in Brooklyn, and continues to lower Manhattan was announced last week. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn will be aboard the ferry riding from the Rockways when it arrives in Brooklyn.

[Press Release: NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg]

City and Council-funded programs to be joined with federal funding and allocations from Congress-members Nadler and Maloney

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn joined other elected officials today to announce that key parts of the plan developed by the Bloomberg Administration and the Speaker to bring ferry service to all five boroughs will begin May 12, when a new City Council-subsidized route from Far Rockaway to Lower Manhattan starts service. The route, which will run from Riis Landing in Far Rockaway to the Brooklyn Army Terminal to Pier 11 on South Street will connect commuters in Brooklyn and Southern Queens with Lower Manhattan. Additional East River ferry service from Pier 11 and 34th Street to Long Island City and South Williamsburg will be re-launched by a private operator in July, and expanded East River ferry service is expected to begin in two years. The City will also be analyzing additional launch locations across the five boroughs as it looks to expand and encourage the use of this convenient, environmentally sustainable transit mode to places like West 125th Street, Riverdale, Coney Island and Camp St. Edward on Staten Island, among other locations. At the announcement at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, the Mayor and Speaker were joined by DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, Economic Development Corporation President Seth Pinsky, United States Representatives Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler, and New York City Council Member Sarah Gonzalez.

“Ferries are fast, affordable, and environmentally-friendly. As our waterfront becomes even more dynamic - with new housing and open space in communities like Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and Hunters Point - ferries are going to become an even bigger part of our city’s transportation network,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “That vision of a revitalized waterfront is an important element of PlaNYC, and over the past year we’ve worked closely with Speaker Quinn and the Council to make it a reality.”

[Press Release: Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance]

On Monday, May 5, 2008, Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn will announce the first subsidized ferry service from Rockaways to Lower Manhattan as part of a 5-Borough ferry service initiative of PlaNYC 2030. This service will include a stop at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where the announcement will be made at noon.

This ferry service will be operated by the NY Water Taxi, and will be reinstated as early as Monday, May 12, 2008.

SRWA pleads for ferry service back to Bay Ridge and Sunset Park
At her State of the City address, Speaker Christine Quinn stated her intentions for a five-borough, year round NYC ferry system (that the mayor has agreed to begin developing). This effort is well received as the first formal statement by City Hall to […]

[Source: Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance]

New York, NY — In her State of the City Address today, City Council President Christine Quinn called for cleaner and more accessible mass transit for NYC residents and visitors. “With some neighborhoods more than three quarters of a mile from a subway station we need to examine other modes of transportation. It’s only natural to look at our natural highways…our water ways…to move New Yorkers efficiently and sustainably.” “…this is an idea that came straight from listening to New Yorkers…” “In the near future we’ll outline our strategy for developing what will be one of the most significant transit initiatives in recent New York City history.”

Brooklyn — Leading up to today’s vote on Mayor Bloomberg’s congestion pricing plan, one City official has some harsh words for the Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission. Council Member Vincent J. Gentile (D-Brooklyn), along with elected officials, community board members and water taxi riders rallied today at the Brooklyn Army Terminal to denounce the City’s continued failure to prioritizing ferry service as a major transportation option throughout the city.

On Thursday, January 31, 2008, Council Member Vincent J. Gentile (D-Brooklyn), along with community members, elected officials and water taxi riders, will rally at the Brooklyn Army Terminal to denounce the City’s continued silence on prioritizing ferry service as a major transportation option throughout the city.

Given the latest developments, the Councilman has renewed his appeal to the city to expand subsidies to private operators, stating that rising fuel costs, inadequate infrastructure, and inaccessibility have contributed to the demise of the Sunset Park ferry service.

The Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance (SRWA) is a grass roots, community-driven, organization that is dedicated to bringing ferry service to Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, and beyond.

What began in July 2007 as a petition drive to reinstate ferry service at the 69th St. Veteran’s Memorial Pier in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, has now grown to a non-profit organization that is fighting to keep ferry service at the 58th St. Pier in Sunset Park.

With over 1,500 signatures to date, and a growing number of committed citizens and activists interested in re-invigorating our waterfront areas in Brooklyn, SRWA is urging our elected officials to do their part in the fight for our much needed waterborne transportation via ferries.

With the East River Water Taxi service suspended until May 2008, and now the suspension of the ferry service to 58th St. Pier, it is clear that the ferry operators are badly in need of the city subsidies that all other forms of transportation are readily given. The ridership is there, but we need subsidies to help keep the fares affordable to ALL citizens.

[Source: NY Water Taxi]

New York Water Taxi (NYWT), and our partner TWFM Ferry (TWFM), regretfully announces the suspension of commuter service from the Brooklyn Army Terminal to lower Manhattan effective February 1, 2008.

NYWT took over the service in 2003, on short notice, when it was abandoned by another operator. We have worked tirelessly to make the run economically viable, but the service continues to be an economic drain on the Company.

[…]

We will continue to work with the city agencies, elected officials such as Councilmember Gentile and the Sunset Ridge Ferry Coalition [sic.] in the hope that we will be able to restore the service by the spring. Proposals for public operating subsidies and new docks that could add riders to this commuter service would help tremendously and we will keep BAT riders informed about the possible resumption of the service via email.

East River Service will Shut Down for Winter Without Intervention

In a blow for Brooklyn and Queens waterfront residents, New York Water Taxi’s East River service will be suspended for the winter months due to insufficient revenue. Councilmembers David Yassky (D-Brooklyn) and Eric Gioia (D-Queens) are calling for the city to step in to provide ferry service as an alternate to other mass transit.