Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance

[Source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle]

Supporters Hope to Restore Service, Say ‘Ferries Are the Wave of the Future’

By Harold Egeln
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

SUNSET PARK — Wave goodbye for awhile to the ferry service between the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park and Wall Street. And say hello to more cars congesting the roads and more riders on cramped subways and express buses.

That’s what faced water taxi commuters on Friday, the first ferry-less day of N.Y. Water Taxi-TFWM Ferry’s service from the 58th Street Public Pier. The service, the owners said regretfully, can no longer be funded.

As the sun set on Thursday over New York Harbor, the last commuter ferry service in Southwest Brooklyn came to a halt, ferry operators said — until further notice, or maybe at least until later this spring. Commuters of what they called “the ferry family” lamented the loss, as ferry travel advocates and owners expressed both outrage for now and hope for the future at a morning rally and on the last Manhattan-Brooklyn run.

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.

[Source: Brooklyn Resident LoriAnn Decio, 1/30/08]

As a loyal rider of the NY Water Taxi ferry from the Brooklyn Army Terminal to Wall Street, I am extremely upset and disappointed with the decision to suspend this invaluable service. The ferry is a vital alternative / addition to our mass transit system, not only helping to alleviate traffic congestion on our highways but also providing a fast, relaxing and safe commute to and from work.

What are the city’s contingency plans to evacuate the city in the event of the next terrorist attack, blackout, transit strike or natural disaster? The ferries provided the only means in and out of the city (besides walking over the bridge) when these emergencies occurred over the past few years and should be considered an excellent source of contingency.

NY should be thinking of expanding commuting options — not limiting them.

[Source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle]

BROOKLYN — The date when New York Water Taxi will suspend its commuter service from the Brooklyn Army Terminal at 58th Street in Sunset Park to Lower Manhattan’s Pier 11 — Feb. 1 — is approaching fast, and experts agree that something must be done to increase New Yorkers’ ferry ridership.

The Water Taxi company announced the suspension of the service — which will likely be reinstated in May, according to a company spokeswoman — earlier this month. This came on the heels of New York Water Taxi’s suspension of its East River route starting from Fulton Ferry Landing.

[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.

[Source: Brooklyn Resident Mary Ann Lento, 1/23/08]

I protest the suspension of ferry service between Brooklyn Army Terminal and Pier 11 in Lower Manhattan.

Together we are a powerful constituent base, a powerful tax base and a loyal downtown workforce.

The riders of the Brooklyn Army Terminal Ferry are reaching out to our elected officials to help us in our crusade to save the ferry service to Lower Manhattan.

For the hundreds of Brooklyn and Queens Residents who take the ferry, we implore you to take up the cause of this important service impacts our ability to live, work and pay taxes in New York City.

[Source: Times Ledger]

Although politicians may not always be able to walk on water, two city councilmen are trying to increase funding so you can commute on it.

Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Sunnyside) and Councilman David Yassky (D-Brooklyn) called on the city to increase funding for and awareness of the New York City Water Taxi service that runs between Manhattan and Brooklyn and Queens at a news conference Saturday in Williamsburg.

[…]

The Sunset Ridge Waterfront Alliance, a Brooklyn-based advocate group, praised Gioia and Yassky for taking the initiative. The group said government subsidies would not only lower the $5 one-way fare for the water taxis, it would save the city millions in eased congestion.

“The taxis are greener for the city, because they get people off the roads and on the water. This initiative has bipartisan support,” said Heather McGown, the founder of the alliance.

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.

SRWA founder and Executive Director Heather McCown started circulating a petition to restore ferry service to the Bay Ridge 69th Street Pier Ferry Terminal in July of 2007. Within months the petition had been signed by over 1,400 residents of Bay Ridge and Sunset Park.
The SRWA petition has carried over to the internet, via The […]

The SRWA Ferry Initiative is dedicated to bringing ferry service back to the 69th St. Pier in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, as a viable and feasible transportation alternative.  The history of ferry service to this borough dates back to the late 1800’s.  Please see the link below for more:
The History of Ferry Service in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
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