BAY RIDGE−As the Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance launched an online survey today to determine the feasibility of developing Veteran’s Memorial Pier at 69th Street in Bay Ridge for ferry service, Councilman Vincent Gentile emphasized the need for ferry service between Bay Ridge and Manhattan. He encourages Bay Ridge residents and residents in neighboring communities to weigh […]
By Stephen Witt
May 19, 2008
[Source: Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill Courier]
Ferry service might return to Red Hook, an area underserved by mass transportation.The waterfront neighborhood, which was a stop for the New York City Water Taxi from March of last year to February 1 of this year, is being studied as a possible stop in a citywide […]
A subsidized ferry route between southern Queens and Lower Manhattan, via Brooklyn, will begin next week to give commuters another option, the mayor and the City Council announced on Monday.
The two-year pilot Rockaway Service, which will be run by New York Water Taxi, will be financed using $1.1 million allocated by the City Council.
The new route, which begins on May 12, will run from Riis Landing in Breezy Point, Queens, to the Brooklyn Army Terminal to Pier 11 at Wall Street. It will run twice a day in each direction: 5:45 a.m. and 7:45 a.m. from Breezy Point, and 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. from Lower Manhattan. The trip will take about one hour each way. The cost will be $6 per trip.
Separately, New York Water Taxi will restart East River ferry service next month from Pier 11 and 34th Street to Long Island City, Queens, which it suspended in January because of lack of passengers and rising fuel costs. Service to South Williamsburg, Brooklyn, will be restored when a new $1.25 million city-financed launch center being built at Schaefer Landing is completed, Water Taxi officials said in a statement.
[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.
The First Annual Greening the Ridge festival was held on June 22, 2008 on the 69th Street Veteran’s Memorial Pier in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. This festival brought the community together to celebrate our waterfront and learn about programs and initiatives to make our communities more eco-friendly.
Photo (left to right): Assembly Member Janele Hyer-Spencer, SRWA Board […]
[Source: New York Post]
Making Quinn’s Vision Work
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn this week proposed a visionary plan to develop commuter-ferry service linking the boroughs of New York City, offering a new transit alternative for emerging waterfront communities, especially in Brooklyn and Queens.
Her vision can and must work - it means commutes of less than 10 minutes from the Brooklyn or Queens waterfront to the city’s Pier 11 ferry terminal at the foot of Wall Street.
But the plan needs some tweaking.
I’ve shared Quinn’s vision since I started NY Waterway 21 years ago. Our Hudson River commuter ferries carry 32,000 people on 21 routes linking New York and New Jersey.
But I’ve also seen East River service fail. To duplicate the Hudson River success, Quinn and other city leaders must study the New Jersey model.
First, you need customers to ride the ferries. East River service has failed because there haven’t been passengers to pay the cost of ferry service and because service has been too limited.
Part of providing that base is coordinating bus service to bring people to the ferry landing - which helps to build a customer base for the ferry and adds value to neighborhoods further from the water.
[Source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle]
Increase in Real Estate Development Leads to More Demand for Ferries
NEW YORK — In her State of the City Address yesterday, 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.”
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.”
