Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance

[Source: Gotham Gazette]

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn endorsed the creation of a citywide ferry service and an expansion of a small business insurance program in her State of the City address last week. Now advocates and stakeholders are weighing in, and - for the most part - appear to be praising the proposals.

Last week, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced her support for a five-borough, year-round ferry system that Mayor Bloomberg and the city Department of Transportation are developing. Such a proposal may seem like a pipe dream to many New Yorkers, who have seen ferry service remain fairly stagnant, either from a shortage of funding or an apparent lack of demand.

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 […]

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.

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
By […]

[Letter to DOT Congestion Mitigation Committee]

Dear Commission Members:

I was honored to speak at the Hunter College hearings on Congestion Pricing on October, 25th, 2007. I realize that you are meeting tomorrow to discuss your summary of comments from the public. I have attached two items for your review; my letter to Mayor Bloomberg on Oct. 1, 2007 that was mailed with a petition of 1,400 signatures in support of ferry service, and a ferry initiative outline from my non-profit Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance.

[Source: The Brooklyn Paper]

One resident’s against-the-tide crusade to return ferry service to the 69th Street pier may finally be hitting smoother waters.

On Oct. 1, transportation activist Heather McCown sent Mayor Bloomberg a 1,400-signature petition that demanded a ferry from the 69th Street pier to Lower Manhattan — and last Wednesday, the mayor’s office responded with a message of its own: Give us eight weeks.

The Department of Transportation told McCown that a final decision would be made “by the end of December, 2007.”