א נייע פערי דירעקט פון וויליאמסבורג קיין בעיסוואטער

NYC Announces Ferry Service From Rockaways, Williamsburg

Elected officials announced on Monday that key parts of a plan to bring ferry service to all five boroughs of New York City will begin next week, on May 12, when a new city-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 relaunched 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 ferry ridership.

At the announcement at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn 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.

While previous attempts to connect the boroughs with ferry service have had mixed results, plans for the new service differ in important ways. The NYC Council, DOT, and EDC are currently working with the MTA to connect ferry landings with bus service, providing commuters an important layer of convenience traveling to and from their destinations. In addition, city funding secured by Councilman Joseph Addabbo will cap the cost of service to Far Rockaway at $6 a trip. The result will be ferry service that offers an unprecedented degree of convenience and affordability.

The second phase of the plan will further expand East River service by adding new stops at North Williamsburg and Greenpoint in Brooklyn. Studies conducted by EDC and DOT have concluded that this arrangement on the East River will provide the most useful service for commuters in Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn. This phase of the plan will also include the construction of a new landing at Roosevelt Island that will be used by a private operator. EDC has budgeted funds to begin the design phase of this service, and there is $4.4 million in federal transportation funds secured by Congressmembers Jerrold Nadler and Carolyn Maloney, matched with $1.1 million split from the Bloomberg Administration and the City Council. The federal funds will be used to construct the ferry landings at Greenpoint and North Williamsburg as well as the dock at Roosevelt Island.

In addition, the City Council will provide approximately $500,000 to fund an in-depth study to be conducted by city agencies and outside consultants of potential sites in all five boroughs capable of supporting new ferry service, including Riverdale, Orchard Beach, Ferry Point, Soundview, and Hunts Point in the Bronx; LaGuardia Airport and Astoria in Queens; Bay Ridge and Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn; and 125th Street, East 20th Street, East 75th Street, and East 90th Street in Manhattan. Analysis is already under way for service to Camp St. Edward on Staten Island, and EDC is issuing a Request for Proposals for a consultant to study Coney Island ferry service. The study will include an analysis of the ferry market within the five boroughs and will be used to plan new routes that will take pressure off of crowded transportation routes and connect areas of the city currently underserved by mass transit with new transportation options. The city is also participating in a Port Authority study that will examine the commuter ferry network from a regional perspective. The Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, a region-wide coalition of 329 organizations and community groups, praised the leadership of the mayor, the speaker, the council, and the New York Congressional delegation.

Many of the above initiatives also make use of funding from the Federal Transit Administration, Federal Highway Administration, New York State Department of Transportation, and Port Authority.




By:_ 5TJT Staff - 08/05/2008