Queens Tribune

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and members of the city council announced plans to expand the City’s ferry service on Monday, beginning with the opening of a Far Rockaway line on May 12.

“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,” Bloomberg said.

Plans are already underway to reopen ferry service at existing piers throughout the City.

The Far Rockaway line, opening next week and operated by New
York Water Taxi, will run from Riis Landing in Far Rockaway, through the Brooklyn Army Terminal and onto Pier 11 near Wall Street in Manhattan. The 149 passenger ferry will cost $6 each way and take about an hour to complete the trip from Queens to Manhattan. Transfers to other ferry lines will also be available for $1. Two morning and two afternoon runs are planned so far, with the early trips departing at 5:45 a.m. and 7:45 a.m.

“I think it’s long overdue,” Councilman Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach), who helped spearhead funding for the Far Rockaway ferry, said. “The price is competitive with the express bus and hopefully it’s more reliable than the subway. It’s not the [transportation] cure all, but this is a viable alternative.”

The city will also restore service to Long Island City and South Williamsburg in Brooklyn in July as part of the first phase of the ferry plan.

The second phase will expand East River service, according to the Mayor’s office, adding new stops at North Williamsburg and Greenpoint in Brooklyn. Federal funds of more than $4.4 million will be used to construct the ferry landings at Greenpoint and North Williamsburg, as well as a dock at Roosevelt Island.

The five-borough-ferry plan will also investigate the viability of sites in 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.
“New York City’s waterways are our untapped resource. As neighborhoods near the water in all five boroughs grow, transportation is becoming a major hurdle,” Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Sunnyside) said. “Ferries are part of the future of mass transit, and for service to be successful; the ferries need the City’s support to be affordable, convenient, and reliable.”

All of the ferry routes will be subsidized with the City’s tax-coffers, according to Addabbo, in order to keep prices competitive with busses and subways – and hopefully relieve the growing commuter strain on the Metro Transit Authority.
The first Far Rockaway ferry will depart at 7:45 a.m. on Monday.