On This Day in History, March 16: A ‘Ferry’ Good Idea
It was only logical that the narrowest points in the East River between Brooklyn and Manhattan would be the sites for ferry service, as well as of the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges in later years.
After the bridges and tunnels were built, the ferries were used less and less. They may have furnished rapid, and even romantic, transport in pleasant weather but the hazards of wind, water and tides presented problems to their efficient operation. Ice floes made the crossing particularly treacherous in wintertime. And the boats became increasingly crowded and presented problems in loading and unloading passengers on both sides of the river.
An article in The New York Times on July 28, 1867, reported: “The Union Ferry Company lines are overcrowded, packing 1,200 people on boats made to carry conveniently one-third that number. Delays are frequent … The crowding on and off the boats is disgraceful and dangerous. There is no order, no system, nothing to prevent the rushing of hungry hundreds on to the boat, from which other hundreds are trying to escape. The two throngs meet, tussle, squeeze, pick pockets, tread on toes and idly swear.”