Commuter Boat ‘Test Run’ Reaches Manhattan in Fifteen Minutes
By Harold Egeln
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
BAY RIDGE — It took 15 minutes for a ferry at a 25 mph clip to travel from off the 69th Street Pier in Bay Ridge to the Wall Street Pier 11 on Tuesday afternoon.
The “let’s root and toot for the ferry” test run with a waterborne lunch pep talk served as a preview of what many ferry advocates hope will be the wave of the near-future for Bay Ridge commuters, perhaps as early as this coming spring. Lunch was provided by local restaurants, such as the Kettle Black, Cebu, Yossi’s Sweethouse, and Paneantico, plus Fairways supermarket, with sponsorship by Greiner-Maltz Realty and gift bags from GovGoods.
Teaming up as ride sponsors were NY Water Taxi in partnership with TWFM Ferry Service to promote the ferry service for Bay Ridge. Nearly 40 people, including government and civic officials, along with the media and guests, were on the ride.
Right now, the money for a ferry slip barge to be attached to the 69th Street Veterans Memorial Pier is floating in the city treasury, lost at sea there for four years. Keeping the idea afloat is a small but determined alternative, commuter transit movement — the recently formed nonprofit Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance (SRWA). It is buoyed by strong political and civic support shining like a lighthouse beacon for better Bay Ridge commuter service, said ferry advocates.
“We’re making ferry rides economical. It will be subsidized,” said Heather McCown, leader of SRWA, speaking on the ferry. “We will make it accessible. We need to fully integrate the city’s transportation system, its bus, rail and ferry service. And this will change the public perception, with an easy, fast and enjoyable harbor commute.”
The ride was on a NY Water Taxi boat, launched at the 58th Street Public Pier ferry slip at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, stopping briefly off the 69th Street Pier where people were fishing and strolling. It then whipped to Downtown Manhattan in 15 minutes. Normally the trip would take 20 minutes during rush hours. TWFM Ferry Service worked in partnership with NY Water Taxi to provide the ride. Although unable to dock and load at the 69th Street Pier, the mid-afternoon ride symbolically represented the very first Bay Ridge-Manhattan ferry ride since the early 1990s when Bay Ridge ferry commuter service was halted.
Bay Ridge’s direct commuter ferry ended with the closing of the deteriorating 69th Street Pier in 1990. It was rebuilt and completed eight years ago. In 2003, $500,000 was placed into the city budget for Fiscal Year 2004 by Councilmen Vincent Gentile of Bay Ridge and David Yassky of Brooklyn Heights for construction of a 20 by 30 feet ferry slip to be attached to the pier. Shortly before that, the renovated 58th Street Public Pier at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park got a ferry slip and commuter ferry service.
“This is the civilized way to travel,” said Councilman Gentile speaking to riders. “The time has come, and is even past-due, for this ferry service. Here’s a quick trip from Bay Ridge to Downtown Manhattan in just 20 minutes.”
“The service can be put in by next spring,” said trip sponsor Tom Fox, CEO and president of NY Water Taxi. “The decision to do this is now moving in the right direction.” Fox thanked McCown and the Alliance for making waves to get Bay Ridge ferry service restored. “There’s a great expression from the 1960s that I like and is apt here. ‘If the people lead, the leaders will follow.’”
With that, Fox thanked Gentile and Congressman Jerry Nadler, who was unable to be on the ride, for their funding and support. On board, Assemblyman Alex Brook-Krasny told the riders of his support, noting that he represents shorefront communities of Brighton Beach, Coney Island, Sheepshead Bay and Bay Ridge. A statement from Borough President Marty Markowitz in support of the ferry service was also read.
NY Water Taxi, which inaugurated and runs the Sunset Park ferry service, operates the South Brooklyn rush hour commuter ferry service, with a stop at a Red Hook Pier at Fairways, charging $6 a ride. Its Brooklyn headquarters is also at the Red Hook slip. Fox said that the company, which offers a variety of commuter services and harbor tours, (www.nywatertaxi.com) employs 700 people.
A regular Bay Ridge X-27 express bus commuter, McCown became frustrated with crowded and often-delayed Manhattan-bound buses, launched a commuter petition drive which gathered over 1,400 signatures, submitted with a cover letter to the mayor and city Department of Transportation.
In October, the effort was boosted with a positive response from the DOT and the full support of Community Board 10, which voted to ask the city to release the $500,000 to build the ferry slip — what’s called a “spud barge” attachment — and to subsidize the new ferry service.
“A final determination,” DOT officials stated, is expected by the end of December.
SRWA board member Peter Killan explained the advantages of the proposed Bay Ridge-Manhattan ferry service. “Commuters who live near the 69th Street Pier can easily take a B-1 or B-9 bus to the pier. If they are within walking distance, they can walk. For those who have cars, there is a parking lot with 500 spaces at the 58th Street ferry pier for ferry service from there,” he said. “We will be taking cars off the road, reducing the amount of pollutants in the air, and in a way affect the parking situation along Shore Road. It’s a win-win situation all around.”
For more information about the Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance, visit www.srwalliance.org or call 917-971-0007.
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2007
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Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues.
So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc at att.net
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