By Harold Egeln
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

SUNSET PARK -- Wave goodbye for awhile to the ferry service between the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park and Wall Street. And say hello to more cars congesting the roads and more riders on cramped subways and express buses.

That's what faced water taxi commuters on Friday, the first ferry-less day of N.Y. Water Taxi-TFWM Ferry's service from the 58th Street Public Pier. The service, the owners said regretfully, can no longer be funded.

As the sun set on Thursday over New York Harbor, the last commuter ferry service in Southwest Brooklyn came to a halt, ferry operators said -- until further notice, or maybe at least until later this spring. Commuters of what they called "the ferry family" lamented the loss, as ferry travel advocates and owners expressed both outrage for now and hope for the future at a morning rally and on the last Manhattan-Brooklyn run.

"We will get this service back one way or another," vowed Tom Palladino, co-owner and president of TWFM, taking the last ride at 5 p.m. to Wall Street and back to Sunset Park on “The American Princess,� packed with commuters. "The cost of fuel has doubled since the beginning of 2007. But during the winter, rider-ship decreases. We cannot operate without public support."

Councilman Vincent Gentile, D-Bay Ridge, along with the Sunset-Bay Ridge Waterfront Alliance and elected and civic officials, held a rally at the start of the morning commute at the pier soon after sunrise. "Ferries need to be the cornerstone of any plan that aims to reduce congestion. The city is going in the wrong direction," said Gentile, taking aim at the lack of city support from Brooklyn ferry service. He called for to expand subsidies to private ferry operators.

"On this, the last day of service for this water taxi route for the time being, the city has left the riders of this area out in the cold. I am outraged that the city continues to treat ferry service as a proverbial 'black sheep' during discussions of improved mass transportation services," Gentile said.

Loyal Ferry Commuters Speak Out

"I've been riding ferries for a long time, since the 69th Street Pier ferry service was in operation in the 1960s," said Claire Mazza-Hendy of Bay Ridge on the last ride. "To stop the service now is horrendous, horrible. Now I'll have to take the express bus, which is often overcrowded, and people have to let buses pass until they can get one with seats. I'll miss this relaxing 15-minute ride."

Three commuters were sitting together around the tables that fill the ferry, upset at the suspension. "This ride is soothing and relaxing. This is a quality-of-life issue," said Pat Dixon of Kensington, who has been using the service since it started after 9/11. "The trains are horrible, crowded and slow."

"There were a lot of riders at the beginning. But when the service schedule was cut back, there were less riders," said Cheni Zimmerman of Bensonhurst. "There were riders from Howard Beach, Gerristen Beach and even Long Beach who drove here and took the ferry." The ferry had two commuter 15-minute runs in the morning and two late in the afternoon.

Ruthann Adinolfi of Bay Ridge said, "The service has been very popular. People learned about if by word of mouth, since it wasn't well advertised and known. It's going to be missed."

"This is a terrible day," said Amina Nasser. "There will be more congestion on our roads, more crowded buses and subways." Two commuters from Bay Ridge who are among the commuters who drive to the pier, with spaces for up to 400 cars, said that others parts of the city get ferry service, but not in Brooklyn. "Brooklyn is the neglected stepchild of the city," said one of the commuters.

Getting subsidies to help fund the service, along with the use of the MetroCard that makes it easy for bus and subway riders needing to make the ferry connection, would help ferry operations, said Palladino. "It's really a simple solution, a no-brainer. Our major costs are fuel, insurance and mortgage."

"We’re going to keep up the pressure on the city. On the first day of suspension, we will continue to meet with city officials and our elected officials to work for a solution. It's really a simple matter using the formula of swipe cards [MetroCards] and subsidies that would help us restore and increase our service. Ferries are the wave of the future. Today's last ride is a wake-up call."

© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2007
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