By Harold Egeln
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

SUNSET PARK -- Brooklyn's ferries are afloat again, and the city says water taxis are the wave of the future on what it calls “the blue highway.�

“Beginning one week from today, on May 12, ferry service will leave from Riis Landing in the Rockaways to Pier 11 in Lower Manhattan, including a stop here in Sunset Park,� said Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a press conference here Monday.

“Rockaway residents now spend 90 minutes going to Manhattan by car. Taking the ferry will shave over 30 minutes from their commute time.� Service will also resume in July from south Williamsburg to Pier 11 and 34th Street.

Bloomberg spoke to local leaders and the public on a sun-drenched Public Pier 58 after a NY Water Taxi noontime ride on the American Princess from Wall Street with several elected officials and city commissioners. “We had a great ride. It took only 20 minutes and there was no traffic.�

For the Rockaways and Sunset Park as well as south Williamsburg commuters, the tide has turned in their favor as Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn made their announcement, accompanied by City Council members, two members of Congress and two city commissioners.

“This is the first huge step for a five borough, year-round ferry service for the city, making travel to work easier and more environmentally friendly,� Quinn said. “Over 100 years ago, New York City's highways were its waterways. Now, the waterways of today will be the highways of tomorrow.�

Resumed Sunset Park Service Cheered

The Sunset Park and South Williamsburg water taxi services were suspended three months ago to the dismay of riders, fearful that it was the end of the line for quite a while. But now they can smile again, joining riders from the Rockaways for what will be their new service, as Greenpoint and North Williamsburg await theirs, projected for 2010. In addition, said Councilman Domenic Recchia Jr., a proposed Coney Island service study has now begun.

Councilwoman Sara Gonzales of Sunset Park and Red Hook thanked Bloomberg and Quinn for their action. She noticed that many organizations wanting resumption were on hand at the press conference, and she mentioned them: Community Board Seven, Lutheran Medical Center, Turning Point, Brooklyn Chinese American Association, United Senior Services of Sunset Park and others.

“This is a great day for us,� said Board 7 Chair Randy Peers, with board Transportation Committee Chair Fred Xuereb. “To increase ridership, which has been a problem, a community-wide effort must be made to take this seriously. And once our waterfront park is in place, usage could increase.�

The one-way fare is $6, said Bloomberg, and a 40-trip pass will be sold with a 10 percent discount. In answer to whether MetroCards could be used, he answered, “Why not. We're working on it.�

Pier 58 has a parking lot on and off the pier for commuters. A B11 crosstown bus stops a block away, so public transportation is also an issue in getting people to the ferry. MTA leaders Lee Sanders and Howard Roberts and the city will be joining together a bus network to get people to the ferry.

What of Bay Ridge, Coney Island?

The projected ferry service for Greenpoint and North Williamsburg will come about through $4.4 million in funding to build piers at the sites secured through a federal transportation bill pushed by Congressman Jerrold Nadler. “This has been a long time coming,� said Nadler, noting it was first proposed in 2003 and was in the 2005 transportation bill.

“We were asked: Does the project have regional and national significance? Our answer was, that it will create the largest waterborne transportation system in the nation,� said Nadler. He was joined by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney of Manhattan, who represents Roosevelt Island, due to get ferry service in 2010.

The service beginning on May 12 and the projected service for 2010 does not include ferry service from the 69th Street Pier in Bay Ridge, although $500,000 to build a ferry stop there remains in the city treasury.

“Although Bay Ridge was not included in the Rockaways ferry run, I have spoken with Councilman Gentile and state Senator Marty Golden, and they will continue to push for ferry service at the 69th Street Veteran's Memorial Pier,� said Heather McGowan, leader of the Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance.

“The Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance will work to assemble a group that will sponsor a study on the feasibility of ferry service to the pier in the next few months. We will announce our findings and also present this data to the mayor's office for consideration,� she said.

Ferry service from Coney Island was recently promised by the city to Councilman Recchia of Gravesend, Coney Island and west Bensonhurst. “The study for the service has already started,� he said. “We're now in the scoping stage. The next step will be a meeting with the community to get their ideas. Ferry service is needed there and it’s entirely affordable.�

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