By Raanan Geberer
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

BROOKLYN — The statement by New York Water Taxi that it may have to halt its East River commuter ferry service is being met with disappointment in the communities the route serves.

However, many people note that the company halted service for the winter months several times before, but always restored it the following year.

According to spokeswoman Stacey Sherman, the company is finding it harder and harder to operate the route without a subsidy — although its tourist cruises are thriving and profitable. But the commuter routes, she said, are “expensive to run and have low ridership,� although ridership increases in the summer months.

An article in Tuesday’s New York Times focuses on the company’s service to Schaefer Landing in Williamsburg. However, there are two other stops on this side of the East River — Fulton Ferry Landing and Hunters Point in Queens.

Another stop in Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, is part of a separate route, which starts in Rockaway, and isn’t threatened. Sherman pointed out that this route is more profitable and thus uses larger boats. The Rockaway route began service in May 2008 — only months after an earlier ferry service to the Brooklyn Army Terminal had been discontinued.

Brooklyn Army Terminal may be more popular as a destination because cars are able to park there, making it convenient for riders from Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst and other nearby neighborhoods. By contrast, there is no parking at Fulton Ferry Landing.

Bill Stein, a board member of the Fulton Ferry Landing Association, says that if the East River route is discontinued, it would “change the commuting plans of some residents.� He added, though, that service picks up during the weekends in the warmer months, when many tourists travel from Fulton Ferry Landing to Manhattan via water taxi.

Amy Cleary, a spokesperson for Assemblyman Joe Lentol (D-Greenpoint/Williamsburg), said that with the L and G trains already packed to capacity, the water taxi service is an important part of the transportation mix in the area. If it is discontinued, she says, it will be “one more piece of the waterfront rezoning plan that is not coming through.

As all these [Williamsburg and Greenpoint] condos fill up, a lot of the infrastructure residents need is really not there.�

Sherman told the Eagle that New York Water Taxi is negotiating with the city Economic Development Corp. (EDC) in hopes of continuing the service. An EDC spokeswoman confirmed that negotiations are being held, but would not elaborate.

New York Water Taxi was founded in 2002, backed in part by money from the Durst organization. President Tom Fox is proud of his ferryboats being environmentally friendly, and they were named after well-known New York City-area environmentalists and civic activists.

The Hunters Point destination is popular during the summer because a “Water Taxi Beach� has been established there. As could be expected from its location on the East River, swimming is not encouraged.

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