NEW YORK CITY-In an effort to reconnect the street grid to the waterfront, the city has made a big splash. In just over a year, the East River Ferry has seen one million riders – more than double the initial projection of 409,000 people after the program launched in 2011.
The service—operated by BillyBey Ferry Co. under NY Waterway through a contract with the New York City Economic Development Corp.—makes seven regular stops along the East River, which will include links to new multifamily developments at Hunter’s Point South in Long Island City and Schaefer Landing at South Williamsburg. The ferry will also make stops at East 34th Street, India Street in Greenpoint, North Fifth and North Sixth Streets in North Williamsburg, Wall Street at Pier 11 and Brooklyn Bridge Park/DUMBO.
The program was launched as part of the Bloomberg administration’s Waterfront Vision and Enhancement Strategy, or WAVES, which was designed to promote sustainable economic development along the waterfront and enhance mobility around the harbor. And the impact on commercial real estate has been significant.
“After just one year of service, we have already begun to see real estate firms and businesses in Brooklyn and Queens marketing their proximity to the ferry, which will attract jobs and investment to rapidly-growing neighborhoods like Long Island City, Greenpoint, Williamsburg and DUMBO," says Deputy Mayor Robert K. Steel, in a statement.
To accommodate demand, the service now operates larger vessels on the weekends. According to the city, the recently opened new landing at Brooklyn Bridge Park 1 both accommodates these larger vessels, and increases capacity with the introduction of two slips and wider gangways allows for easier embarkation and disembarkation, reducing service delays and increasing reliability. The popular concession service serving locally-produced options is now more robust and present on every ride across the system.
“In just over one year of pilot service, the East River Ferry has continued to exceed our expectations, in both ridership and economic impact,"says Seth W. Pinsky, president of the NYCEDC, in a statement. "In response to this enormous success, we have already upgraded many aspects of the service and intend to continue to look for additional ways to do so. For this reason, we believe the future of ferry service along the East River to continue to be bright.”
Ferry service was launched on June 13, 2011, as part of a three-year pilot program to provide year-round ferry service between East 34th Street and Pier 11 in Manhattan, Long Island City in Queens, Greenpoint, North Williamsburg, South Williamsburg and DUMBO in Brooklyn. Fares are $4 for a one-way ticket, $12 for an unlimited all-day pass and $140 for an unlimited monthly pass.
The East River Ferry is part of the city’s larger “Vision 2020” plan, an initiative to make New York’s 520 miles of river and oceanfront areas more conducive for redevelopment. The plan, budgeted at $3.3 billion, involves 130 individual projects in addition to the ferry, including the creation of 14 new waterfront esplanades and more than 50-acres of new waterfront parks. By encouraging residents to live and work in these areas once again, in total, the city plans to create 21 mixed-use and industrial developments along the waterways. Other funds will go toward improving water quality and treatment plants.
The city will also issue a survey to ferry riders to gauge how to better improve service.
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