NEW YORK CITY—New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio presided over the beginning of construction of a new NYC ferry dock landing on the Lower East Side on Wednesday. A total of two new “Fast Ferry” routes to Wall Street and Midtown will launch service this summer for Lower East Side and South Bronx commuters.
City officials say the two new ferry routes will have the potential to serve more than 1.4 million riders a year. Last year, the NYC Ferry system launched four routes, the Rockaway, Astoria and South Brooklyn and East River routes. The four routes served nearly three million riders, surpassing initial projections by 34% or by approximately 800,000 riders in less than a year.
“Docks are under construction and new ferries are on the way for this summer's new service. Neighborhoods like the Lower East Side haven't had the transit options they deserve. We can't wait to launch two new ferry lines that will help New Yorkers get to work and to school, and to connect with their city,” said Mayor de Blasio.
The Lower East Side route will serve nearly one million riders annually traveling to and from Manhattan's Wall Street/Pier 11, Corlears Hook, Stuyvesant Cove, East 34th Street and Long Island City. The route is expected to substantially reduce travel times for more than 8,000 families living in four NYCHA developments—the Baruch, Jacob Riis, La Guardia and Vladeck Houses, city officials note.
Commuters on the Lower East Side ferry will have a nine-minute ferry ride to Wall Street or a 17-minute ride to Midtown.
The Soundview route, which will also begin service this summer, will serve an estimated 400,000 riders traveling to and from the Soundview area of the Bronx, East 90th Street, East 34th Street and Wall Street/Pier 11 in Manhattan each year.
Four docks are now being constructed at Corlears Hook, East 90th Street, and Stuyvesant Cove on the East River and at Clason Point Park in the Soundview Section of the Bronx. City officials say that construction of the ferry docks requires: embedding piles into the East River to secure the ferry landing barge, supporting the gangway and guide the ferry vessels into the landing and the installation of the access gangway onto the barge. Additional shore-side work will also be required, including installing utilities, security gates and signage.
NYC Ferry is adding six higher-capacity boats to its fleet. The larger boats are outfitted with larger engines and designed to hold up to 349 passengers. The first three of these larger vessels are expected to arrive in the New York Harbor over the summer.
A total of 20 vessels operating at 21 landings across New York City will service the six routes by the end of summer 2018. A NYC Ferry ride is $2.75, the same as a subway ride, and includes free transfers to other ferry routes.
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John Jordan
John Jordan is a veteran journalist with 36 years of print and digital media experience.
