The city announced today that it is subsidizing a million-dollar pilot ferry service, running from Far Rockaway in Queens to Lower Manhattan, with a stop at the Brooklyn Army terminal. The service will start on Monday, and will run weekdays at a cost of $6 a ride.

Key parts of the plan developed by the Bloomberg Administration and the Speaker to bring ferry service to all five boroughs will begin May 12, when a new City Council-subsidized route from Far Rockaway to Lower Manhattan starts service.

The route, which will run from Riis Landing in Far Rockaway to the Brooklyn Army Terminal to Pier 11 on South Street will connect commuters in Brooklyn and Southern Queens with Lower Manhattan. Additional East River ferry service from Pier 11 and 34th Street to Long Island City and South Williamsburg will be re-launched by a private operator in July, and expanded East River ferry service is expected to begin in two years.

The City will also be analyzing additional launch locations across the five boroughs as it looks to expand and encourage the use of this convenient, environmentally sustainable transit mode to places like West 125th Street, Riverdale, Coney Island and Camp St. Edward on Staten Island, among other locations. At the announcement at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, the Mayor and Speaker were joined by DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, Economic Development Corporation  President Seth Pinsky, United States Representatives Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler, and New York City Council Member Sarah Gonzalez.

CITY COMMITMENT TO THE ROCKAWAYS:

The two-year pilot Rockaway service will be funded using $1.1 million allocated by Queens Councilman Joseph P. Addabbo. The Rockaway service will be run by New York Water Taxi and will operate to and from Riis Landing, on National Park Service property, and stop at the Brooklyn Army Terminal en route to Pier 11 in Lower Manhattan. As part of this first phase of the plan, New York Water Taxi will also restore service in July to Long Island City and to South Williamsburg via a new $1.25 million City-funded launch facility being built at Schaefer Landing, connecting to Pier 11 and 34th Street.

While previous attempts to connect the boroughs with ferry service have had mixed results, plans for the new service differ in important ways. The Council, DOT and EDC are currently working with the MTA to connect ferry landings with bus service, providing commuters an important layer of convenience traveling to and from their destinations. In addition, the funding secured by Councilman Addabbo will cap the cost of service to Far Rockaway at $6 a trip. The result will be ferry service that offers an unprecedented degree of convenience and affordability.

EXPANDED EAST RIVER SERVICE:

The second phase of the plan will further expand East River service by adding new stops at North Williamsburg and Greenpoint in Brooklyn. Studies conducted by EDC and DOT have concluded that this arrangement on the East River will provide the most useful service for commuters in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn. This phase of the plan will also include the construction of a new landing at Roosevelt Island that will be used by a private operator. EDC has budgeted funds to begin the design phase of this service, and there is $4.4 million in federal transportation funds secured by Congress members Jerrold Nadler and Carolyn Maloney, matched with $1.1 million split from the Bloomberg Administration and the City Council. The federal funds will be used to construct the ferry landings at Greenpoint and North Williamsburg as well as the dock at Roosevelt Island

FIVE BOROUGH PLAN:

In addition, the City Council will provide approximately $500,000 to fund an in-depth study to be conducted by City agencies and outside consultants of potential sites in all five boroughs capable of supporting new ferry service, including Riverdale, Orchard Beach, Ferry Point, Soundview and Hunts Point in the Bronx; LaGuardia Airport and Astoria in Queens; Bay Ridge, and Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn; and 125th Street, East 20th Street, East 75th Street and East 90th Street in Manhattan. Analysis is already underway for service to Camp St. Edward on Staten Island and EDC is issuing a Request for Proposals for a consultant to study Coney Island ferry service. The study will include an analysis of the ferry market within the five boroughs and will be used to plan new routes that will take pressure off of crowded transportation routes and connect areas of the City currently underserved by mass-transit with new transportation options. The City is also participating in a Port Authority study that will examine the commuter ferry network from a regional perspective. The Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, a region-wide coalition of 329 organizations and community groups, praised the leadership of the Mayor, the Speaker, the Council and the NY Congressional delegation.

Many of the above initiatives also make use of funding from the Federal Transit Administration, Federal Highway Administration, New York State Department of Transportation, and the Port Authority.