Citywide Ferry Service

Early ferries

In the 19th century and before that, when the East River and Hudson River did not have many bridge or tunnel crossings, there used to be many ferries across these two rivers. Hudson River ferries had been in existence since a Communipaw-to-Manhattan ferry was founded in 1661. At one point, there were boat routes running from New Jersey to twenty passenger docks in Manhattan. However, the construction of the Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel, and George Washington Bridge between Manhattan and New Jersey, as well as the growth of car ownership in the United States, meant that these ferries were no longer needed by the mid-20th century. As a result, in 1967, the last cross-Hudson ferry (between Hoboken and Battery Park City) ceased operations. At that point, the Staten Island Ferry was the only commuter ferry within the entire city. Despite this discontinuation of ferry service, people moved to places along the waterfront on the New Jersey side. In 1986, waterfront settlements like Bayonne, Highlands, Keyport, Port Liberte, and Weehawken saw a reinstatement of their ferry service to Manhattan, under the operation of NY Waterway. By 1989, around 3,000 of the settlements' combined 10,500 residents paid a $5.00 fare in each direction to board the NY Waterway ferries, despite competition from cheaper alternatives like the PATH. Around this time, there were plans to create ferry routes between Inwood and Atlantic City; South Amboy and Wall Street; and from the city proper to New Jersey, Connecticut, and Westchester.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Manhattan, one of the first documented team boats in commercial service in the United States was a East River ferry run that was implemented in 1814. However, by 1918, the construction of bridges and New York City Subway tunnels across the East River forced some companies, like the New York and East River Ferry Company between Yorkville and Astoria, to operate at a loss. Even with city ownership, many of the East River ferries were superseded by bridges, road tunnels, and subway tunnels by the mid-20th century. The Yorkville–Astoria ferry stopped in 1936, replaced by the Triborough Bridge.

Revival of ferries

In early 2011, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), and the NYC & Company water travel initiative NYHarborWay, worked with the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) to release a Comprehensive Citywide Ferry Study, in which it examined over 40 potential locations for a ferry system in New York City. The study was commissioned in order to examine transport alternatives for neighborhoods along New York City's shores. It also discussed the East River Ferry, which was set to enter service later that year. The study identified potential ferry routes to western Manhattan and Riverdale; eastern Manhattan, the South Bronx, and Co-op City; the northern Brooklyn and Queens shorelines; the South Shore of Staten Island; and southwestern Brooklyn, southern Brooklyn, and the Rockaways.

In June 2011, the NY Waterway-operated East River Ferry line started operations. The route is a 7-stop East River service that runs in a loop between East 34th Street and Hunters Point, making two intermediate stops in Brooklyn and three in Queens. The ferry, an alternative to the New York City Subway, cost $4 per one-way ticket. It was instantly popular, with two to six times the number of passengers that the city predicted would ride the ferries. From June to November 2011, the ferry accommodated 2,862 riders on an average weekday, as opposed to a projection of 1,488 riders, and it had 4,500 riders on an average weekend, six times the city's projected ridership; in total, the ferry saw 350,000 riders in that period, over 250% of the initial ridership forecast of 134,000 riders.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2012, massive infrastructural damage to the IND Rockaway Line (A train) south of the Howard Beach–JFK Airport station severed all direct subway connections between the Rockaways, Broad Channel, and the Queens mainland for seven months. Ferry operator SeaStreak began running a city-subsidized ferry service between a makeshift ferry slip at Beach 108th Street and Beach Channel Drive in Rockaway Park, Queens, and Pier 11/Wall Street, then continuing on to the East 34th Street Ferry Landing. A stop at Brooklyn Army Terminal was added in August 2013 because of the reconstruction of the Montague Street Tunnel, which temporarily suspended N R service through the tunnel. The ferry proved to be popular and its license was extended several times, as city officials evaluated the ridership numbers to determine whether to establish the service on a permanent basis. Between its inception and December 2013, the service had carried close to 200,000 riders.

The NYCEDC study was updated in 2013, following the introduction of the SeaStreak Rockaway ferry. The study, called "CFS2013", showed the impact of ferry services in New York City, citing the success of the East River ferry. Specifically, ferry service raised the values of real estate within 1 mile (1.6 km) of ferry landings by an average of 1.2%; spurred new construction near ferry stops; added more transport options to neighborhoods with few transit alternatives; and helped relieve crowding on other parts of New York City's transport network. CFS2013 also suggested extra routes that could be added to the ferry system, with proposed routes that would serve new development in all five boroughs. The specific idea of Citywide Ferry Service was also first proposed in the CFS2013 study.

When the city government announced its budget in late June 2014 for the upcoming fiscal year beginning July 1, the ferry only received a $2 million further appropriation, enough to temporarily extend it again through October, but did not receive the approximately $8 million appropriation needed to keep the service running for the full fiscal year. The administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio stated that there was not enough ridership to justify the cost of operation. Despite last-minute efforts by local transportation advocates, civic leaders, and elected officials, ferry service ended on October 31, 2014. They promised to continue efforts to have the service restored. This led to many negotiations between the mayor's office and the parties interested in reopening the ferry. The Rockaway ferry was eventually agreed to be restored in 2017, when the Citywide Ferry starts operations.

Proposal

The Citywide Ferry Service, first proposed by the NYCEDC, was announced by de Blasio's administration in 2015 as part of a proposed citywide ferry system that reaches through the five boroughs, though a Staten Island terminal has not yet been finalized. The NYCEDC promised the project, along with the Brooklyn–Queens Connector proposal, as a way to reinvent the city's transit system. The Citywide Ferry was to cost $325 million with an additional operating cost of $10 million to $20 million per year. The privately operated ferries are being offered under a 6-year contract to Hornblower Cruises, which would receive $30 million over the six years. Routes would go to Astoria, Bay Ridge, the Rockaways, the Lower East Side, Soundview, South Brooklyn, and Brooklyn Navy Yard. Funding is being sought for routes to Coney Island and Stapleton. As part of the proposal, NY Waterway's East River Ferry would be operated by Citywide Ferry Service's operator instead of NY Waterway.

The fare will be $2.75, same as on other modes of transportation, as opposed to current ferries' weekday and weekend fares of $4 and $6, respectively; however, there is not expected to be a free transfer to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's greater mass transit system. This is in contrast to some other major cities like San Francisco and Sydney, where ferry fares are higher than the fares of other modes of mass transit in these cities. The city says that the low ferry fares are intended to make the ferries affordable, while de Blasio states that it is intended to promote "transit equity". The 85-foot (26 m) boats can fit 150 people each, including wheelchairs, strollers, and bikes, but bikers must pay an additional $1 to board their bikes on ferries. As a further incentive, the boats would have snacks and drink options, including alcoholic beverages, that are available to riders.

Some of the ferry's 9 proposed routes will be operational in June 2017, and the whole system is expected to come into full service by 2018. The proposed system will include current NY Waterway routes. Riders can transfer to other ferry routes within the system for free, though this excludes the fare-free Staten Island Ferry, since it will not be integrated into Citywide Ferry. There would be at least 18 boats needed for rush-hour operation. Twelve boats would be deployed in 2017, while the other six would be put in service the next year.

The ferry system is supposed to relieve some of the load of the city's transportation system, which is largely "the footprint of an early-19th-century transit map" according to Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen, and cannot accommodate the city's fast population growth. As a result of projected desire for the ferries, annual ridership is expected to eventually reach 4.5 million to 4.6 million. Even though this amounted to only about 12,500 daily riders (compared to the New York City Subway's 5 million riders each weekday), one fellow at the Manhattan Institute said that "every person you’re not cramming on to the trains helps". New York City's deputy mayor for housing and economic development stated, "Our aim is to make this thing as big as possible."

Critical reception

There has been both praise and criticism for the ferry service. The editorial board in the local newspaper AM New York praised the Citywide Ferry system's affordability and stated that if done correctly, the ferry "could be far more enjoyable than a subway ride". It urged city officials to consider what routes to prioritize for Phase 1 service in 2017. Politicians such as City Councilman Vincent Gentile and State Senator Marty Golden also lauded the fact that the ferry would bring service to places, such as southwest Brooklyn, that are underserved by transportation.

However, Tom Fox, New York Water Taxi's president from 2001 to 2011, wrote that the plan was marred with "an unrealistic time frame, the wrong lead agency, the selection of an inexperienced operator with no ferries, and poor planning". Fox cited the selection of Hornblower Cruises, a California-based cruise operator, despite a bid from three large ferry operators in the New York metropolitan area; the decision to build new boats for the system, instead of buying existing boats from other companies; and the fact that the new boats could accommodate fewer people than the overcrowded existing East River ferries. He noted that the city bought French motorboat engines that had never been used on passenger boats in the United States; and that since all American shipyards with expertise were not able to take new orders until 2018, the city decided to use a builder with less experience. One writer for DNAinfo.com wrote that Hornblower Cruises had a history of poor relations with its workers' unions.

Progress

In March and April 2015, the city started the process of environmental review for Citywide Ferry. The city requested the draft of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on August 12, 2015, which was completed by April 18, 2016. After public comment, the final EIS was approved on July 28, 2016. The project also had a City Environmental Quality Review, which analyzed the ferry's effects on open space, urban design, natural resources, nearby transportation, noise pollution, air quality, the environment, and public health.

On March 16, 2016, Hornblower Cruises was selected as the ferry's operator.

From January to June 2016, the city bought 4 boats for the proposed ferry service for a combined total of $6 million, with plans for a total of 30 boats over the coming years. The city is purchasing 13 boats from Hornblower Cruises for $4 million each. The total combined cost of the boats is expected to be more than $70 million. In addition, the city proposes to build 13 ferry landings at a cost of $85 million, as well as a boat depot. One of these docks, in Astoria, will be built privately as part of the Astoria Cove development. In September 2016, construction on 19 ferries began at two shipyards in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, and Jeanerette, Louisiana, with 200 full-time employees working on the boats. The contract with the two shipyards is unusual because shipbuilding contracts are usually with only one company. However, CFS executives had purposely chosen these two companies because of their expertise and because of the unlikeliness that both shipyards would be destroyed by hurricanes.

Ferry implementation would require permission from several entities. Before the ferry could start service, the NYCDOT is required to approve a new transportation mode within its service area, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and United States Army Corps of Engineers (CoE) should give Citywide Ferry permission to use of the landings, with the United States Coast Guard advising the CoE's approval of a permit as well as monitoring the design of Citywide Ferry vessels. In addition, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation needs to allow Citywide ferries to use the landing at Gantry Plaza State Park, and the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation is being consulted so they can give permission for the Roosevelt Island landing to be built. As of September 2016, the Gantry Plaza landing had been approved.

Routes

This is a list of the nine routes that are proposed to become part of the new ferry system. There is to be a phased introduction of these routes. Phase 1 will start in June 2017 and would serve Rockaway, Bay Ridge, and Astoria in addition to current areas served by the East River Ferry and the Governor's Island Ferry. Phase 2 would go to Soundview and the Lower East Side. The route to Coney Island and Stapleton is under discussion. There are to be two main Manhattan terminals at Wall Street and South Ferry.

Stops

The service is proposed to have 21 landings, of which ten are brand-new, five would be upgraded, and six would be existing landings that would not be changed with the addition of Citywide Ferry routes. The current East River Ferry landings at Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 1; Schaefer Landing; North Williamsburg; Greenpoint; and Long Island City are to remain unchanged. There would be upgrades to the landings at Wall Street; East 34th Street; East 92nd Street; Brooklyn Army Terminal; and Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 6. The remaining landings would be built as part of the project. A stop on Governor's Island is being considered along one of the routes to South Brooklyn. The current Governor's Island Ferry, the only public access to the island, runs seasonally between May and September, but the proposed Governor's Island stop would feature ferry service year-round. It was decided to build the Rockaway dock at Beach 108th Street, but a second dock cannot be built further east than Beach 84th Street due to height restrictions caused by the Rockaway Line subway bridge.

The upgraded landings would increase capacity and passenger flow, and would be located on 35-by-90-foot (11 by 27 m) barges that connect to land via the use of either one or two articulated ramps. The ADA-accessible landings would have enclosed waiting rooms with ticket booths and information boards. Mono-pile mooring facilities would be installed on the side of the landings to ensure that the ferries dock safely, but some landings might also include extra bulkheads or piers.

Construction on the first dock, the Rockaway landing, began in January 2017.

Ferry fleet

In July 2016, Metal Shark Boats and Horizon Shipbuilding were jointly awarded construction contracts for the service's new build ferries. The vessels, which were designed by Incat Crowther, will be about 85 feet (26 m) long, with a 26 feet (7.9 m) beam, and will have a passenger capacity of 149. They will be powered by Baudouin diesel engines, with a service speed of 25 knots (29 mph). As of September 2016, nineteen ferries are being built for Phase 1 of service, and seventeen boats have already been purchased. In January 2017, five more ferries were ordered from Horizon Shipbuilding. The first new build vessel for Citywide Ferry was launched by Horizon Shipbuilding on February 13, 2017. Eventually, there are expected to be 149 ferryboats in Citywide Ferry's fleet, all of which would use the same types of loading equipment on the port, starboard, and bow as do boats that currently operate in the New York Harbor. There will be two types of boats: an open-water "Rockaway vessel" type for the Rockaway route, and another "river vessel" type for the rest of the system. Both designs have a common 86 feet (26 m) length and 26.25 feet (8.00 m) beam, but the Rockaway service vessels have a slightly deeper draft and higher freeboard, as well as added fuel capacity and larger engines giving a slightly higher service speed. All of the vessels would be powered by engines that pass Environmental Protection Agency Tier 3 Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards guidelines.

The ferries would be maintained at either the Brooklyn Army Terminal or the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The Navy Yard option, which is the option that the city prefers because of the Navy Yard's proximity to the "core operating area" of the routes, would allow an extra station to be added there in the future. If that alternative is chosen, ferries could be maintained at the Navy Yard starting in fall 2017. However, the Navy Yard docks would have to be renovated substantially to accommodate the Citywide Ferry vessels and their maintenance facilities. The Navy Yard option would create 195 jobs.

Schedules and shuttle buses

When the Citywide Ferry opens, it is planned to operate from 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. during all seven days of the week. During peak hours, ferries would operate at 20-minute headways to Astoria and the Lower East Side; 30-minute headways to Bay Ridge and Soundview; and 1-hour headways to the Rockaway.

The Citywide Ferry also plans to operate three shuttle bus routes. One would be an existing NY Waterway service to the East 34th Street landing. The other two would be brand-new services to the Rockaway landing, which is proposed to be on Beach 108th Street. One route would go west to Jacob Riis Park, while the other would go to Beach 67th Street. The EIS provided for an extension of the Beach 67th Street bus to Beach 31st Street via Rockaway Beach Boulevard and Beach Channel Drive, but de Blasio's office said that extending the bus further would cause a bus fleet shortage, resulting in passengers missing their boats.

Other ferries

Several ferries in the New York City area will have varying levels of integration with Citywide Ferry Service. NY Waterway planned to add 150 jobs, despite giving over its East River route to Citywide Ferry. New York Water Taxi remained separate, but was to eliminate 200 jobs; it had stated that if it did not win the contract with the city to operate Citywide Ferry, then it would shut down. Since the company did not win the Citywide Ferry contract, it had been expected to shut down in October 2016, but continued operations through the end of the year before being purchased by Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises in January 2017. The Staten Island Ferry will remain separate.