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The West Midtown Ferry Terminal is a passenger bus and ferry terminal serving ferries along the Hudson River in New York City and northeastern New Jersey. It is located at Piers 78 and 79 in Hudson River Park adjacent to the West Side Highway at West 39th Street in Midtown Manhattan. The municipally-owned facility opened in 2005 as multi-user terminal to accommodate an increasing demand for ferry service in the Port of New York and New Jersey and to provide ferry slips for short haul crossings, water taxis, and high-speed long distance service. Built largely with public funds the West Midtown became upon its opening one of the principal terminals used by the private NY Waterway-operated routes to Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, and Edgewater.
Contents
The terminal is located on a narrow strip of land west of West Side Highway, a major arterial road, and Hudson River Park. Its construction required the incorporation of the ventilation towers of the Lincoln Tunnel built in the 1930s. Clad in glass, it contains six ferry slips as well as a passenger ticketing area and waiting room.
History
The Weehawken was the last ferry to the West Shore Railroad's Weehawken Terminal on March 25, 1959 at 1:10 am., ending a century of continuous service from 42nd Street. In 1981 Arthur Edward Imperatore, Sr., trucking magnate, purchased a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) length of the Weehawken waterfront from the bankrupt Penn Central for $7.5 million and in 1986 established New York Waterway, with a route across the river that roughly paralleled the older one. Initially, the ferry slip at Pier 78 was a makeshift affair with limited, yet increasing ridership.
After the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center destroyed the PATH terminal located there cross-Hudson passenger capacity was greatly reduced, and ferry service was expanded to compensate. NY Waterway borrowed heavily to acquire new vessels to add new routes and add more runs to schedules. City and state agencies contracted the construction of new ferry terminals to be leased to private operators, of which the West Midtown is one. With the restoration of rapid transit service, riderships numbers dropped significantly. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey brokered a deal to avoid bankruptcy and disruption of service.
Bus
The company maintains a fleet of buses which provide free connecting service to the ferry that run on peak and off peak routes in Manhattan below 59th Street. New York City transit buses M42 and M50 stop in the vicinity of the terminal at 42nd Street.
Ferry
Commuter ferries connect to several New Jersey terminals, listed here from north to south, located along the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway.