East River Ferry Launching Soon
On Monday a crane was spotted building out the dock for the East River Ferry service coming to North 6th Street on the Williamsburg waterfront, and today the Brooklyn Paper reports the service will begin on June 13th later next month. The CEO of New York Waterway tells the paper that while he thinks it’s…
On Monday a crane was spotted building out the dock for the East River Ferry service coming to North 6th Street on the Williamsburg waterfront, and today the Brooklyn Paper reports the service will begin on June 13th later next month. The CEO of New York Waterway tells the paper that while he thinks it’s going to take time build up a real ridership, the fact that the ferry will have departures every 20 minutes during peak hours on weekdays will mean “people don’t think of it as appointment ridership.” The fares will run $4 for a single ride and $140 for a monthly pass. Update: A spokesperson for the ferry says the service won’t begin on June 13th; we’ll update this post with the target start date when we hear more.
Ferry Good News! New East River Service to Begin Next Month [BK Paper]
The East River Ferry Cometh [Brownstoner]
Red Hook would really benefit from this and why they don’t extend this one stop to the pier behind Fairway is beyond me.
This isn’t just for Wall Street – the stop at 34th will connect to a shuttle bus that covers much of midtown (up to 42nd I think). Certainly good for anyone working at the med centers on the east side, but also for people in midtown. And the ability to go from North 6th or India to Dumbo in about 10 or 15 minutes is a pretty big deal.
Domino won’t add a ferry stop for years – that phase of the project relies on having most of the waterfront parcels built out and the waterfront esplanade completed. Phase I of Domino won’t break ground until next year (at the earliest), and that phase isn’t on the waterfront.
There are still major obstacles to making this a viable transportation alternative (double fares and all the other things mentioned), but this should be a big first step towards viability. And they need a lot of riders to make it profitable, even with the large subsidies the city is putting in.
I don’t know that you’re tied to the east side. I believe you can take the free ferry bus across 34th st.
I wonder if the timing is wrong, since Domino isn’t built yet and the Greenpoint’s waterfront development hasn’t really begun. At the end of the day, viable ferry service has to be part of the solution to North Brooklyn’s impending transportation overload, it makes too much sense.
this is just a start, a must do for Kent Avenue, and good for dumbo won’t make money for some time… if a crane is there, absent photos, i don’t imagine 6/13 is real…. who cares, this is good news
For the relatively small number of people who live within walking distance of a ferry stop and work within walking distance of Pier 11, this may be an option, at almost twice the price of a subway ride. But it’s hard to see this attracting enough ridership to be viable, even with the substantial city subsidy it receives. And most people who did this would probably still be buying a metrocard for their other travels.
The Staten Island Ferry (speaking of heavily subsidized service) works because it has direct subway and bus connections at both ends.
get out of my purse!
*rob*
You can’t afford lotto tickets on account of the cash you spend on cigarettes
oh okay per ride isnt so bad
*rob*