Sign up for the Brownstoner daily email
« Tuesday Links Open Thread »

December 1, 2009

More Bad News About Water Taxi Service to Brooklyn

water-taxi-1209.jpg
A month ago The Times wrote a piece about the precarious future of New York Water Taxi and the implications for Brooklynites who'd put down roots on the waterfront based on assurances from the city that the ferry service would always be there. Yesterday, The Brooklyn Paper wrote a pretty darn similar article, but with some different characters. The people most screwed by a the end of water taxi service would most certainly be those who live at Schaeffer Landing in South Williamsburg ("The ferry gets me to work in the same amount of time it would take me to walk to the train," one Schaefer dweller told Brooklyn Paper). Residents of Northside Piers or The Edge, with their proximity to the L train, would be less affected. It's hard to know how close to closing the ferry service is and how much these articles are just PR ammo in Tom Fox's negotiation with the city, but one thing's for sure: It would be a real blow to Brooklyn's burgeoning waterfront if the city let the operation die. Remember: It's the one form of mass transit that currently is unsubsidized by taxpayers.
This Whole Situation is Ferry Confusing [Brooklyn Paper]
East River Ferry Service in Jeopardy—Again [Brownstoner]
Photo by pattytimtom




Posted by Brownstoner at 9:00 AM | Comments (13)
Categories: Dumbo, News, Transportation, Williamsburg

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/12454

Comments

WTF? The water taxi is NOT mass transit. Its used by a handful of waterfront condo/lux rental people who can't be bothered to take the bus/subway. Boo friggin hoo if they were led to believe that the water taxi would be there forever to service their commute. The city can barely afford to keep actual mass transit running smoothly so F these entitled pricks.

Posted by: martis at December 1, 2009 9:28 AM

nail meet hammer.
this is a negotiation / pr play.
the water taxi is looking for concessions.
my bet, water taxi wins on tko.

Posted by: antidope at December 1, 2009 10:10 AM

I am not sure how I feel on this - the Water Taxi is nice and could be a great MASS transit option but the way they are run SUCKS.

If the city does give any subsidy to these guys it should be contingent on running (and STICKING TOO) regular departure times and reasonable intervals......I am not going to communte by something that may or may not show up in some 30 min window. its got to be there when I expect it to be.

Posted by: fsrg at December 1, 2009 10:18 AM

"put down roots" = paid $650 plus per sq ft. Whoops!

Nope, 'dope. H20 taxi taps out.

(condo boards should chip in and start up an alternative. maybe take over the one being deaded. if demand is there it'll either pay for itself or profit)

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at December 1, 2009 10:23 AM

You lose the taxi ferry you lose real estate value. Did anyone say we were going back to a 70's real estate market in which you could not get good people to rent for free in schabby neighborhoods?

Posted by: hannible at December 1, 2009 10:25 AM

care for a side bet, bho?

Posted by: antidope at December 1, 2009 10:35 AM

"The city can barely afford to keep actual mass transit running smoothly"

Do you really think the problem here is lack of money?

It took 8 years to reopen one half of the R stop at Cortland Street.

There is a problem other than money when things like that happen...

Posted by: northsloperenter at December 1, 2009 10:44 AM


"It took 8 years to reopen one half of the R stop at Cortland Street."

It sure did. What was the deal there? A good example of how quickly things happen (or don't) in this city.

Posted by: East New York at December 1, 2009 11:07 AM

Residents of Northside Piers and the Edge will be less affected because there is NO water taxi service to the Northside. Hard to miss what you never had.

It is the developers who have made the promises about the water taxi, and as BHO says, the developers (or condo boards) should be subsidizing this amenity. The city has promised to expand service, and should subsidize the existing service, but the city didn't sell anyone a condo based on a promise of water taxi service at their doorstep.

The water taxi is NOT mass transit, it is a private operation. That said, the water taxi (particularly with a stop in the Northside) could provide some relief to overcrowding on the L line (some, but given the state of congestion and the condos/apartments yet to come online, every little bit help). And while the city is under no obligation to subsidize private transportation, it does so quite regularly - express bus service, for example.

In my experience (I ride the water taxi fairly often but not regularly or every day), the service is great and almost always on time (as on time as the L train). Sure, there are breakdowns which cause long waits for a new boat to show up, but that happens underground too. On the whole, I'd rather wait half an hour on a bench looking out over the water than on a crowded platform at Bedford Avenue...

PS - Cortland Street was open for a year or two after 9/11 - the current renovation *only* closed it for five years.

Posted by: WBer at December 1, 2009 11:39 AM

"PS - Cortland Street was open for a year or two after 9/11 - the current renovation *only* closed it for five years."

And even with 5 years to work on it, they seemed to run out of the right color floor tiles because a few of them are the wrong shade of gray...

Sigh.

At least the new tower is getting higher. Looks like it is up to 4 or 5 stories now.

Posted by: northsloperenter at December 1, 2009 12:09 PM

"PS - Cortland Street was open for a year or two after 9/11 - the current renovation *only* closed it for five years."

Exactly! I could get off the PATH and get right on my train home to Brooklyn. It was infuriating look at the "closed" station through the train window.

Posted by: Aces at December 1, 2009 2:40 PM

Hello whining luxury condo people...the city has bailed on all of its promises from the rezoning. New open space...not one inch yet. Affordable housing? Nowhere near the promised number created. If the rest of us in Williamsburg get your ugly towers blocking the view, you too should get the short end of the stick when it comes to promises made. C'est la vie in our fair bloomblighted burg...

Posted by: rtg at December 1, 2009 4:36 PM

Now lets see if people continue paying thousands of dollars a month in condo espenses!

Posted by: hannible at December 1, 2009 4:51 PM

Post a comment

Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.

Latest Restaurant Additions