Ferry Service to Governors Island Back on Table
Governors Island is one of the greatest spots in the city for a day trip, but it’s currently a pain in the butt for Brooklynites to get to. Despite being closer to Brooklyn’s shores, Governors Island lacks ferry service to the County of Kings. There’s been talk over the past four years, but the first…
Governors Island is one of the greatest spots in the city for a day trip, but it’s currently a pain in the butt for Brooklynites to get to. Despite being closer to Brooklyn’s shores, Governors Island lacks ferry service to the County of Kings. There’s been talk over the past four years, but the first sign of any positive momentum in a while came on Friday when the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corp. approved $3.2 million in its capital spending plan to create a feasibility study and preliminary designs for a ferry landing in Red Hook that would host direct ferry service to the island. The federal government would have to pay for the construction, but a NY Post article says that it’s more likely to happen now that the city has taken control of the island from the cash-strapped and gridlocked state. And in the meantime, there’s supposed to be water taxi service to the island from Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Update: Leslie Koch, president of the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation, just wrote in with the following message: Last year, Governors Island ran free ferry service on Saturdays and Sundays from Fulton Ferry Landing. This service accommodated both pedestrians and bicycles. Governors Island will be providing that same service from Brooklyn on Saturday and Sundays when the Island is open from June 5 through October 10. We are working with the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation which is planning to open a dock at Pier 6, as we are hoping to move our free service from Fulton Ferry Landing to Pier 6 this summer. The new location cuts the travel time to Governors Island to three minutes, so boats will be able to run continuously between Governors Island and Brooklyn for free. Governors Island has always stated its intention to add a ferry from Red Hook that would provide pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle access. As a Boerum Hill resident, I very much look forward to taking the free Brooklyn service to Governors Island on weekends this summer.
Red Hook Ferry Project for Governors Island Back on Track [NY Post]
Photo by edwhitaker
how treacherous do you think it is to swim there from Brooklyn?
Ringo, if you have a link to sign up for email updates about the ferry service, will you please post it, or email it to me. I get daily email updates from the Governors Island blog, but they haven’t sent me anything about the ferry service.
I thought all ferry service was seasonal. Including the fulton ferry. I know it’s running again this summer — I got an email about the start date for the season
I heard Pier 6 is set to open Mother’s Day. Not sure about that
I’m confused — there was excellent ferry service last year, as several people point out, from Fulton Ferry. Is that over?
Speaking of pier 6, does anyone have a better sense of when that park will open, other than just “spring” (which is what the Brooklyn Bride Park website says)? I walked by there yesterday and there were lots of guys working busily, but it still looked to me like there was a ways to go. But then I don’t know anything about how long that kind of work takes… I’m just so excited for it to open! And having ferry and/or water taxi service from there to GI would be really cool.
Speaking of pier 6, does anyone have a better sense of when that park will open, other than just “spring” (which is what the Brooklyn Bride Park website says)? I walked by there yesterday and there were lots of guys working busily, but it still looked to me like there was a ways to go. But then I don’t know anything about how long that kind of work takes… I’m just so excited for it to open! And having ferry and/or water taxi service from there to GI would be really cool.
You only need a car to get to Red Hook if you lack limbs or the ability to ride a bus.
I wonder if there will ever be direct ferry service from BoCoCa.
KENS!!! The ferry in the picture allows you to bring your goats and sheep to Governors Island!! Must be some good grazing land there. Awesome. Only, why do you suppose they segregate the goats and the sheep during the voyage?