Gothamist: NYC Ferry riders will get direct boat rides between the Bronx and Rockaways, as well as Staten Island and Brooklyn, starting next month, the city Economic Development Corporation announced Monday.
Officials said the new routes will take effect on Dec. 8, filling in major gaps in the city’s budding ferry service.
Brooklyn and Staten Island politicians have for years called for a ferry connection between the two boroughs, providing a mass transit alternative to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which is only accessible by car. The other new route, which will run from Throgs Neck to the Rockaways, will provide a two-hour connection between the Bronx and the Queens beachfront.
The EDC is also making changes to the ferry’s East River route, which officials said would make the service more efficient.
After launching in 2017, the NYC Ferry system faced scrutiny from fiscal watchdogs who criticized the service’s high subsidies that burdened taxpayers. The city at the time spent roughly $13 for every rider the service carried.
The per-rider subsidy has since dropped to $8.33, according to Kimball. The decrease came after the agency saw record ridership and increased the fare from $2.75 to $4.50.
Monday’s announcement included the release of a new report from the agency that outlined a proposal to add two new stops to the ferry system.
The report also looked at different sites of potential interest in the future to bring ferry service, including in Canarsie — where locals have long pleaded for a ferry — Chelsea, Far Rockaway, and JFK and LaGuardia airports.
