Driver seat empty

Look, Ma! No driver!

New Yorkers will get their first chance to ride in self-driving cars this spring.

The autonomous vehicles will operate only within the Brooklyn Navy Yard, serving as free shuttles for an NYC Ferry stop opening there in mid to late May.

Passengers who aren’t guests or tenants of navy yard facilities will have to use the futuristic fleet to get to and from the ferry dock. The industrial park is home to some 400 businesses and the U.S.’ largest TV and film production studio outside Hollywood.

The cars are built by Boston-based engineering company Optimus, and their launch will mark the first commercial rollout of self-driving cars in New York State.

Optimus CEO Ryan Chin said the navy yard’s enclosed nature makes it an ideal place to begin using self-driving cars, as it has fewer variables that could lead to accidents. Optimus has already deployed the cars in two similar Massachusetts spaces.

“Places like the navy yard are places to start educating the public on the functionality of driverless cars,” said Chin. “The vehicles will get better over time because we’re applying artificial intelligence … eventually they’ll be able to drive in Times Square.”

When the ferry stop opens, Optimus will have four selfdriving cars, which seat four people at a time. Chin says the firm plans to add several more.