FERRY SUSPICIOUS
City pulls permit from rival of Blas favorite
The city has pulled the permit of a direct competitor to Mayor de Blasio’s favorite ferry operator — even though the yanked company had only a fraction of the complaints against it as the other firm, according to a $30 million lawsuit.
Freedom Cruises — which won a court order Monday to keep operating while the permit issue is hashed out in court — alleges that de Blasio is giving a sweetheart deal to its rival, Hornblower.
In addition to sightseeing cruises, Hornblower won a $30 million contract to run the new NYC Ferry.
De Blasio defended Hornblower last month after The Post reported that six of its 16 new ferries had been pulled from service for repairs.
Freedom Cruises CEO Pjeter Vulaj says he learned from the city’s Economic Development Corp. this fall that the agency had received anonymous complaints about its ticket-sellers soliciting tourists outside designated sales areas.
But while Freedom may have racked up 18 complaints related to its ticket sales over the past year, Hornblower agents have been given 47 Criminal Court summonses for unlawful vending, according to the lawsuit.
“The supposed complaints [against Freedom] are bogus and merely an excuse to eliminate Freedom from Pier 36 so that Hornblower can take over our previously thriving busi- ness,” Vulaj says in court papers.
To prove his claim, Freedom had its sellers don GoPro-type cameras to assure they weren’t violating any rules. The footage showed that they were in compliance, the suit says.
But the complaints continued. Freedom Cruises lawyer Michael Hiller says the agency refused to meet with him or provide details about the alleged violations.
The permit that allows Freedom to berth at Pier 36 in lower Manhattan was suddenly revoked on Dec. 14 — leaving 2,000 passengers who had booked for excursions high and dry over the weekend, the suit says.
Losing the license for good would strand more than 22,000 Freedom customers who bought tickets through Jan. 10 — including 400 who have scheduled a New Years Eve cruise, according to the lawsuit.
“The revocation of the permit was driven not by any alleged complaints, which have never been substantiated, but rather by the desire of one of Freedom’s competitors to drive [Freedom] out of business,” the suit says.
“Hornblower, Freedom’s direct competitor in the New York City pleasure-cruising business, has a particularly cozy relationship with the current mayoral administration,” the filing says, pointing to The Post reports about the ferry service.
Reps for Hornblower did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The EDC called the suit “baseless.”