FERRY NICE – EXPRESSLY
Fast boat between southern Brooklyn & Manhattan launches
NYC Ferry’s first foray into express service between Manhattan and Brooklyn launched Wednesday amid choppy waters and strong headwinds.
Mayor Adams climbed aboard a Manhattan-bound ferry at the Bay Ridge slip about 8 a.m., joining other pols and city officials to kick off a pilot program intended to shuttle commuters from southern Brooklyn to lower Manhattan in just 21 minutes.
Rough seas and high winds slowed the trip to a half hour — but the ferry was still 15 minutes faster than the average subway ride.
Adams touted the maiden voyage as a success.
“I remember being borough president how I was hearing from the residents of Bay Ridge over and over again: ‘Why can’t we get a ferry? Why can’t we get a ferry?’ ” the mayor told reporters invited along for the ride. “So this has been on our dream board. Now it’s not a dream. It’s a reality.”
The Bay Ridge-to-Manhattan line was among the first routes when then-Mayor Bill de Blasio first launched NYC Ferry service in 2017.
But the route — with its regular service stops at Sunset Park, Governors Island, Red Hook and Brooklyn Bridge before arriving at Wall St. — has historically had some of the longest travel times in the system. The new express line makes only one stop, at Brooklyn Bridge, before docking at Wall St.
The base fare for riding the NYC Ferry system is $4, though commuters can buy discounted 10-ticket packs for $27.50.
Senior citizens, people with disabilities and participants in the city’s Fair Fares program pay $1.35.
The single-ride fare rose in 2022 amid the release of a scathing city comptroller audit accusing the de Blasio administration of hiding more than $200 million in costs.
The fare bump has addressed some of the audit’s fiscal concerns, said city Economic Development Corp. President Andrew Kimball.
“We feel like we’re headed in the right direction,” Kimball told the Daily News before Wednesday’s inaugural express ferry ride. “We’re making progress. And we’re going to continue to look for improvements throughout the year.”
While the express service has been described by the Economic Development Corp. as a “pilot program” rather than a permanent addition to the schedule, a spokesman for the agency said it has no expiration date.
Kimball’s agency has been working to pitch the boats to commuters as an alternative to buses and subways. An Economic Development Corp. survey of ferry riders last year found that more rush-hour passengers were using the system to get to work than at any other time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Regina Ryan, a Bay Ridge resident aboard the Wednesday inaugural trip, called the new service “a game changer.”
Ryan, who works in Manhattan for a government relations firm, said that while the walk to her office from the Wall St. slip meant her door-to-door commute via the ferry isn’t much faster, it was more pleasant than the alternative.
“Instead of sitting on the bus or subway for an extra 20 minutes, I can walk for 20 minutes through Manhattan,” she said after chatting with the mayor. “I love it.”