NYC Ferry

Until the 19th century, when there were no fixed crossings across the city's waterways, there were many ferries traversing the area.[3] New York's first ferries date to when the city was a Dutch colony named New Amsterdam, which comprises modern-day Lower Manhattan. A ferry across the East River, between New Amsterdam and modern-day Brooklyn, was created in 1642 by Cornelius Dircksen,[4] who was reportedly "the earliest ferryman of whom the records speak."[5] By 1654, New Amsterdam's government passed ordinances to regulate East River ferries.[6] The first ferry to New Jersey was founded in 1661, traveling across the Hudson River from Manhattan to Communipaw (now part of Jersey City).[7] Ferries along the Harlem River, between uptown Manhattan and the Bronx, started in 1667, and a ferry to Staten Island was started in 1712.[8]^:38 The number of ferries would grow, and by 1904, there would be 147 ferry services operating in New York City waters.[9]

One of the first documented horse-powered "team" boats in commercial service in the United States was the Fulton Ferry Company, an East River ferry run that Robert Fulton implemented in 1814.[10] The South Ferry Company, founded in 1836, merged with the Fulton Ferry Company three years later, and the combined companies underwent a series of acquisitions, eventually owning many of the East River ferries.[11] However, by 1918, the construction of bridges and New York City Subway tunnels across the East River resulted in some companies, such as the New York and East River Ferry Company between Yorkville and Astoria, operating at a loss.[12] Even with city ownership, many of the East River ferries were superseded by bridges, road tunnels, and subway tunnels by the mid-20th century. The Yorkville–Astoria ferry, for instance, stopped in 1936 after being replaced by the Triborough Bridge.[13]

On the other side of Manhattan, there were a myriad of Hudson River ferries at one point, with boat routes running from New Jersey to twenty passenger docks in Manhattan.[7] However, the construction of the Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel, Hudson & Manhattan Railroad, and George Washington Bridge between Manhattan and New Jersey, as well as the growth of car ownership in the United States, meant that these ferries were no longer needed by the mid-20th century. As a result, in 1967, the last cross-Hudson ferry (between Hoboken and Battery Park City) ceased operations.[7][9]

The Richmond Turnpike Company started a steamboat service from Manhattan to Staten Island in 1817. Cornelius Vanderbilt bought the company in 1838, and it was sold to the Staten Island Railroad Company in 1864. The Staten Island Ferry was then sold to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1884, and the City of New York assumed control of the ferry in 1905.[8]^:172 The ferry, which still operates, was at one point the only commuter ferry within the entire city, after the discontinuation of the Hoboken ferry in 1967.[7]

Despite the discontinuation of ferry service to New Jersey, people moved to locations along the Hudson River waterfront there. In 1986, waterfront settlements like Bayonne, Highlands, Keyport, Port Liberte, and Weehawken saw a reinstatement of their ferry service to Manhattan, under the operation of NY Waterway.[7] By 1989, around 3,000 of the settlements' combined 10,500 residents paid a $5.00 fare in each direction to board the NY Waterway ferries, despite competition from cheaper alternatives like the PATH train system.[7] Around this time, there were plans to create ferry routes between Inwood and Atlantic City; South Amboy and Wall Street; and from the city proper to New Jersey, Connecticut, and Westchester.[7]

In early 2011, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), and the NYC & Company water travel initiative NYHarborWay, worked with the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) to release a Comprehensive Citywide Ferry Study, in which it examined over 40 potential locations for a ferry system in New York City.[14]^:1 The study was commissioned in order to examine transport alternatives for neighborhoods along New York City's shores.[14]^{:1, 23–47} It also discussed the East River Ferry, which was set to enter service later that year.[14]^{:1, 103–111, 130–133, 165} The study identified potential ferry routes to western Manhattan and Riverdale; eastern Manhattan, the South Bronx, and Co-op City; the northern Brooklyn and Queens shorelines; the South Shore of Staten Island; and southwestern Brooklyn, southern Brooklyn, and the Rockaways.[14]^:9–14

NYC Ferry's East River line in its former NY Waterway livery

In June 2011, the NY Waterway-operated East River Ferry line started operations.[15] The route was a 7-stop East River service that runs in a loop between East 34th Street and Hunters Point, making two intermediate stops in Brooklyn and three in Queens. The ferry, an alternative to the New York City Subway, cost $4 per one-way ticket.[15] It was instantly popular, with two to six times the number of passengers that the city predicted would ride the ferries. From June to November 2011, the ferry accommodated 2,862 riders on an average weekday, as opposed to a projection of 1,488 riders, and it had 4,500 riders on an average weekend, six times the city's projected ridership; in total, the ferry saw 350,000 riders in that period, over 250% of the initial ridership forecast of 134,000 riders.[16]

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2012, massive infrastructural damage to the IND Rockaway Line (A train) south of the Howard Beach–JFK Airport station severed all direct subway connections between the Rockaways, Broad Channel, and the Queens mainland for seven months. Ferry operator SeaStreak began running a city-subsidized ferry service between a makeshift ferry slip at Beach 108th Street and Beach Channel Drive in Rockaway Park, Queens, and Pier 11/Wall Street, then continuing on to the East 34th Street Ferry Landing. A stop at Brooklyn Army Terminal was added in August 2013 because of the reconstruction of the Montague Street Tunnel, which temporarily suspended R train service through the tunnel.[17] The ferry proved to be popular and its license was extended several times, as city officials evaluated the ridership numbers to determine whether to establish the service on a permanent basis. Between its inception and December 2013, the service had carried close to 200,000 riders.[18]

The NYCEDC study was updated in 2013, following the introduction of the SeaStreak Rockaway ferry.[19] The study, called "CFS2013", showed the effect of ferry services in New York City, citing the success of the East River ferry. Specifically, ferry service raised the values of real estate within 1 mile (1.6 km) of ferry landings by an average of 1.2%; spurred new construction near ferry stops; added more transport options to neighborhoods with few transit alternatives; and helped relieve crowding on other parts of New York City's transport network.[19]^:15–21 The study also suggested extra routes that could be added to the ferry system, with proposed routes that would serve new development in all five boroughs.[19]^:22–30 The specific idea of a citywide ferry was also first proposed in the study.[19]^:31–69

When the city government announced its budget in late June 2014 for the upcoming fiscal year beginning July 1, the ferry only received a $2 million further appropriation, enough to temporarily extend it again through October.[20] The administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio stated that there was not enough ridership to justify the cost of operation.[21] Despite last-minute efforts by local transportation advocates, civic leaders, and elected officials, ferry service ended on October 31, 2014. They promised to continue efforts to have the service restored.[22][23] This led to many negotiations between the mayor's office and the parties interested in reopening the ferry. The mayor's office eventually agreed to restart the Rockaway ferry when the NYC Ferry system opened.[21]

NYC Ferry
Throgs Neck (future)  SV  Soundview  SV  Astoria  AST  East 90th Street  SV  Roosevelt Island  AST  Midtown West (Pier 79) (future)  SG  Long Island City  AST  East 34th Street  AST   ER   SV  Hunters Point South  ER  Greenpoint  ER  Stuyvesant Cove  SV  North Williamsburg  ER  South Williamsburg  ER  Brooklyn Navy Yard  AST  Corlears Hook  SB  Battery Park City (future)  SG  DUMBO (BBP Pier 1)  ER   SB  Wall Street (Pier 11)  AST   CI   ER   GI   RW   SB   SV  Whitehall Terminal  SI  Atlantic Avenue (BBP Pier 6)  SB  Governors Island (seasonal)  GI  Red Hook  SB  Bush Terminal (future)  SB  Sunset Park (BAT)  RW   SB  Bay Ridge  SB   CI  St. George (future)  SG   SI  Coney Island (future)  CI  Rockaway  RW
Current routes:  AST  Astoria  ER  East River  RW  Rockaway  SV  Soundview  SB  South Brooklyn  GI  Governors Island (seasonal) Future routes:  SG  St. George  CI  Coney Island Other routes:  SI : Staten Island Ferry

In March and April 2015, the city started the process of environmental review for Citywide Ferry.[39]^:2 The city requested the draft of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on August 12, 2015, which was completed by April 18, 2016.[40] After public comment, the final EIS was approved on July 28, 2016.[40][41]^:2 The project also had a City Environmental Quality Review, which analyzed the ferry's effects on open space, urban design, natural resources, nearby transportation, noise pollution, air quality, the environment, and public health.[39][41]^:2

From January to June 2016, the city bought 4 boats for the proposed ferry service for a combined total of $6 million, with plans for a total of 30 boats over the coming years.[3] Hornblower Cruises requested 13 boats for the first routes, each costing $4 million each.[3][42] The total combined cost of the boats is more than $70 million.[3][43] In addition, the city was building 13 ferry landings at a cost of $85 million, as well as a boat depot.[3] One of these docks, in Astoria, was built privately as part of the Astoria Cove development.[44] In September 2016, construction on 19 ferries began at two shipyards in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, and Jeanerette, Louisiana,[45][42] with 200 full-time employees working on the boats.[46][47] The contract with the two shipyards is unusual because shipbuilding contracts are usually with only one company. However, NYC Ferry executives had purposely chosen these two companies because of their expertise and because of the unlikeliness that both shipyards would be destroyed by hurricanes.[42]

Ferry implementation required permission from several entities. Before the ferry could start service, the NYCDOT was required to approve a new transportation mode within its service area. Additionally, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and United States Army Corps of Engineers (CoE) was supposed to give NYC Ferry permission to use of the landings, with the United States Coast Guard advising the CoE's approval of a permit as well as monitoring the design of vessels.[40] In addition, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation had to allow ferries to use the landing at Gantry Plaza State Park, and the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation was consulted so they could give permission for the Roosevelt Island landing to be built.[40] By September 2016, the Gantry Plaza landing had been approved.[48]

In December 2016, Hornblower purchased the rights to operate the East River route for $21 million. The route had been operated by Billybey Ferries, which had a contract to operate the line under the NY Waterway banner.[49][27] As part of the sale, Hornblower paid $6 million for four older boats already in use on the East River ferry.[49]

The first completed new vessel left the Bayou La Batre facility on around March 24, 2017,[50] and it arrived in New York on April 2, 2017.[51] On April 6, Mayor de Blasio announced that the service had been rebranded from Citywide Ferry to NYC Ferry, and that the start of service had been moved up a month from the original schedule, with the East River, South Brooklyn, and Rockaway routes to begin on May 1,[36] a month ahead of schedule.[52] Under the new schedule, the South Brooklyn route began on June 1[53] and the Astoria route began on August 29,[54][31] while the Lower East Side and Soundview routes are still to begin in 2018.[36][52]

Articulated gangway at the South Williamsburg landing

The first two routes were opened on May 1, 2017.[55][56] On its first day of service, NYC Ferry saw more than 6,400 riders; of these, 1,828 rode the Rockaway ferry while the rest rode the East River Ferry.[57] In its first week, the ferry transported 49,000 riders, of which 38,000 used the East River Ferry while the remaining 11,000 used the Rockaway route.[58] Although the service had a 95% on-time rate during the first week, NYC Ferry chartered a boat from NY Waterway due to delays on some routes.[49] NYC Ferry also continued to temporarily use some of the older East River Ferry boats on that route.[49] The ferry grew so popular that during the Memorial Day weekend in May 2017, the routes saw 26,000 passengers over two days, including 9,600 riders on the East River Ferry during each day.[59] Described by The New York Times as the service's "biggest test so far",[59] the 2017 Memorial Day weekend saw reports of hour-long waits for overcrowded ferries.[60]

In June, NYC Ferry had to charter two 400-passenger charter boats for the East Ferry route to alleviate crowding on the routes serving Governors Island[37] while packed boats skipped stops along these routes.[60] By June 22, the ferry had carried 500,000 passengers, a milestone officials had not expected to be reached for several months.[61] Due to unexpected demand, crowding became worse as the summer of 2017 progressed, with packed-to-capacity boats and long waits becoming more common.[62] By July 2017, there were an estimated 83,500 riders on the South Brooklyn route in one month, exceeding the original ridership estimate by more than 30,000.[38] The East River ferry saw about 7,200 riders per average weekday since being taken over by NYC Ferry, up from 3,257 average weekday riders in 2013.[63] That month, three new boats being built were also revised to fit more passengers.[37][38] A 500-passenger boat was also borrowed from SeaStreak for the Rockaway route.[64] By July 26, 2017, NYC Ferry had carried 1 million riders.[65][66]

In August 2017, NYC Ferry filed plans to build four ferry docks: one in Soundview, one in Yorkville, one near Stuyvesant Cove, and one on the Lower East Side.[67][68]^:4–5 It also sought to add two more piers to its home port at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.[68]^:5 The Soundview route was revised so that it would stop at East 34th Street instead of at East 62nd Street, which would no longer be built.[69] That month, Brooklyn politicians called for docks to be built in Coney Island and Canarsie, owing to the new system's popularity.[70] The Astoria route was projected to carry 1,800 daily passengers upon opening, by which point the service had seen 1.4 million riders.[71] Due to even more ridership demand, three extra ferries were ordered in September 2017, by which time over 2 million people had ridden the ferry.[72] By November 2017, there had been a total of 2.5 million rides on NYC Ferry, compared to the 1.8 million that had been projected by this time, and two of the four routes had already surpassed ridership milestones that the city had not anticipated would be reached until 2019. At that point, the city had spent $16.5 million to subsidize the ferry.[73][74] The New York Post reported in November 2017 that five of the new ferryboats had already been taken out of service due to leaks. According to the Post, the boats were taken out of service starting in October after Coast Guard inspectors observed severe corrosion on the hulls.[75] Hornblower subsequently confirmed the report, saying that the cause of the corrosion was misaligned keel coolers, and that three vessels had been removed from service in October for repair, followed by three more in November.[76]

Construction on the four remaining NYC Ferry docks in Manhattan and the Bronx started on February 28, 2018, in preparation for the start of Lower East Side and Soundview service that summer.[77][78] In May 2018, the first anniversary of the ferry system's opening, de Blasio announced that NYC Ferry had received an extra $300 million to purchase extra boats, increase fleet capacity, and expand service. The number of new boats was not specified, but it was expected that there would be a mix of standard 150-passenger boats and large 350-passenger boats; as a stopgap, Hornblower would charter up to eight 500-passenger boats for temporary use on NYC Ferry. At this point, the city planned that the service would see 9 million riders per year, double the original annual estimate of 4.5 million riders.[79] However, critics stated that the MTA's subway and bus systems carried a combined 7 million passengers per day, and that such a large subsidy for NYC Ferry was disproportionate to the number of people who rode the ferry.[80] According to The Village Voice, NYC Ferry was aiming to transport 24,500 daily riders by 2023, a figure smaller than the 2017 daily ridership of 14 local bus routes. NYC Ferry had averaged 10,000 daily riders in 2017, while the bus and subway system had respectively carried 2 million and 5 million daily riders on average.[81]

In August 2018, it was announced that service on NYC Ferry's Soundview and Lower East Side routes would begin that month.[82] The route to Soundview opened on August 15, 2018,[83][84] followed by the Lower East Side route on August 29.[85][86] New York City Transit extended select Bx27 bus trips to Clason Point Park to serve the Soundview route in summer 2018.[87]

Following the opening of the Lower East Side route in August 2018, de Blasio stated that he planned for the system to expand further.[88] In January 2019, de Blasio announced further expansions to the NYC Ferry system to take place by 2021. There would be two new routes to Staten Island and Coney Island, as well as extensions of two additional routes. The Staten Island route would travel between Manhattan's West Side and the St. George Terminal in St. George, Staten Island, and was originally slated to open in 2020, but was pushed back to 2021. The Coney Island route would travel between Pier 11 Wall Street and Coney Island, and would start operating in 2021. The Astoria route would make an extra stop at Brooklyn Navy Yard, while the Soundview route would be extended from Soundview east to Throggs Neck. The South Brooklyn route would terminate at Brooklyn Army Terminal, and the existing Bay Ridge ferry pier would be served by the Coney Island route.[89][90] The Brooklyn Navy Yard stop opened on May 20, 2019.[91][92] The same month, NYC Ferry launched a new weekend-only shuttle from Pier 11/Wall Street to Governors Island, replacing the East River and South Brooklyn service to the island.[93]

The service expansion required that the city increase its per-rider subsidy to $8.[94] In March 2019, the nonprofit Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) found that NYC Ferry was one of the most subsidized forms of transport in New York City, despite having low ridership. The CBC found that the city paid $10.73 per person per ride, and once the Coney Island route started operating, the subsidy to NYC Ferry would rise to $25 per person per ride. The per-ride subsidy was so high because NYC Ferry had only 4.1 million passengers in 2018, less than the total subway patronage on an average weekday. Furthermore, NYC Ferry ridership tended to decline by two-thirds between August and January of each year.[95][96] In January 2020, the NYCEDC announced three minor changes to the expansion plan. The St. George ferry's Staten Island terminal would be Empire Outlets rather than St. George Terminal; the South Brooklyn route would be truncated to a new stop at Industry City; and the Coney Island ferry would go directly between Bay Ridge and Wall Street without a stop at the Brooklyn Army Terminal.[97]

With the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City in March 2020, the regular Spring 2020 schedule was cancelled and remained on the Winter 2020 schedule with reduced service during mid-days and weekends. On May 15, 2020, it was announced that service was further reduced, all ferry service ending at 9 pm, with the discontinuation of the Lower East Side route, the addition of the Stuyvesant Cove stop to the Soundview line, and the modification of the South Brooklyn route to run from Atlantic Avenue to Wall Street, Dumbo, and to its new last stop at Corlears Hook. This service change started on May 18, 2020.[98][99] The ferry to Staten Island would not be implemented until 2021, along with the Coney Island and Throggs Neck expansions.[100][101]

According to an August 2017 customer satisfaction survey from the NYCEDC, passengers had a mostly positive view of the NYC Ferry system, with 93% of riders giving positive ratings.[102][81] Almost 70% of the 1,300 riders surveyed gave the ferry the highest possible rating.[103] In May 2018, The Village Voice conducted an informal demographic survey of NYC Ferry riders, since the NYCEDC had not officially released the rider-demographic data. The Voice found that most of the 60 riders it encountered were using the ferry simply because it was less crowded and more comfortable compared to the subway. Additionally, many of the surveyed riders worked in higher-income jobs.[81]

Astoria ferries run in both directions with year-round service running every 25 minutes during rush hours, every 50 minutes during weekday middays and evenings, and every 1 hour and 40 minutes during weekends.[109][36]

The route began stopping at the Brooklyn Navy Yard/Pier 72 in May 2019.[89][90][115]

The East River Ferry in its former NY Waterway livery

East River ferries operate in both directions with year-round service, running every 20 minutes during rush hours, every 40 minutes during middays and evenings, and every 1 hour on weekends.[106]

The Rockaway Ferry route runs in both directions with year-round service. Service operates every 60 minutes during weekdays and every 1 hour and 30 minutes during weekends.

In May 2018, a special Rockaway Express service was implemented, running express between Wall St/Pier 11 and Rockaway, skipping Sunset Park. However, this service did not return for the summer 2019 season.[107]

South Brooklyn ferries run in both directions with year-round service running every 30 minutes during rush hours, every 60 minutes middays and evenings, and every 1 hour and 30 minutes on weekends.[108]

Service to Dumbo, the Brooklyn Army Terminal, and Bay Ridge will be discontinued in 2021, though Bay Ridge will be served by a new Coney Island route.[89][90][115] Additionally, a new stop at Industry City will open in 2021 and will be the route's southern terminus.[97]

This route was modified to replace the Lower East Side route.

Soundview ferries run in both directions. Service on this route runs every 30–35 minutes during rush hours, every 60 minutes during middays and evenings, and every hour and 40 minutes on weekends.[110]

The route will be extended from Soundview to Throggs Neck in 2021.[89][90][115]

This route was modified to replace LES service in the Lower East Side.

A shuttle from Pier 11/Wall Street to Governors Island runs every 30 minutes on summer weekends only.[111]

Service on this route will begin in 2020. It will be the first NYC Ferry route to not stop at Wall St/Pier 11.[112][89][90][115]

Service on this route will begin in 2021.[113][89][90][115]

The Lower East Side route originally ran in both directions, with service on this route running every 25 minutes during rush hours, every 60 minutes during middays and evenings, and every hour and 30 minutes during off-peak hours.[114] This route was permanently discontinued on May 18, 2020, due to low ridership.[98]

The following vessels are owned and operated by Hornblower for NYC Ferry operation, and do not include vessels leased from other companies.

Image	Vessel Name (Vessel Number)	Year	Primary Vessel Lines Served	Notes
	Waves of Wonder (HB-101)	2016	EAST RIVER GOVERNORS ISLAND SOUTH BROOKLYN	1st Generation (T Class) Standard/River Type Vessel Able to accommodate up-to 150 passengers Contains displays and announcements for route stops/destinations Features top deck accessible from rear of vessel, and plastic seats with tables.
	Sunset Crossing (HB-102)
	Happy Hauler (HB-103)
	Great Eagle (HB-104)
	Owl's Head (HB-105)
	Munsee (HB-106)
	Lunchbox (H-200)
	Urban Journey (H-201)
	Friendship Express (H-202)
	Connector (H-203)	2016-2017	ASTORIA LOWER EAST SIDE ROCKAWAY SOUNDVIEW	1st Generation (T Class) Rockaway Type Vessel Able to accommodate up-to 150 passengers Contains displays and announcements for route stops/destinations Features top deck accessible from rear of vessel, and plastic seats with tables. Plans were made to convert these vessels to accommodate up to 250 passengers; Conversion was halted as funding would be in place to order additional vessels Eventually will be operating on the South Brooklyn route, beginning in 2021
	Opportunity (H-204)
	Flyer (H-205)
	McShiny (H-206)	2017-2018	EAST RIVER GOVERNORS ISLAND SOUTH BROOKLYN	2nd Generation (T Class) Standard/River Type Vessel Able to accommodate up-to 150 passengers Features top deck accessible from rear of vessel, and plastic seats with tables. HB-107 was the last and only standard boat to be delivered in 2018.
	Starlight (H-207)
	Spring Mallard (H-208)
	Atlantic Compass (H-209)
	HB-107
	Ocean Queen Rockstar (HB-108)	2018-2019	ASTORIA LOWER EAST SIDE ROCKAWAY SOUNDVIEW	2nd Generation (K Class) Rockaway Type Vessel Can accommodate up to 350 passengers Features leather vinyl seating without tables[136] The top deck can be reached from either end of the vessel.[136]
	Seas the Day (HB-109)
	Golden Narrows (HB-110)
	Rainbow Cruise (HB-111)
	Unity (HB-112)
	Traversity (HB-113)
	Jewel of the Harbor (HB-114)
	H-214
	HB-115
	H-90
	H-215
	HB-119	2019-2020	EAST RIVER GOVERNORS ISLAND SOUTH BROOKLYN	3rd Generation (T Class) Standard/River Type Vessel Able to accommodate up-to 150 passengers Features top deck accessible from rear of vessel, and plastic seats with tables.
	HB-120
	Cyclone Shark (HB-121)
	H-91	2020	ASTORIA LOWER EAST SIDE ROCKAWAY SOUNDVIEW	3rd Generation (K Class) Rockaway Type Vessel Can accommodate up to 350 passengers Features leather vinyl seating without tables[136] The top deck can be reached from either end of the vessel.
	H-401
	Curiosity (H-301)
	City Fishy (H-92)