The new service is part of the Waterfront Vision and Enhancement Strategy

The city announced today that ferry service on the East River will grow starting in spring 2011 -- serving seven regular stops in three boroughs, along with two additional summer stops. The Economic Development Corporation and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn released details of the expanded ferry service that will provide a new transportation option to residents of emerging Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods -- linking them to Lower Manhattan and several local recreation destinations.

“Many of New York City’s fastest growing neighborhoods, like Williamsburg and Long Island City, have tremendous waterfront access, and we want to capitalize on that by providing a new, sustainable transportation option for residents,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert Steel. “By launching regular ferry service every 20 minutes, with stops in Midtown and Lower Manhattan and summertime stops at Brooklyn Bridge Park and Governors Island, we’ll create a transportation alternative while spurring private investment along the waterfront.”

The new ferry service is part of the Waterfront Vision and Enhancement Strategy (WAVES), a citywide initiative launched by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn, which will create a new sustainable blueprint for the city’s more than 500 miles of shoreline. WAVES has two core components: Vision 2020: The New York City Comprehensive Waterfront Plan, which will establish long-term goals for the next decade and beyond, and the New York City Waterfront Action Agenda, which will set forth priority initiatives to be implemented within three years.

Starting this spring, passenger ferries will operate in both directions and make the following seven stops along the East River:

▪     Pier 11 (Wall Street) in Manhattan
▪     Governors Island during seasonal Fridays
▪     Pier 6 at Atlantic Avenue, in Brooklyn Bridge Park (during summer weekends)
▪     Fulton Ferry Landing in DUMBO
▪     South Williamsburg at Schaefer Landing
▪     North Williamsburg between N. Fifth and N. Sixth Streets
▪     Greenpoint at India Street
▪     Long Island City (Hunter's Point South)
▪     East 34th Street in Manhattan

Governors Island will be even more accessible (seasonally) along with locations in Midtown and Queens

BillyBey Ferry Company will operate the service under the NY Waterway brand, through a contract with NYCEDC. New ferry landings are currently under construction at the North Williamsburg and Greenpoint sites to complete the infrastructure needed for starting the service this spring. 

The fares paid by riders will be zone-based. Within one zone, the fare will be $3, and within two zones, the fare will be $5.50. A one-zone trip means traversing one, two or three stops; and a two-zone trip means traversing more than three stops. For example, a trip from Greenpoint to 34th Street would be $3. A trip from South Williamsburg to Pier 11 would be $5.50. BillyBey will provide ticketing through a combination of on-board fare collection and the eventual installation of ticket machines at many of the waterfront landings.

As part of midtown ferry service enhancement, a free dedicated bus service will leave from the 34th St. ferry landing during peak times and make stops along the 34th St. corridor, Bryant Park, Rockefeller Center, and the Grand Central area. During off-peak and weekend times, a connection to the MTA M34 bus will be available at the ferry landing.

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