Council Member Farias introduces Intro 1032 for City Island ferry

I will now turn it over to Council Member Farias for her opening.

Thank you both to Chairs Maloney and Abreu for convening today's joint hearing and providing the opportunity to speak on my legislation, Intro 1032.

I want to also thank my co-prime sponsor and sponsors of the bill, Council Members Shirley Aldable, Kevin Riley, and Justin Sanchez for their partnership and commitment to expanding transportation opportunities for our communities in the Bronx.

For four years, I served as chair of the Committee on Economic Development, where I worked hard to expand NYC ferry service and bring more landings throughout our city, including along the east side of the Bronx.

Can we make sure all mics are off?

Thank you.

I pushed to make ferry service more accessible to middle and high school students, advocated for greater language access, and held hearings on how we could use our waterways to promote tourism and create new revenue-generating opportunities for our city,

among many other oversight topics you folks are familiar with.

That experience reinforced my belief that our waterways are an underutilized resource for transportation, economic development, and connecting communities.