Kiana Diaz urges ferry service for Inwood and Washington Heights

Next up is Kiana Diaz, followed by Lillian Krieg.

And we please ask if people can stay within the time limit.

You may begin.

Hi, good morning, Chair Maloney, Majority Leader Abreu, and members of the committee.

My name is Kiana Diaz.

I am the District Manager of Manhattan Community Board 12, representing the communities of Washington Heights and Inwood.

I'm here today.

It is not on the agenda, but I would like for, our board would like for our comments to be on the record.

In regards to Councilmember Carmen de la Rosa's bill, Intro 163, that's 2026, expanding ferry services to Upper Manhattan, specifically Inwood, at La Marina and 10th Avenue.

Our communities are experiencing significant growth.

Through the Inwood rezoning, there are nearly 4,000 new homes that will be built in Inwood, specifically along 9th Avenue.

Yet our transportation infrastructure remains heavily dependent on two subway lines, the 1 and the A line, both running along the west side of Manhattan.

For residents that travel to the east side, this can add to 20 to 30 minutes of their commute.

As our population grows, we risk overcrowding an already strained subway system, where overcrowding can lead the commuters waiting for multiple trains just to board.

We must explore alternative transportation options before our existing infrastructure becomes even more overwhelmed.

We recognize EDC's concerns about projected ridership on the Hudson River and height restrictions posed by bridges over the Harlem River.

However, these challenges should prompt us to explore solutions, not rule out our communities.

Dyckman Street already has waterfront infrastructure that could provide a starting point for evaluating ferry services.

We are asking the city to seriously assess the existing infrastructure, explore viable routes, and engage our community before concluding that there is insufficient demand.

Our residents are actually very excited about the possibility of ferry service uptown.

In fact, at one of our local high schools, Washington High School, the students have developed their own proposed ferry routes connecting Upper Manhattan to parts of the city.

Ridership projections must account for more than comparisons with existing subway travel times.

They must consider our district's growing population, the need for better connections to destinations across the city, and the potential to reduce traffic.

Our communities attract visitors from across the city, including members of the Dominican diaspora, who return to access local business.

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Lastly, we just ask that expansion must be guided by equity.

We're hoping for a standardized citywide fare.

And the commitment to expand the ferry services to new areas will not come at the expense of continued investment in underserved communities.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.