Wong details challenges at Canarsie, West 125th, and Willets Point
Canarsie needs federal coordination and $30 million pier rehabilitation; West 125th needs vessels and upland improvements; Willets Point has mudflats and shallow water.
While we believe it is important to thoughtfully assess growth opportunities citywide, we have reviewed many of the requested sites, including where these council bills propose ferry service, and understand some of the challenges that they may face.
Canarsie, for example, falls within the Gateway National Recreation Area and Jamaica Bay, requiring federal coordination and National Park Service review.
National Parks has previously indicated that they do not support commuter ferry uses on the pier.
Even if it did, the pier is in need of rehabilitation, last estimated at roughly $30 million.
several years ago before any ferry infrastructure could be considered, funded, and built.
West 125th Street would require additional vessels, operating funding, and improvements to support safe, accessible commuter operations.
Willits Point faces navigational access infrastructure challenges, including mudflats and shallow water conditions in Flushing Bay.
Challenging waterfront infrastructure, and the ongoing work of the Parks Department on marina and esplanade improvements at World's Fair Marina.
Finally, while there's a compatible barge at West 125th Street, it is over four miles outside of NYC Ferry's service area and would require new vessels to be built, operating funding, and upland improvements.
Unlike some other proposals, however, private ferry operators do operate nearby via New Jersey and could be an opportunity site for their future growth.
Our preliminary estimates show that the bills establishing new ferry service, plus the one for which a study was requested, as written, would require adding eight additional vessels to the fleet to run up to four new routes, resulting in $25 to $30 million
in annual operating expenses, an increase of more than 30% of NYC Ferry's overall budget.
Capital costs could reach hundreds of millions of dollars for upland improvements, vessels, queuing, and accessibility, and the new ferry landings themselves.