BY KEVIN DUGGAN
The city will close two
Brooklyn ferry stops for eight
to 10 weeks starting April 5, as
part of two multi-million-dollar
dock overhauls — just in time
for spring.
The city’s quasi-public Economic
Development Corporation,
the agency in charge of
the ferry system, announced
Tuesday that both the South
Williamsburg and Brooklyn
Bridge Park Pier 1 stops will be
closed for reconstruction next
month through at least the end
of May.
Offi cials previously briefed
north Brooklyn’s Community
Board 1 about the Williamsburg
closure, but have not presented
to Dumbo’s Community Board
2, according to EDC spokesman
Chris Singleton, giving maritime
straphangers for the latter
stop just under two weeks’
notice.
The agency plans to relocate
the Dumbo pier from Brooklyn’s
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10 COURIER LIFE, APRIL 2-8, 2021
Front Yard to the nearby
Fulton Ferry Landing with a
berth that includes a new barge,
new fenders, and the installation
of a new gangway to ensure
wheelchair accessibility. That
revamp will cost $4.7 million,
according to Singleton.
During the same time further
north along the East
River, EDC will replace the
South Williamsburg docks
along Kent Avenue with a new
barge capable of docking two
boats at a time instead of just
one, along with upgrades to the
pier’s entrance at S. 10th Street
to also make it more wheelchair
friendly.
The north Brooklyn project,
which will cost $6.7 million
— and was supposed to
start early last year but was
postponed due to the pandemic
— brings the total tally
for work on the two stops to
$11.4 million.
The repairs close two out
of the borough’s nine stops for
An NYC Ferry in the East River. File photo by Todd Maisel
the heavily-subsidized ferry
system, leaving water-bound
commuters to schlep 20 minutes
to the next closest ports,
North Williamsburg at Kent
Avenue and N. Fifth Street or
Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 6
near Atlantic Avenue.
Alternatively, EDC recommends
Williamsburgers take
the good ol’ bus, such as the
B32 or Q59 on Broadway and
Kent Avenue and the B67 on
Division and Wythe avenues,
or hop on the J, M, or Z train at
Marcy Avenue.
For Dumbonians, the closest
public transit is the B25 on
Old Fulton Street and Elizabeth
Place, the A or C trains
at High Street, or the 2 or 3
trains at Clark Street. There’s
also the F train stop at York
Street with its famous quarrylike
sloping tunnel.
Singleton did not respond
to follow-up questions asking
why the city didn’t stagger the
repair schedules to keep only
one of them closed at a time, as
ridership is likely to increase
with the warmer months, or
why they didn’t give the same
heads-up to downtown Brooklynites
as they did to borough
residents further north.
Sea ya later!
Two BK ferry stops close for
8-10 weeks for $11.4m revamp
regardless of insurance or immigration status.
Look for an appointment today!
Visit nyc.gov/vaccinefinder or call 877-VAX-4NYC to
make an appointment at a City-run vaccination site.
Bill de Blasio
Mayor
Dave A. Chokshi, MD, MSc
Commissioner
Eligible for the COVID-19 Vaccine?
/vaccinefinder
