opinion-editorial
BY LARRY PENNER
Add “New NYC Ferry landing
in Throggs Neck hailed as ‘game
changer’ for commuters” for Throggs
Neck and other nearby Bronx residents
to the roster of the NYC Economic
Development Corporation’s
(EDC) private ferry operator program.
Thousands of pre COVID-19 riders on a
daily basis utilize ferries sponsored by
the EDC private ferry program.
The program connects various
waterfront neighborhoods including
Soundview in the Bronx; Astoria,
Long Island City, Roosevelt Island
and Rockaways in Queens; East
79th Street, East 34th Street, Pier 11
Wall Street and Governors Island in
Manhattan; and also Greenpoint, Williamsburg,
Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn
Army Terminal and Bay Ridge in
Brooklyn. The program also connects
St. George Ferry Terminal in Staten
Island to Pier 79 West 39th Street in
Midtown Manhattan, with an intermediate
stop in Battery Park City adjacent
to the World Trade Center. Later
this year, additional service will begin
from Coney Island and Staten Island
South Shore.
Federal Transit Administration
(FTA) grant recipients such as DOT
can choose to spend whatever they receive
under their share of Fiscal Year
2022, Section 5307 — Urbanized Area
Formula Grants — or Section 5337
— State of Good Repair Grants — for
ferry projects. They can also apply for
the FTA’s annual national discretionary
Passenger Ferry Grants program.
The Federal Highway Administration
has funding under several programs
including Congestion Mitigation Air
Quality, Surface Transportation Block
Grant program and others which can
be fl exed or transferred to FTA and
also fi nance capital ferry projects.
NYC can also apply for capital
grants from the state DOT to assist in
funding; Albany also provides state
Transportation Operating Assistance.
Ridership on any transit service generates
yearly federal transportation
capital assistance via the annual FTA
Section 15 annual reporting process.
Numerous past private ferry operators
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The new dock in Throggs Neck extends the NYC Ferry Soundview route, which stops on the
Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Midtown and the Financial District. Photo | Andrew Dapolite
have come and gone. They could not fi -
nancially survive without government
subsidy. MTA bus, subway and commuter
rail along with the NYC DOToperated
Staten Island Ferry are subsidized
by a combination of city, state
and federal assistance for both capital
and operating costs. All new ferry services
require similar subsidies to survive.
New ferry services can be implemented
more quickly than construction
of new subway, commuter rail
or highways. These can take years or
even decades until completion of environmental
reviews, planning, design,
engineering, real estate acquisition,
permits, procurements and construction
before reaching benefi cial use.
Completing all of the above, along
with fi nding funding for ferry boats,
docks and parking with costs in the
millions is easier than fi nding the billions
of dollars for construction of new
or extended subway, commuter rail or
highways. Utilization of ferry boats
equipped with fuel effi cient engines
can make a positive contribution to air
quality.
Farebox recovery rates vary based
upon the trip, route and time of day.
Any rush hour local or express bus,
light rail, subway, ferry, commuter
rail trip carries more riders than midday,
evening, overnight or weekends.
Rush hour trips tend to have a better
farebox recovery rate and require
less subsidy. There is always a fi xed
cost per hour for any mode of transportation
to includes equipment (bus,
subway car, train or ferry purchase),
straight line depreciation of equipment
over time and mileage as well as
driver, engineer or ferry boat captain’s
salary, conductors, ticket takers, deck
hands, fuel or power and maintenance
of equipment.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams needs to
convince the MTA Board to support
the EDC private ferry program fare
structure of $2.75 per ride to also include
cross honoring a free transfer
to a bus or subway using the old MTA
Metro or new One New York (OMNY)
fare card.
Who wouldn’t want to enjoy the
fresh air and breeze that only waterborne
transportation can provide.
Larry Penner is a transportation advocate,
historian and writer, who previously
worked for the Federal Transit Administration
Region 2 New York Offi ce.
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