Astoria residents urge city to build NYC
Ferry connection to Upper East Side
BY BILL PARRY
A coalition formed during
the summer urging the city to
expand NYC Ferry service to
Astoria by providing a direct
connection to Manhattan’s Upper
East Side, where a landing
already exists at 90th Street.
Residents of the Astoria
Houses Tenants Association
and the Durst Organization,
which is building the massive
development next door, formed
the Hallets Point Alliance to
lobby the city’s Economic Development
Corporation for the
expansion.
The EDC has committed to
another feasibility study but
only after the agency launches
its proposed routes in 2021.
“We’re currently focused
on providing high-quality service
and reaching New Yorkers
that reside in transit-starved
neighborhoods, and appreciate
hearing feedback on ways to
add more uses to the commuter
system,” and EDC spokesperson
said.
City Councilman Costa Constantinides,
who advocated for
the ferry service since taking
office in 2013, understands the
frustration of his constituents
are feeling.
“You always want to do
things that makes sense,” Constantinides
said. “The distance
is just 1,515 feet away. If you
want to get people out of cars
and take public transportation
if it’s something that will accomplish
that goal it would be
a good one but right now it’s not
an option.”
Hallets Point is more than
a 20-minute walk from the
nearest subway station and
a trip to the Upper East Side
could take up to an hour by
train. The EDC did add the
new Brooklyn Navy Yard
ferry stop to the Astoria line
that will connect residents to
Astoria residents continue to push for expanded NYC Ferry service
connecting to Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Photo by Bill Parry
the city’s premier manufacturing
and innovation hub,
which currently employs 9,000
people and reach 20,000 jobs in
the next few years.
But many of the residents
of the Astoria Houses are currently
employed in the Upper
East Side’s medical sector, just
1,515 feet across the East River.
“Look, we were able to get
the ferry for the first time in
80 years, Could we look for
improvement? Sure,” Constantinides
said. “But at the
end of the day, I wouldn’t
say any of this is frustrating
because we’ve been able to
accomplish something here
that’s special and it’s been
utilized in a big way.”
Old Astoria Neighborhood
Association President Richard
Khuzami says the NYC
Ferry service has been a great
boost for the area’s cultural
institutions.
“What we didn’t anticipate
was how the ferry opened the
neighborhood to the rest of New
York City and our cultural institutions
like the Noguchi Museum,
Socrates Sculpture Park
and the Welling Court Mural
Project have all been positively
affected.”
His group started an online
petition urging the city
to provide the service connection
from Hallets Point to
the Upper East Side to create
a positive economic effect to
both areas. To sign the petition,
go to www.oana-ny.org,
scroll down to “Supporting
the extension of the NYC Ferry,”
and click on the “Sign The
Petition” button.
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TIMESLEDGER, N QNS.COM OV. 15-21, 2019 5
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