NYC Ferry
BY BILL PARRY
A coalition formed
during the summer
to expand NYC
Ferry service to
Astoria by provid-ing
a direct con-nection
to Manhattan’s Upper East
Side where a landing already exists
at 90th Street.
Residents of the Astoria Houses
Tenants Association and the Durst Or-ganization,
which is building the mas-sive
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 Constan-tinides,
who advocated for the ferry
service since taking office in 2013,
understands the frustration of his con-stituents
are feeling.
“You always want to do things that
make 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
24 NOVEMBER 2019 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
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 the city’s
premier manufacturing and innovation
hubs 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,” Constan-tinides
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 Asso-ciation
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 Well-ing
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.
Community News
ASTORIA’S PUSH FOR FERRY SERVICE
Residents urge city to build NYC Ferry connection to
Upper East Side
/www.qns.com
/www.oana-ny.org
/www.qns.com
/www.oana-ny.org
