TRANSIT TOMORROW
A ‘FERRY’ BRIGHT FUTURE
NYC Ferry has opened the Astoria waterfront to
a new world of possibilities
BY BILL PARRY
For decades, the Hallets
Point section of Long Island
City has been isolated
from the rest of New
York City, until NYC Ferry
built a landing on the southern
edge of the Astoria Houses.
“The waterfront was always
a transit desert so a transportation
option was sorely needed,”
Old Astoria Neighborhood
Association President Richard
Khuzami said. “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.”
In fact, since its launch in
Astoria in 2017, the annual attendance
at these cultural institutions
has doubled, according
to Tom Grech, the president
and CEO of the Queens Chamber
of Commerce. And that has
Khuzami pushing to a second
arts district in Astoria after
the Kaufman Arts District became
the first in the borough
in 2014.
The Astoria Waterfront
Arts District would stretch
from Astoria Boulevard south
to include Rainey Park housing
hundreds of graffiti artists,
abstract painters, sculptors,
muralists and many
more who contribute to the
landscape of the community.
The Hallets Cove ferry landing
would provide access to
the Astoria Waterfront Arts
District to visitors from all
five boroughs.
“The arts district would not
be a valid concept without the
ferry,” Khuzami said. “Once
the service started it opened up
this whole area to wonderful
new possibilities.”
Now he wants a connection
to the Upper East Side
which sits invitingly just 1,515
feet across the East River cutting
transit time from more
than one hour by subway to
an easy five minute commute.
Khuzami was told by the city’s
Economic Development Corporation,
which oversees NYC
Ferry, that the extension could
not occur until after 2021 after
the service is extended to other
parts of the city.
“It’s a very simple process
because the infrastructure is
already in place,” Khuzami
said. “We would like to see
this expedited. OANA works
hard to improve the quality
of life in the area and help it
grow economically and we
want to welcome the rest of
New York City to our shores.
Like the saying goes, if you
build it they will come.”
The OANA started an online
petition asking for the ferry extension
to the Upper East Side.
34 QUEENS TOMORROW 2019
Photo by Bill Parry