Brooklyn and Staten Island community members on Monday celebrated the launch of a new NYC Ferry route that connects the two boroughs.
Many Staten Island and Brooklyn elected officials, including U.S. Representative Nicole Malliotakis, City Council Member Justin Brannan, and representatives from the Office of the Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, joined officials from the New York City Economic Development Corporation, Transportation Alternatives and local transportation advocates on a frigid morning ride to Bay Ridge from the North Shore of Staten Island.
“After more than three years of advocacy, it's finally time to celebrate!” said Rose Uscianowski, the Staten Island and South Brooklyn Organizer for Transportation Alternatives.
Uscianowski said the new route offers direct, car-free travel between Staten Island and Brooklyn for the first time in more than 50 years, cutting travel time by up to an hour for thousands of commuters and enables more residents to ditch their car during their daily commutes.
The event included a ribbon cutting and onboard celebration. The campaign to connect Staten Island and Bay Ridge by ferry was a joint effort of the St. George Civic Association’s Ferry Riders’ Committee, Transportation Alternatives, the New Brighton Citizens Committees, and the Bay Ridge Environmental Group. The effort was spearheaded by St. George resident Justin Wood, who began a petition for the route in 2021.
"As ridership numbers for NYC Ferry continue to break records, Waterfront Alliance is thrilled to see neighborhoods reconnected by water. Reconnecting Staten Island to Brooklyn via ferry has been long supported by residents in both boroughs, and we are proud to see it as part of EDC's NYC Ferry Network Optimization," said Julie Raskin, president and chief executive officer of Waterfront Alliance.
