Photo Courtesy of NYCEDC
The new higher-capacity boats are outfitted with larger engines and substantially more seating on the top and bottom decks to accommodate more passengers.
By Michael V. Cusenza
The first 350-passenger capacity vessel to be part of the NYC Ferry fleet has arrived at the Ferry Homeport at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the City Economic Development Corporation announced on Friday.
According to officials, the Ocean Queen Rockstar will help alleviate ridership across the system, which, as of Friday, has served five million passengers since the service launched in May 2017.
“Ocean Queen Rockstar will help us meet growing demand for this service and get even more New Yorkers to their destinations throughout the city,” said NYCEDC President and CEO James Patchett.
The OQR is the first of six higher-capacity boats that are outfitted with larger engines and substantially more seating on the top and bottom decks to accommodate more passengers. The vessel completed a mandatory sea trial to ensure it is fit for service before journeying 2,200 nautical miles from the Gulf Coast to New York Harbor earlier last week.
Prior to going into service, Ocean Queen Rockstar is undergoing final installations, modifications and testing. The boat will join the 16-vessel fleet currently operating across four routes at the end of July.
As of June 13, 2018, NYC Ferry has served approximately:
• 2,635,492 riders on the East River Route, which launched May 1, 2017.
• 842,300 riders on the Rockaway Route, which launched May 1, 2017.
• 744,218 riders on the South Brooklyn Route, which launched June 1, 2017.
• 738,864 riders on the Astoria Route, which launched Aug. 29, 2017.
• 11,821 riders served through its Governor’s Island summer weekend service.
Earlier this year, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that via the Executive Budget the City would be investing $300 million in capital over the next several years ($35 million in Fiscal Year 2019) for the new larger vessels, improvements to piers and docks, and a second homeport where ferries will be maintained and repaired.
According to the administration, City investments in NYC Ferry will also include: infrastructure improvements and upgrades to existing ferry barges and landings to accommodate larger crowds; improvements to the City’s two main ferry terminals, Pier 11/Wall Street and E 34th Street, which see the highest traffic on a daily basis – these include wider gangways and new bow-loading locations to increase the number of vessels that can dock simultaneously.
“If you don’t have access to transportation that works, you don’t have access to education, you don’t have access to jobs, you certainly don’t have the quality of life you deserve,” de Blasio said in May. “So, all the folks that are frustrated with their commute each day, here’s a new option that’s getting stronger all the time.”
