Expanded Red Hook Ferry Service begins near Fairway, IKEA

May 30, 2013 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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Expanded ferry service from Manhattan to Red Hook has rolled out for the summer, and includes two boats operating weekends from 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.

The ferry runs from Pier 11 in Manhattan to a dock right behind Fairway Market at 480-500 Van Brunt Street in Red Hook, and then on to the IKEA store, close to local Red Hook shops and restaurants. The boats run every 25 minutes.

The Van Brunt Street stop takes advantage of an existing currently unused ferry landing, connecting visitors to the Red Hook’s commercial corridor and the businesses impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

This second ferry boat will double the frequency of trips to Red Hook on weekends, making it “easier than ever for New Yorkers to get to small businesses in the area in order to help the community continue to recover,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“By expanding the already successful free IKEA ferry to another stop in the heart of Red Hook, and by connecting it to the East River Ferry . . . the free Red Hook summer ferry will help boost the local economy,” he said.

Fairway Market, one of the anchors of the community, reopened four months after it was pounded by the super storm.

Free transfers will be provided northbound on the East River Ferry at Pier 11, connecting riders from Red Hook to Midtown Manhattan. A paid $5 ferry also runs during the week from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The Red Hook Summer Ferry is the result of a partnership between City of New York, New York Water Taxi, Billybey Ferry Company, Fairway Market, IKEA, and the O’Connell Organization.