De Blasio announces new five-borough ferry options for 2017
Southwest Brooklynites are on board with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s announcement of a $55 million dollar capital commitment that would support the operation of a five-borough ferry system—a citywide service that would link together existing East River routes with new docking areas and services for South Brooklyn, Astoria, the Rockaways, Soundview and the Lower East Side.
Planned to cost no more than a single subway ride, the service will launch in 2017, according to the mayor’s office, and could eventually include further expansion to Coney Island and Stapleton on Staten Island pending additional funding.
“For years, the conventional wisdom has been that certain neighborhoods are doomed to isolation because of their geography,” said de Blasio in the Tuesday, February 3 address. “We are going to change that. Today, we announce that we’re launching a new citywide ferry service to be open for business in 2017. New ferry rides will be priced the same as a MetroCard fare, so ferries will be as affordable to everyday New Yorkers as our subways and buses, so residents of the Rockaways and Red Hook and Soundview will now be closer to the opportunities they need.”