Sunday, May 11, 2008

Rockaway ferry destined to fail?

Transportation-starved Rockaway residents are getting another commuting option, but some believe the new ferry service is destined to fail.

Critics also are wary of the city's financial commitment to the project because it has allocated only a fraction of the money available from city and federal sources.


New Rockaway ferry route to Wall Street awash in funding brouhaha

But some Rockaway advocates said the departure times are not frequent enough and are impractical for most peninsula residents. And adding a stop in Brooklyn would just add to commuting woes, they said.

"This should be the Rockaway ferry - not the Sunset Park-and-Rockaway ferry," said Joe Hartigan, a longtime proponent of a Rockaway ferry service.

Critics also said that departing from Riis Landing - far from the major thoroughfares in the Rockaways - is a major hassle for commuters, especially should they miss evening ferries.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ferries will work if they are the fast ones, I think a lot of people would take them to avoid the A train.

Anonymous said...

Rockaway, Belle Harbor and Nesponsit are neighborhoods filled with million dollars homes.

The reason these neighborhoods are so well off is because they are secluded and well out of the way of mass transist.

This is exactely how the residents want it.

Believe me, the locals could care less about some ferry getting them to Manhattan.

Anonymous said...

Looks 75 foot twin Diesel, must get 4 Gallons per mile.

Post 911 wasnt bad enough on boaters (you cant anchor anyplace West of Throggs Neck they storm your boat with guns.

It now costs $500 in fuel to take your average 34 foot Searay around Manhatten out of Port Washington.

Half of all the power boats are for sale 50 cents on the dollar and they are not moving.

Anonymous said...

This ferry is only viable with a taxpayer subsidy of between ~$6,000 and ~$35,000 per passenger over 6 years (assuming 50-300 passengers/day). Let's hope it fails.

Anonymous said...

Yea, traveling on ferries is really enjoyable. Adding a stop at Brooklyn will work great.