Good BLUEspace News! Ferry Service in Red Hook expands via New York Water Taxi!

PortSide New York was pleased to part of the team sharing good BLUEspace news at a press conference today at 1pm at Hometown Bar-B-Que.  Ferry service is expanding significantly in Red Hook with more New York Water Taxi service!

press release

Our Director Carolina Salguero made some remarks at the event and PortSide has a quote in the press release which said "As a living lab for better urban waterways, PortSide NewYork celebrates expanded ferry service for Red Hook as good policy for the city and great for everyone who lives, works, plays and shops in Red Hook," said PortSide New York Director Carolina Salguero.  "Expanded ferry service fulfills our contributions to Red Hook’s NY Rising plan, and aligns with PortSide’s model for combining the working waterfront, public access, community development and economic opportunities."

FAQs

Questions by PortSide. Answers from Councilman Carlos Menchaca's office

What does expanded service mean?
Instead of just landing at the Van Brunt Street Dock on the IKEA boat during the summer, we are expanding service to that location 365 days a years. This is made possible by the collaboration between NY Water Taxi and IKEA. And people can see that schedule here:  With this people will be able to ride to Van Brunt or Lower Manhattan for $5 each way.

Additionally, we are adding Van Brunt Street as a stop on our All Day Access Loop and introducing a one stop pricing structure. With the new pricing structure, people will be able to get to midtown (West 39th Street) 365 days a year for $9. That schedule is here:

Is it commuter service? Evenings only? Weekends only (like the Red Hook Summer Ferry)?
We will not run during morning rush hour, but based on the schedule it is available during afternoon rush hour.

Where is the stop(s)?
In Red Hook, we will land at Van Brunt Street and will connect people to Pier 11 (Wall Street) in Lower Manhattan and Pier 79 (West 39th Street) in Midtown West.

Who is financing this?
This is being funded by NY Water Taxi with collaboration from IKEA on that service. There is no subsidy for this expansion.

Ticket price?
$5 each way from Pier 11 to Van Brunt Street and $9 from Van Brunt to Pier 79 (the boat does not go directly from Pier 79 to Van Brunt)

Additional Info from Brooklyn Paper article
 

Brooklyn Paper article

re: schedule "Only one boat will make each round trip, so the ferry will swing by Fairway every 90 minutes between 10 am and 10 pm. But McCabe said that when temperatures warm in the spring and demand increases the trips could increase to a boat leaving every 30 minutes."

re: ferry subsidy/ticket price  "Ikea started subsidizing ferry service to its dock since 2008, but it soon grew tired of non-shoppers mooching free rides, and the following year started requiring receipts showing purchases of $10 or more to be reimbursed for the price of a boat trip. The new service is entirely funded by New York Water Taxi, but Menchaca said he and other pols are looking into sources of public funding to bring prices down."

Donate to support PortSide NewYork reporting like this

Please consider making a year-end donation to support PortSide NewYork. Click the donate button to send a contribution via PayPal or visit our DONATE page for info on other ways to donate.