Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced the addition of a new ferry stop in Brooklyn which will expand the City’s existing weekday Rockaway Ferry pilot service. The additional landing, which will be located next to the Brooklyn Army Terminal at 58th Street in Sunset Park, will provide further transit options for the Brooklyn commuters impacted by disruptions to the R train service between Brooklyn and Manhattan which are set to begin this week. The service will continue to be operated by Seastreak and will run on a similar weekday schedule to the existing pilot ferry service, which is set to continue through Labor Day. Ferries will depart from Beach 108th Street and Beach Channel Drive in the Rockaways, stopping at the new 58th Street landing in Brooklyn, Pier 11 in Lower Manhattan and East 34th Street in Midtown. One-way fares will remain $2.00. The new Brooklyn stop will begin Monday, August 5th.

“Building upon our existing Rockaway ferry service will provide a critical transit option to assist Brooklyn residents during disruptions to the R train,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Ridership numbers on the City’s ferry network have demonstrated this remains a popular mode of transportation for residents across the City, and we are pleased to continue to expand this network and build upon our commitment to help New Yorkers recover from Hurricane Sandy.”

“The addition of the Brooklyn Army Terminal stop to the pilot Rockaway Ferry service will provide commuters affected by the upcoming subway suspension with an affordable transit option,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Kyle Kimball. “The pilot ferry service has already assisted thousands of New Yorkers affected by Hurricane Sandy, and this additional service will help secure the long-term recovery of the Rockaways, Sunset Park, and other neighborhoods hardest-hit by Hurricane Sandy.”

The expanded service is being coordinated on behalf of the City by the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The added stop is expected to have minimal impact on the current weekday ferry schedule, with service now beginning at BAT at 6:20 AM, with ferries departing hourly for Manhattan until 10:00 AM, and regular service resuming during the evening rush. Passengers will be limited to current vessel capacity of 149 per boat.

Since originally launching in November to assist those impacted by Hurricane Sandy, the pilot weekday Rockaway Ferry service has allowed for more than 107,000 passenger trips. In May, due to strong demand, Mayor Bloomberg, Speaker Quinn and NYCEDC announced the first continuation of the service which was initially set to expire. In early July, the weekday service was again extended due to demand and will now run through the rest of the summer until Labor Day. The City will once again evaluate the service at that time to determine its future.

(YWN Desk – NYC)