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De Blasio gave $23 million in aid to keep the ailing boat network afloat before leaving office last year, as expansion plans cruise ahead.
Katie Honan, THE CITY
This article was originally published on Jan 27 at 8:33pm EST by THE CITY
A $2.75 ride on NYC Ferry is getting expensive for taxpayers.
Meeting records from the city Economic Development Corporation show its board approved up to $62 million in new spending last month to float the boat network’s operation — for the first time including city tax dollars.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s budget office supplied a $23.2 million infusion before he left City Hall at the end of last year, according to EDC, aid that has not previously been reported.
Previously, EDC itself funded the ferry, which is run by the private company Hornblower Cruises. City budget experts estimate the subsidy amounts to $9.34 per passenger per trip.
EDC has already diverted proceeds from its Times Square real estate holdings to help pay for the costly maritime transit system, which de Blasio launched in 2017. The nonprofit EDC promotes jobs and development, and its facilities range from the Brooklyn Army Terminal to the Hunt Point wholesale food market.
The latest operating agreement between NYCEDC and San Francisco-based Hornblower Cruises was approved in a Dec. 14, 2021 executive committee meeting in connection with a five-month extension of the original 2016 operating agreement, which had been set to expire on April 30, 2023.
A similar amendment a year ago already added $64 million in ferry subsidies funded by EDC, plugging budget holes after ridership collapsed during pandemic shutdowns.
Service expanded this week to include year-round rides to Governors Island and last month extended service to Throgs Neck in The Bronx, on a route extension that also includes Ferry Point. A new route between Staten Island and Manhattan’s West Side launched last August, while a long-demanded stop in Coney Island is still in the works.
The new board authorization still allows EDC to plow its own money into propping up ferry service but also permits “City Tax Levy funds,” the board records show.
EDC declined to comment. A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams did not respond to a request for comment.
‘Really Expensive’
The nonprofit Citizens Budget Commission monitors city spending on NYC Ferry. It has urged reining in costly route extensions and charging a higher fare on weekends and to non-commuters.
“It’s really expensive to operate, it requires pretty significant subsidies, and this doesn’t really fix that problem,” said Sean Campion, a senior research associate for the budget watchdog group who has studied the ferries and their subsidies.
Of the possible addition of city funds to the pool, Campion said: “Instead of pursuing options to make it more financially sustainable like increasing fare or cutting service on lower ridership routes, this sort of shifts the problem.”
In a June 2020 blog post, Campion documented how the ferry was devouring dollars EDC generated from its real estate holdings. That money historically went into the city treasury.
The pre-COVID annual operating budget for the ferry service was $69.6 million, according to Campion. For the fiscal year that ended in June, it was $32.5 million, according to EDC.
A spokeswoman for Comptroller Brad Lander said he plans to review NYC Ferry service with budget experts in his office, but declined to comment for this story. His predecessor, Scott Stringer, was a vocal critic of city ferry spending, which included as much as $369 millionto buy a fleet of boats from Hornblower.
Reacting to THE CITY’s coverage of the boat purchase, Stringer at the time called for the city Department of Transportation — which runs the free Staten Island Ferry — to take charge of NYC Ferry. Stringer also tried and failed to stop the purchase.
The EDC board’s five-month extension of the current operating agreement — through Sept. 30, 2023 — buys more time for the Adams administration to negotiate a new contract to operate the ferry system’s seven lines.
“Since the launch of the ferry service, the city has chosen to increase the number and size of vessels operated, increase the frequency of service, and add new routes serving additional parts of the city,” EDC’s proposed resolution to boost spending says.
THE CITY is an independent, nonprofit news outlet dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York.
These ferries are just a big subsidy to the wealthy (based on studies of avg income of ferry riders vs all NYC commuters) and a shameful diversion of resources from other city needs. Transit deserts should be served with bus routes with frequent service, made faster with dedicated bus lanes. Long-term, where justified by population, they should have subway or rail service. And skip the fancy stations… having more stations (e.g., 10th and 42nd in Manhattan) is far more important.
This is typical de Blasio decision making and one of countless examples of why he is so unliked. Constantly catering to big real estate donors while trying to make it look like an equity issue. Just look at how much Two Trees and it’s affiliates donated during de Blasio’s time in office. “If we peg it to the price of a subway ride,” he thinks, “and go to places like Soundview and Red Hook then it’s all about social justice, right?” Ok, then. Let’s do a study to figure out how many people below the poverty line are regularly using the ferry to commute or access an opportunity they’d otherwise be restricted from. We all know the answer wouldn’t justify the subsidy.
Look, the solution is simple. Rather than signaling virtue with the artificially low price, charge me $9 for a ticket and automatically opt-in for half price fares anyone who’s eligible for a discounted metro card and expand eligibility from there.
But the EDC and tax money should go to improving neighborhoods. I don’t need to be funding de Blasio’s political career with tax revenue. His entire mayoralty was a campaign ad. We shouldn’t be paying for it anymore.
. At the same time that the Governor and Mayor need to convince the MTA Board to support the EDC private ferry program fare structure of $2.75 per ride to also include cross honoring a free transfer to a bus or subway using the old MTA Metro or new One New York (OMNY) fare card, the $1 dollar Ferry bike fee needs to be eliminated. It is a fine, penalty and a deterrent to using this form of transportation.
Transportation Alternatives Bronx Activist Committee Marjorie Velazquez
NYC DOT
#eliminatethebikepenalty
It seems to me that in the Pre-Covid Era when people actually went to Manhattan office buildings to work and then went home home in the evening….that something like this could have been brought to a point where the subsidy was much lower due to a lot of ridership. As it stands now, I see zero chance of that happening for at least 3 or 4 years. My suggestion would be to 1. increase prices / 2. Run it much less often in the middle of the day. 3. Perhaps find some special events to combine with on the weekends to advertise this ferry more. I think a whole lot of people have very little cognizance of it.
I suggest that they publicize the availability of the ferry and locations of the stops, and target not just commuters but also tourists and NYers who want a more delightful way to get around. I had a general idea that there was a ferry but had never used it till I sort of stumbled upon it during a walk. It’s a great diversion on a summer day and if you’re going from uptown to downtown or vice versa, it’s so much nicer than the subway. If there aren’t enough commuters now, then broaden the customer base! It’s something NYers would enjoy if it occurred to them to try it.