SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Source: Golden's office

The following is a press release from the offices of State Senator Marty Golden:

Brooklyn – State Senator Martin J. Golden (R-C-I, Brooklyn) has issued the following statement following the State of the Borough Address delivered by Brooklyn Borough President Markowitz last evening:

“As a long time advocate for waterborne transportation, I commend Borough President Marty Markowitz for announcing that among his priorities is that which seeks to bringing ferry service to Brooklyn. I am especially looking forward to working with him and the City to get the boats in the water from Manhattan to the 69th Street Pier and Sheepshead Bay.

I join my fellow Brooklyn residents in calling for ferry service for Kings County. As motorists are faced with an increase in gas prices and tolls, as well as traffic congestion, taking the waterways instead of the highways, will be more cost efficient and convenient. Brooklynites deserve the chance to have ferry service and I will continue to make the case for that in upcoming discussions.”

Senator Marty Golden, in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001, worked with City officials and Community Board 10 to institute ferry service at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. The ferry service operated with periods of interruption from that time until July, 2010.

Sheepshead Bites wrote about Markowitz’s plans, the ferry proposal and some of the drawbacks in a post published yesterday.

Source: Markowitz's office

Using tonight’s State of the Borough address, Borough President Marty Markowitz is expected to revive plans to establish ferry commuter service between Manhattan and Southern Brooklyn neighborhoods including Sheepshead Bay. Markowitz’s push comes less than a year after a city study determined Southern Brooklyn unworthy of such a costly service.

Markowitz will take to the podium at Brooklyn College tonight for the 2012 State of the Borough address. The address begins at 6:45 p.m. and can be viewed live here.

According to a Daily News report, Markowitz plans to “push for the expansion of city ferry service to connect Manhattan to Coney Island, Sheepshead Bay, the Canarsie Pier and the 69th Street Pier in Bay Ridge.”

If that proposal sounds familiar, it’s because it is.

Way back in 2009, the New York City Economic Development Corporation unveiled the Comprehensive Citywide Ferry Study, which identified possible landing locations for an expansion of commuter ferry services around the city and weighed the costs and benefits.

When the EDC rolled into the Sheepshead Bay – Manhattan Beach area for a public hearing on the plan, they got an earful.

“It’s romantic. It’s beautiful. It’s wonderful. But practically speaking, it’s not practical,” Bay Improvement Group President Steve Barrison said at the hearing.

Critics of the plan blasted it as an impractical way to make the commute. At an estimated 45 minutes for the trip to Manhattan, it would cost approximately $6.00 per rider, offering little incentive for those paying $2.25 for a trip of the same duration on the subway. They also worried about the effects of parking in the area, and noted that any ferry service in the area would require the Bay to be dredged.

Keep reading, and find out what the EDC concluded.

Staten Island Ferry - stealing our money with every rider // Source: Daniel Schwen via Wikimedia Commons

Yeah, I said it: screw Staten Island. I never liked it, and I wish we could just gift it to New Jersey. And when we gift it, we better get a tax break for all the wonderful things bestowed upon it for being a member of the City of New York.

Among all those wonderful things, there’s one that really irks me: the ferry. The free ferry.

Let’s back up a second. I was talking to BrooklynQ last week, discussing the MTA fare hikes and joking about seeing it go back down once the economy kicks in again. You know we were joking, because we’re all aware that once the city starts charging for something, prices only ever go up – never down.

That is a rule; one we all know too well. But every rule has its exception, and ’round here that exception is the Staten Island ferry. I’ll say it again: the free Staten Island ferry, operated by the Department of Transportation.

Keep reading my rant about the free Staten Island ferry, how it came to be free, and why we should start charging these mooches.

With the city trying to breathe new life into Coney Island, they’re also looking to revive a dead idea: ferry service.

Following last week’s announcement that the city purchased 6.9 acres of amusement district real estate from Thor Equities developer Joe Sitt for $95.6 million, they have started a consultant search to reevaluate Coney Island’s potential for ferry service to Manhattan and northern Brooklyn. If the site is deemed worthy, it stands to receive $3.2 million in federal transportation funding. Continue Reading »

Why can’t Sheepshead Bay have a commuter ferry to Manhattan? It’s the parking, stupid.

That was the message Sheepshead Bay residents sent the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) during last night’s hearing on increasing Brooklyn ferry service to several locations including Sheepshead Bay.

The hearing, hosted by the EDC, the Department of Transportation (DOT), and Councilman Michael C. Nelson’s office, brought out local leaders including Community Board Chairperson Theresa Scavo, Bay Improvement Group president Steve Barrison, and several members of the Sheepshead Bay/Plumb Beach Civic Association and the Manhattan Beach Community Group. All opposed the plans.

“It’s romantic. It’s beautiful. It’s wonderful. But practically speaking, it’s not practical,” said Barrison.

Concerns by local leaders revolve around costs, demand, infrastructure needs, and the time it would take to reach Manhattan. But at the heart of it all is parking.

“Parking in the area is already at a premium. To bring more people in would be a nightmare,” said SB/PB Civic’s attorney, Gene Berardelli.

The ferry proposal, officially known as the Comprehensive Citywide Ferry Study, is still in its early stages, with landing profiles yet to be created. The EDC was unable to provide implementation or operating costs for the service, but noted that the ferry ride from Sheepshead Bay is estimated to take about 40 minutes and cost $6. Continue Reading »

City Councilman Michael Nelson will be hosting the NYC Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) and the NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) at Kingsborough Community College (KBCC) for a meeting. The meeting, to be held on July 22, will be to introduce the city’s effort to expand ferry service from additional areas in Brooklyn.

The Comprehensive Citywide Ferry Study flyer asks New Yorkers to attend the meeting to let them know if there are more than 11 possible ferry landing locations in Brooklyn that might have been overlooked. Zetlin Consultants, the firm hired by the city to examine the issue, is looking at Sheepshead Bay, Floyd Bennett Field, Coney Island, and Bay Ridge – among other sites – for possible ferry launch sites.

Councilman Nelson is currently advocating for such ferry service out of Sheepshead Bay, but is holding back full support until more information is available regarding parking, cost, duration of the trip, and other practicalities such as whether it will be necessary to dredge the bay to offer services.

Even though KBCC is known as being out in the boondocks, let’s hope that doesn’t dissuade people from attending this important meeting. We suggest that you take public transportation. It’s a cool walk from the subway or take the bus that stops about two blocks from the college.

Brooklyn Public Meeting
Comprehensive Citywide Ferry Study
Kingsborough Community College
2001 Oriental Boulevard
Brooklyn, NY 11235
Rm. U219/U200
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
7 p.m.