That headline is kind of lame, isn’t it? I debated about whether to keep it for several minutes, then decided I couldn’t come up with something better.
Anyway, the NY Times “City Critic” makes a case for more ferries taking New Yorkers to and from work each day. After all, we’ve got this packed city that’s surrounded by rivers, with millions of people looking to get onto the island from the other side of these rivers.
Aren’t there some solutions that don’t involve jamming overland vehicles onto bridges and tunnels?
Writes Ariel Kaminer:
From water’s edge you can cross the Hudson River — or the East River, as you prefer — in less time than it often takes to wait for the subway. Even at the height of rush hour, you’ll get a seat, quite likely one near a window. From out on the water, the city you think you know will seem taller, more glamorous, more cinematic.
You may pass under a bridge or two, or even three, and as you do, your mental soundtrack may switch to Gershwin — or Jay-Z, as you prefer. You might even imagine a burst of fireworks off the starboard bow. The buildings will grandstand for your attention, beckoning you to their shore, until they grow bigger and bigger and you draw nearer and nearer and suddenly there you are, standing at their feet, windblown and a bit giddy. Why doesn’t New York have more ferries?
This week, notes Kaminer is the start of ferry season in New York: ferries to the Met and Yankee games, ferries to Governors Island, ferries to Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Alas, pulling off a major commuter ferry operation in and around the city would involve cutting through a soul-crunching amount of red tape.
It’s hard to imagine ferry service expanding very far unless it becomes a public initiative, an integrated system with coordinated schedules and MetroCard access. But who would lead such an initiative? The Metropolitan Transportation Authority? The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey? The Department of Transportation? No one seems to know.
Another problem seems to be, for whatever reason–cost, habit, convenience.–people just don’t seem to jump on board when ferry service is launched. I seem to remember all these ferries popping up post 9-11–then disappearing because they weren’t used enough to justify their cost.