Afternoon View - Staten Island Ferry

Staten Island Ferry Crash Injures Dozens

The same Staten Island ferry aboard which 11 passengers were killed in 2003 has crashed into the dock again, resulting in 37 injuries.

According to Jim Long, a spokesman for the Fire Department of New York, 17 of the 37 have been transported to area hospitals. “The other 20 will be evaluated, treated and they could be transported to hospitals,” he said. Mr. Long said that one woman experienced chest pains and had difficulty breathing. She was taken to an area hospital. Charles Rowe, a spokesman for the Coast Guard, said that there were 252 passengers and 18 crew members on board. According to Mr. Rowe and Paul J. Browne, a New York Police Department spokesman, the crash occurred when the ferry’s engines appeared to malfunction and there was a loss of steering power. “As the ship was preparing to dock in Staten Island in St. George, there was a steering failure and the ship allided with the dock,” Mr. Rowe said. Among the injured were two police officers assigned to the ferry for security duties, Mr. Browne said.

I rarely ride the Staten Island ferry, but when I do I'm usually standing on the forward open deck of the lowest level. I should probably rethink that.

Staten Island Ferry To Provide Refuge From Onboard Preachers

If you've ridden the Staten Island Ferry, you probably know that biggest downside of the voyage is in the ranting street preachers who take advantage of an audience that can't escape for 20 minutes. Well, no more. After "reviewing legal issues surrounding free speech and how it applies on public transportation" the DOT has established a "Quiet Deck," where loud talking is forbidden. So far the no-preaching (and no cell phones!) zones only apply on the Molinari-class ferries, but the DOT is looking into expanding the concept into the older ferries where more open seating areas make it harder to segregate passengers seeking refuge from being told they're going to hell. If only they could make this work on the subway.

Keep The Ferry Free?

With the city's economy taking a major beating from lost banking taxes (10% of the city's revenues come from Wall Street), some are suggesting that it's time to start charging for the Staten Island Ferry again. Currently the city is giving about 20 million "free" rides a year.

Taxpayers shelled out a record $5.69 last year for every "free" ride on the Staten Island Ferry, as soaring fuel costs drove up the annual operating tab to $112 million, according to newly released data. The latest Mayor's Management Report shows ridership on the ferry shot up from 19 million to 19.8 million from fiscal 2007 to fiscal 2008. During that same period, the average cost of each ride jumped 23.2 percent, from $4.62 to $5.69. Officials blamed unpredictable fuel costs.

Via Gothamist:

The Independent Budget Office has been suggesting for years that reinstating a fare to the ferry (which stopped charging 50¢ a ride in 1997) could bring in $4.3 million to a city budget that's ailing. This year's report pointed out that allowing Staten Islanders to continue to ride free and just making tourists pay for one of the best views of the city would net $3.4 million alone.

While the ferry is easily the best (and some say, most romantic) Gotham bargain, obviously city leaders will start looking for ways to shore up revenues in light of Wall Street's meltdown. Thanks in part to Bloomberg's fiscal shrewdness, NYC entered FY09 with a $6.5B budget surplus. Last week he said that the city will withstand a huge loss of Wall Street tax revenue, but that "adjustments' will have to be made - adjustments like the 7% property tax increase he proposed today.

Some congestion pricing proponents have suggested selling the East River bridges to the MTA, who would then charge tolls. Others want a new payroll tax that would go directly to transit. Those plans come up every now and then, but with things the way they are, I'm thinking that envious eyes will fall on those millions in lost ferry revenue. Pity.