As reported in the Advance last week, Staten Island’s three City Council members have embarked on a campaign to press for more frequent nighttime service on the Staten Island Ferry. And they intend to put the issue front and center in this year’s mayoral race.
Their first objective is to pass legislation in the Council that will force the city Department of Transportation to reduce ferry headway intervals to a maximum of 30 minutes around the clock. The three intend to introduce such a bill on Wednesday. At the same time, they say they will press the mayoral candidates for their positions on the issue.
Mid-Island Republican Councilman James Oddo, North Shore Democratic Councilwoman Debi Rose and South Shore Republican Councilman Vincent Ignizio officially kicked off their effort at a press conference at Borough Hall on Thursday. They were joined by members of the St. George Civic Association and the Staten Island Ferry Riders Committee, whose complaints about long waits for ferries overnight and after 7 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays provided the impetus for this initiative.
And, for our money, the lawmakers sounded just the right notes. For Staten Islanders, the ferry is an absolute necessity, not a frill.
“It’s not the Love Boat — it’s a vital transportation link,” Mr. Oddo said.
Mr. Ignizio said that reducing overnight subway service to one train per hour would unthinkable in the other boroughs, but ferry riders are forced to swallow long waits:
“The reality is, if we told you . . . [that] we’re going to run the subway system once every hour, just like the schedule for the Staten Island Ferry — can you imagine the outcry in this city?”
And Ms. Rose added that city officials seem to be under the impression that Staten Islanders really need more frequent service only during rush hours. She cited a family member who works nights on Wards Island and has to contend with two-hour commutes because of the light ferry schedule. Of course, many Staten Island commuters are in the same predicament.
“Why is it that this is our major source of transportation, that any of our residents have to be inconvenienced at that level, since we already have the longest commuting time in the United States?” she asked.
We think the lawmakers have hit upon the critical issue here: How the Staten Island Ferry is perceived by the city officials who run it.
Instead of seeing the ferry as a critically important mode of transportation for one entire borough of the city, they see it primarily as a venue for pleasant excursions, especially in the nighttime hours. They don’t need the ferry to get around the city or to and from work, as so many Staten Islanders do, so they see no need to keep it running on a reasonably timely schedule overnight.
The subway, on the other hand, is, to them, unquestionably a transportation necessity that must keep to a frequent schedule lest late-night riders be stranded for long periods.
The trio gave due credit to former North Shore Councilman Michael McMahon, who raised this same issue in 2004 when he succeeded in pushing through a bill mandating half-hourly ferry service. Mayor Michael Bloomberg vetoed it and, when the Council overrode his veto, the mayor threatened to tie up the initiative in the courts. Rather than delay any service improvements, the Council agreed to a compromise affording modest enhancements.
Now, Mr. McMahon says, is a good time to revive the issue. He said that by using smaller and faster vessels overnight the city could reduce costs while still offering service every half hour. Doing so could also boost nightlife on the North Shore, making it a new Gold Coast, he said.
“Look at Jersey City, look at Long Island City and Williamsburg. Why are these areas flourishing?” Mr. McMahon asked. “Because even in the middle of the night, on the weekends, the least frequent PATH train is every 15 minutes.”
Linda Baran, president of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, said that pokey nighttime service on the ferry hurts attractions such as the St. George Theatre and the Staten Island Yankees, which might otherwise draw more people from other boroughs.
She lamented, “It’s unfortunate that we have to go to legislation for something we deserve, something that’s not an unreasonable request.”
She’s right, of course, but it’s again necessary for Staten Island to go to extra lengths to get equal treatment.
