The first passenger ferry from Astoria to Manhattan is scheduled to pull out of Hallets Cove at 6:30 a.m. this Tuesday.
The New York City Economic Development Corp. and NYC Ferry on Tuesday announced the start time and a detailed timetable for the Astoria route, which will have stops at Roosevelt Island, Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City, East 34th Street and Pier 11 off Wall Street.
The approximate time of the full trip is about 47 minutes. The detailed timetable is available online at ferry.nyc.
The Astoria run joins the existing East River route connecting 34th Street and Wall Street with stops in Hunters Point South and in Brooklyn; the Rockaway-Wall Street run; and the South Brooklyn route connecting Brooklyn and Wall Street.
A run between Long Island City and the Lower East Side will debut in 2018, as will a Bronx-Wall Street line.
“In the first four months, NYC Ferry has been a tremendous success, serving more than 1.4 million riders,” NYCEDC President and CEO James Patchett said in a press release issued Tuesday.
“For the same cost as a subway ride, we’re connecting New Yorkers with good jobs and opportunities all across the city,” he added.
Officials from Queens were unanimous in their praise on Tuesday. Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas (D-Astoria) said the ferry is desperately needed.
But she also said it is more than just another option for rush hour transportation.
“Anyone from Greece, where ferries are ubiquitous, will tell you it’s a good way to travel,” she said in an email. “Being on the open water can be relaxing and beats being in an overcrowded subway any day.”
Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria) agrees, saying ferry service is a sustainable and innovative way to use city waterways.
“The Astoria route will help connect residents of Western Astoria, who now have to endure long subway rides and bus transfers, with Manhattan and other parts of the city,” he wrote. “I am excited that the schedules plan short and convenient ferry rides for residents to commute to their jobs, see family, or run errands.”
While ferries will not originate from Long Island City until next year, Elizabeth Lusskin, president of the LIC Partnership, said in an email that the expansion of the system is tremendously exciting.
“[It provides] key north-south access for residents, visitors and workers to all the great culture, jobs, restaurants, bars and waterfront parks, and access across the river to the great innovation opportunities at Cornell Tech and the medical corridor along the eastern shore of Manhattan all the way to Wall Street,” Lusskin said.
“The success of the Hunters Point South ferry stop has shown how well this quick and enjoyable ride can bring LIC residents to the rest of the city, and the rest of the city to our community,” she added. “The new LIC stop in Gantry Plaza State Park will be an essential gateway. This is a great ‘sea change’ for our neighborhood.”
