By: Jared Evan
The new ferry line which will connect Coney Island in Brooklyn, to NYC, is receiving a lot of backlash from environmental experts and accusations that the mayor is forging ahead with the program to please powerful developer John Catsimatidis; adding to the multitude of issues de Blasio has encountered with the ferry expansion program.
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s fiscally troubled ferry program added a new route between Staten Island and the west side of Manhattan earlier in the year, the Gothamist reported.
The new S.I to NYC Ferry route connects St. George in Staten Island to Battery Park City and Midtown West.
“Local officials praised the path — which largely overlaps with the existing Staten Island Ferry as a game changer, however transportation experts have warned that the heavy subsidies required to keep prices down on the boats is not tenable, particularly as the system continues to expand” Gothamist noted.
In 2019, the ferries received a subsidy of more than $10 per ride, or roughly tenfold more than that of the NYC Transit System, according to Gothamist. The cost of the rise is $2.75 per passenger making this endeavor a financial boondoggle, according to numbers calculated by The Gothamist.
The latest ferry expansion is about to connect NYC to Coney Island, and environmental experts are not pleased with the location of the pier/ landing area.
Scientists for the city’s Parks Department, which oversees Coney Island Creek Park, say city officials pushed ahead with the plan to build the ferry landing on the creek despite concerns that a service there would damage the ecosystem and release toxic pollution, NY Times noted.
Brownstoner pointed out in late November, a cadre of Coney Island activists have been diligently monitoring the dredging of Coney Island Creek are calling on the state to end work on the peninsula’s coming ferry landing after new video shows toxic materials being dumped into the waterway.
“Today we are standing here because our worst suspicions have been confirmed,” said Assemblymember Mathylde Frontus at a November 10 press conference on the improper dredging. “The city is telling us one thing — they are keeping us safe — but they are doing something else when they think no one is looking.”
Meanwhile the NY Times reporter Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura attentively reported:
“Construction of the pier and waves caused by the ferries will likely disrupt the habitat for the crabs that are dependent on quiet waters, scientists say, toppling the entire food chain and erasing a precious wildlife sanctuary in New York City”.
Critics also have claimed de Blasio is pushing the project ahead in Coney Island during his last days in office to appease billionaire developer, grocery store entrepreneur and owner of WABC 770 AM John Catsimatidis, who has invested millions of dollars building new luxury condominiums in Coney Island. De Blasio has had a friendly relationship with some of NYC’s most lucrative developers over the last 8 years.
The NY Times meticulously pointed out that a lobbying firm hired by Mr. Catsimatidis pushed officials for a stop on Coney Island as well as funding for a shuttle service from the ferry landing to the beachfront, where Mr. Catsimatidis’s condos and the amusement park stand.
