When the Wave spoke with residents and elected officials last week regarding the Rockaway Ferry service being extended until October, there was one clear sentiment; a permanent solution must be found.
Ferry service itself isn’t the only issue of course, as many have asked about other related underlying problems: cost of travel, adding weekend service, additional service for weeknights, and overall improvement of the quality of travel. It seems that until there is a long term agreement in place, none of the other concerns can be addressed properly either.
Yes, everyone seems to be in agreement about a permanent solution, so it is more than frustrating to see little movement toward a resolution.
Wednesday’s ferry mishap -- which is a momentary distraction to people who actually understand the issue – is another even more frustrating setback, as many who see no rush to find a permanent solution could use it to “further study the feasibility” of a regular ferry.
To their credit, many of our locally elected officials have said the right things, especially when it comes to being less than satisfied with the temporary ferry extension being a short-term solution. Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder went out of their way to make sure people understood Wednesday’s ferry misfortune was merely a blip. But it’s safe to say at this point that the people of Rockaway want action, not more rhetoric. Traveling Rockaway residents keep telling us other seaside neighborhoods in New York and New Jersey seem to be recovering at a more advanced rate from Sandy. We see a Rockaway still struggling to pull itself up from the wreckage; sidewalks and streets are still broken and more than a few businesses are still shuttered. Many homeowners are still wondering when their lives will regain some semblance of normalcy. Will a permanent ferry service cure all of these ills? Perhaps not. But it will represent a sign that the recovery is actually starting to happen.
Until then, celebrations for short-term fixes won’t be forthcoming, especially from The Wave.
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