Tucked away on the west side of the small town of Broad Channel in the middle of Jamiaca Bay is a narrow, dead end, street that goes by the name of West 12th Road. Those of us who live there know that the nice part about living in a small town is that when you are not quite sure what is going on, someone else always does!
[Peter J. Mahon West 12th Road, Broad Channel]
Late last Thursday evening, Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled a $75 billion budget budget, one that would “have an extraordinary impact on all 8.4 million New Yorkers.”
Left unanswered, however, was a budgetary decision that will have some sort of impact, “extraordinary” or otherwise, on the lives of Rockaway residents: whether to continue funding the ferry connecting lower Manhattan to the Rockaway peninsula.
“There is no answer yet,” said Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder, who represents the area. “They’re saying that the budget details aren’t done yet and they still don’t know.”
The mayor’s office, which has funded the ferry through October, had no immediate comment.
It ight be an especially sensitive political question for the mayor.
He all but ignored the western half of the Rockaways during his campaign for mayor, to the pronounced consternation of the local newspaper, the Wave. He tried to make amends after the primary, but then upset some Rockaway residents all over again by skippingthe St. Patrick’s Day Parade there.
Michael Bloomberg’s administration reinstated ferry service to the Rockaways after Hurricane Sandy knocked out subway access to the peninsula. Since then, city officials have been struggling with the question of whether to keep it.
The ferry is relatively expensive, costing more than $5 million a year, according the city Economic Development Corporation. That's more on a per-ride basis than the city pays for other forms of mass transit, like buses.
But in terms of demand, the ferry has been more successful than the iteration launched in 2009, with roughly 880 rides a day, compared to the 280 rides a day provided by the former iteration, which Bloomberg allowed to fold.
Goldfeder, reflecting the arguments of Rockaway residents and business owners, says existing transit access to the peninsula is so inadequate that subsidized ferry service is the least the city could do.
“We pay billions of dollars for transportation upgrades in Manhattan,” said Goldfeder. “We subsidize Staten Island residents to the tune of millions of dollars every year. I think it’s about time Queens gets their fair share of public transit.”
CORRECTION: After publication, the city revised its estimate of annual ferry subsidies to more than $5 million, rather than the more than $10 million initially cited. Also, Capital misstated the size of this year's budget in the original version. It is $75 billion, not $73.9 billion.
I know the ferry issue is important but so is bus service. There will be a Woodhaven Blvd. Select Bus Service meeting tomorrow, Wednesday, June 25th, at 7pm, 95-16 89th Ave. Queens, NY 11421 (PS 306). I heard they will be discussing possible bus stop locations for the future SBS service along Woodhaven/Cross Bay Blvd. This is an important issue for all communuites along Woodhaven Blvd./Cross Bay Blvd. especially Broad Channel.
Those of us from Rockaway do not want bus only lanes alone. We would want the ferry, multi-passenger only car lanes, Manhattan-Rockaway express bus service around the clock all week, and reactivation of the Rockaway Beach/White Pot train line, either under LIRR or NYC MTA.
I know the ferry issue is important but so is bus service. There will be a Woodhaven Blvd. Select Bus Service meeting tomorrow, Wednesday, June 25th, at 7pm, 95-16 89th Ave. Queens, NY 11421 (PS 306). I heard they will be discussing possible bus stop locations for the future SBS service along Woodhaven/Cross Bay Blvd. This is an important issue for all communuites along Woodhaven Blvd./Cross Bay Blvd. especially Broad Channel.
ReplyDeleteThose of us from Rockaway do not want bus only lanes alone. We would want the ferry, multi-passenger only car lanes, Manhattan-Rockaway express bus service around the clock all week, and reactivation of the Rockaway Beach/White Pot train line, either under LIRR or NYC MTA.
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