By Zach Patberg
The most recent proposal was announced Aug.18 at a news conference in Rockaway by U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Kew Gardens). He outlined a $18.75 million project that included using a $15 million transit bill, already approved by the U.S. House and Senate, to buy three new boats, which would carry 400 passengers from the Rockaways to either Manhattan or Brooklyn for a fare equal to a subway ride on the A-line but in half the time. As part of the multibillion-dollar federal transportation bill, the legislation stills needs a signature from President Bush and the city to match 20 percent of the cost before it can take effect. “The biggest single obstacle to a ferry service…has been the high capital cost of the boats themselves,” Weiner said in a release. In 1987, a similar ferry service was started but dropped three years later due to high operational costs forcing passengers to pay over $20 to ride. Indeed, a 2000 study by the Port Authority suggested there was not a sufficient market on the peninsula for the service.But Weiner and other ferry supporters insisted that the current situation was different. Whereas in the past a mess of various private subsidies with short life spans had left the 1987 ferries with market-rate burdens, Weiner said under his plan the boats would be bought, not subsidized, and publicly owned, allowing for more oversight and lower costs. “It's like buying the car…as opposed to renting it everyday,” he said, referring to the long-term investment benefits. Another advocate, state Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer (D-Rockaway Beach), pointed to the completion of Rockaway's new dock, Riis Landing, along with the adjacent 1,000 free parking spaces in Gateway National Park, as incentives for commuters to chose a ferry over the Belt Parkway traffic.Councilman Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) agreed with the ferry concept but had a different way to mobilize it. Since being elected in 2001, Addabbo has secured a $300,000 Rockaway transportation subsidy. That money, he said, which has sat idle for three years, should be bid out to ferry operators, who already had boats. Referring to a carrier from TWFM Ferry Co., Addabbo said “we could have a ferry by tomorrow. ” He cited TWFM's Tom Paladino, who said he could immediately start four trips a day, five days a week, for a $5 one-way fare.Weiner's boats would take about 18 months to build but cost about half as much to ride. However, recruiting the Department of Transportation to either approve the carrier bids under Addabbo's plan or getting the city to match 20 percent of the cost under Weiner's plan appeared to be the ferry service's highest hurdle. “The mayor has never been very friendly to Rockaway,” Weiner said. “I hope that changes with this legislation.” There so far has been no official response from either the DOT or the mayor's office.Reach Zach Patberg by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300 Ext. 155.
