By Ivan Pereira
Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Sunnyside) and Councilman David Yassky (D-Brooklyn) called on the city to increase funding for and awareness of the New York City Water Taxi service that runs between Manhattan and Brooklyn and Queens at a news conference Saturday in Williamsburg. The service, which is being temporarily halted until spring because of a lack of funds, has given commuters a quicker and more efficient way of getting to Manhattan, but the city has failed to make the most of it, according to Gioia.”The East River and our waterways are the most underused highway in the city,” he said. “We need to invest in our water taxi service.”The privately run ferry service was temporarily stopped Monday and will remain closed at least until the end of May due to insufficient revenue, according to the councilmen. Yassky, who helped fund water taxi docks in Brooklyn, said the service shutdown worked against Mayor Bloomberg's PlaNYC environmental plan, which calls for future ferry expansion to the outer boroughs.”PlaNYC was supposed to expand the water network, but now someone has put the ferry on reverse,” Yassky said.The councilmen called on the city to subsidize the water taxis to allow them to run in the winter months. In addition, they called on New York City Transit to expand its services to the waterways so it can give buses and subway riders easier access.”What we need is an integrated system where you can swipe a Metrocard through a subway or a bus and then later swipe it through a ferry,” Gioia said.The Sunset Ridge Waterfront Alliance, a Brooklyn-based advocate group, praised Gioia and Yassky for taking the initiative. The group said government subsidies would not only lower the $5 one-way fare for the water taxis, it would save the city millions in eased congestion.”The taxis are greener for the city, because they get people off the roads and on the water. This initiative has bipartisan support,” said Heather McGown, the founder of the alliance.The water taxi service runs from 34th Street in Manhattan to Long Island City and from southern Manhattan to Williamsburg and the Dumbo section of Brooklyn. With the boats temporally grounded for the winter, commuters said they have had to struggle with the long walks to the subway station and uncomfortable rides in packed cars.”I have to use the L train to go to work in Manhattan and it's always crowded. I'd pay more if it meant I could use the taxi again, because it was only a 10-minute ride for me,” said Camille Evans of Williamsburg.Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
