By Bill Parry
Several hundred enthusiastic supporters of ferry service packed the 180-year-old First Reformed Church of Astoria Thursdayto hear a team from the City Economic Development Corp. unveil their plans for a new ferry dock. The 3,000-square-foot floating pier will be located along the Astoria Houses esplanade on upper Hallets Cove in time for the implementation of citywide ferry service in 2017, which Mayor Bill de Blasio announced during his State of the City Address on Feb. 3.
“We are at a turning point for Astoria,” City Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria) said. “This ferry system will provide vital transportation options to an often under-served neighborhood. It will also be a sustainable and inclusive way to use our city’s greatest resource—our waterfront. Astorians that live near the ferry dock—in Astoria Houses, Old Astoria, and Goodwill—are so close to Manhattan yet it takes a 30-minute bus ride to an overcrowded train to get there. Ferry service will change that paradigm.”
Bishop Mitchell Taylor, Sr. Pastor of the Center of Hope International and CEO of Urban Upbound, who grew up in the Queensbridge Houses and has served the community since 1987, called the location of the dock a game changer.
“The ferry, combined with the bike lane along Vernon Boulevard and the Q103 bus stop will connect the entire waterfront and then the underutilized waterways,” he said. “This represents a sea change for the community. I hadn’t seen any movement on this waterfront in 30 years. It’s a real opportunity beyond just construction jobs.”
Representatives from the NYCEDC allayed residents fears on parking, citing data that shows 90 percent of ferry users will walk, bike or take the bus to the ferry landing. “We don’t expect someone to drive here and expect to find parking,” James Wong, the EDC’s Director of Ferries said. “We expect less than 10 extra cars a day looking for parking in the neighborhood.”
Another concern was voiced by recreational kayakers, who have used the calm waters of Hallets Cove for years. “The East River is a natural resource that belongs to everybody,” Dutch Kills resident Jean Cawley said. “These ferry operators refer to kayakers as speed bumps on their radios and we don’t want there to be a need for Vision Zero on the river for them to know that we’re on the water and should be respected.”
Cawley co-owns the popular Dutch Kills Centraal restaurant with her husband Dominic Stiller, who is a member of Community Board 1. “We just want to safely, and peacefully, coexist with the ferries and we’re not sure how that’s going to play out,” he said.
Erik Baard, the founder of HarborLAB and the LIC Community Boathouse and the event that became City of Water Day, is an expert on kayaking. Each side of his family has worked New York Harbor for a century—aboard tugs and barges, as marine contractors and in environmental education.
“I absolutely support ferry service to Astoria but question the siting,” Baard said. “The chief argument for putting a ferry stop in upper Hallets Cove seems to be bureaucratic ease—because the city already owns the bulkhead. That shouldn’t outweigh safety and commercial viability.”
He added that Pot Cove on the north side of Hallets Peninsula—where two huge residential developments, Astoria Cove and Hallets Point, are to be built—would be more suitable. “Lower Hallets Cove is better because it would also attract customers going to Costco, while sparing all residents the ferry horns that have been the subject of complaints from lower Manhattan residents.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
