Todd and Missy propose S. Shore ferry to city

Underscoring the need for “dependable and dignified” commuter transportation, state Sen. Todd Kaminsky, Democrat of Long Beach, and Assemblywoman Melissa Miller, Republican of Atlantic Beach, sent a letter to MTA Chairman Joe Lhota last week, urging him to explore locations near Inwood for long-term ferry service to Manhattan for residents of the Five Towns, Long Beach, Valley Stream and other South Shore communities.

“We are asking the MTA to tour prospective docks in Inwood and other areas on the South Shore,” Kaminsky said as he and Miller stood with two commuters near a tributary of Jamaica Bay in Inwood Park on July 23, near where a ferry operated in the 1990s.

Kaminsky noted the early success of the ferry service out of Rockaway, which delivers commuters to Wall Street in 59 minutes, and ferries from Glen Cove that began operating amid the expected six-week-long Amtrak repair project at Pennsylvania Station that Gov. Andrew Cuomo dubbed the “summer of hell.”  

“We believe this is not only a viable option but a very welcomed option,” Miller said. “The ferry would alleviate the frustration of a longer commute for a lot of people.”

In their letter, Kaminsky and Miller noted the possibility that the repair project could extend into 2018, and that the East Side tunnel project could be just as disruptive as the current work, if not more so. They said they would like to see ferry service established for the long term, and that they had reviewed several potential locations. “While many Long Island commuters have expressed to us an interest in a ferry, real plans for one on the South Shore have yet to be proposed,” they wrote. “It is time this changes.” 

The MTA responded that it does not operate any permanent ferries to Manhattan. The Rockaway ferry is run by the public NYC Ferry system, and the National Ferry Company operates the Glen Cove ferry. 

Officials said that there was a lack of usable dock space on the South Shore. 

Kaminsky said he understood that creating a ferry service before the summer repair project began was difficult. “I’m asking them to revisit the issue as an alternative mode of transport,” he said, adding that compared with the amount of money being spent to upgrade several LIRR stations — between $5 million and $6 million each — the dredging and construction of the infrastructure needed for ferry service would not be cost-prohibitive.