By Howard Koplowitz
With heavy rains blanketing the Rockaways, long-awaited ferry service linking the peninsula to Manhattan was launched Monday, giving residents a one-hour ride into the city.
As the American Princess started out on its journey to Pier 11 in Lower Manhattan before making a stop at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, the dozen or so Rockaway residents who took the ferry praised its convenience.
“This should cut back my commute by at least a half hour each way,” said Kevin Maroney, an underwriter from Rockaway Park, who boarded the 7:45 a.m. ferry at Riis Landing. “It's a nice way to go to work. I'm so grateful that this has been put into effect.”
Deirdre Rossi, a Belle Harbor resident, said she used to drive to Bay Ridge and catch the R train to get to work in Manhattan. She said her commute was between 1 1/2 to two hours one-way.
“The commute from Rockaway was a nightmare,” Rossi said.
But she said the drive from her home to the Riis Landing parking lot takes only three minutes.
“I'm very excited,” she said.
U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Forest Hills), who helped cut the ribbon on the ferry with City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan), City Councilman Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach), state Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer (D-Rockaway Beach) and state Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans) shortly before the 7:45 a.m. trip, echoed the ferry riders' feelings.
“We have long said in Rockaway that our options are all not that great to commute to Manhattan,” Weiner said. “No longer is Rockaway going to be forgotten by the transportation system.”
The service, operated by New York Water Taxi, is funded through $1.1 million in City Council funding allocated by Addabbo while Weiner secured $3 million to construct the ferry dock.
Quinn said the idea for the ferry, part of a two-year pilot program bringing ferry service to other parts of the city, took root following a City Council town hall meeting last summer with Rockaway residents in Broad Channel.
“What they said was, 'We can't get to Manhattan. It takes forever. It's grueling. We need options,' ” Quinn said. “What we need is year-round, five-borough ferry service. Today is truly the beginning of that.”
About 250 passengers a day are projected to use the ferry service, according to a feasibility study conducted by the city Economic Development Corporation, Quinn's office said.
Addabbo, who boarded the 7:45 a.m. ferry along with Quinn and Weiner, said the service was sorely needed.
“With the population boom in Rockaway, it's a no-brainer,” he said. “There are still transportation issues here in Rockaway, but this definitely helps.”
He also touted the $6 one-way fare to board the ferry, which he helped institute through a $1.1 million allocation for the service.
“For $6, it's a bargain,” he said.
Pheffer said the ferry would make it easier for Rockaway residents to get to the city.
“We in Rockaway know the problem and the frustration of getting into Manhattan,” she said.
She said she also hoped that Manhattan residents would use the ferry to make trips to the peninsula.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 173.
