By Nathan Duke
The city relaunched its water taxi from Long Island City last week just five months after it shut down due to a lack of ridership and extended its ferry service Monday by reopening its Williamsburg, Brooklyn stop, a spokeswoman for New York Water Taxi said.
The water taxi reopened for service June 30, shuttling passengers between Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan. The ferry had stopped operating in January due to a decline in ridership and rising fuel costs, water taxi spokeswoman Stacey Sherman said.
The ferry also added Brooklyn's Schaefer Landing back into its schedule following the pier's closure for repairs last summer, Sherman said. The water taxi's new route begins in Hunters Point before heading to Manhattan's East 34th Street, then Schaefer Landing, DUMBO, Wall Street's Pier 11 and then back to Schaefer Landing and Hunters Point.
"It does a great job of connecting all the boroughs," Sherman said.
The city relaunched its ferry service from the Rockaways to Manhattan in mid-May.
City Councilmen Eric Gioia (D-Sunnyside) and David Yassky (D-Brooklyn) called on the city this week to expand funding for the ferry service to allow for it to operate year round, contending that the water taxi cuts down on city traffic congestion and pollution.
"New York City's waterways are our great untapped resource and subsidizing year-round service will help move New Yorkers efficiently and effectively," Gioia said in a statement. "This route is one of the first steps towards reducing congestion and greening our transit system."
Yassky said a number of residents purchased condominiums near the Schaefer Landing pier to allow for an easy commute to Manhattan. He said the city should provide funds to prevent the ferry from shutting down for the winter.
"Now that residents have access to quality public transportation, it is our job to make sure it stays that way," Yassky said.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has committed funding to the water taxi, but it will not be available until next summer, Sherman said.
The current route for the water taxi will run through the fall and shut down for the winter, she said.
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at nduke@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
