By TimesLedger Staff
The city is temporarily reviving the Rockaway ferry to Manhattan while subway service remains out in the aftermatch of Superstorm Sandy.
The ferry will begin plying the waters between Beach 108th Street and Beach Channel Drive to Wall Street and East 34th Street Monday.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Friday the city Economic Development Corp. and SeaStreak had formed a partnership to provide the ferry transporation, which will provide five trips to Manhattan between 5:45 a.m. and 9:20 a.m. for a one-way fare of $2. Return trips from Manhattan will begin at 2:45 p.m. through 7:30 p.m. There will be three afternoon departures from the Rockaways to Wall Street starting at 4:30 p.m.
“Until the reopening of subway service to the rest of the city is restored from the Rockaways, this temporary option will assist thousands of New Yorkers most impacted by this storm, allowing our city and our economy to take another step on the road to recovery,” EDC President Seth Pinsky said.
SeaStreak is a private ferry service operating between Manhattan and New Jersey.
The Rockaways are served by the A train, which has been suspended indefinitely following the destructive blow delivered by the hurricane to the Broad Channel Crossing, which connects the peninsula with Howard Beach. MTA Chairman Joe Lhota said last week the crossing must be totally rebuilt because the damage from the storm was so severe.
The last round of ferry service to the Rockaways ended in 2010 after a two-year experiment failed to produce adequate profits or ridership. New York Water Taxi and TWFM Ferry ran the service, which was subsidized by a $1.5 million grant from the City Council. The fare was $6 a ride. The ferry was supposed to carry an average of 250 passengers daily, but ridership hovered around the 160 mark, which was blamed in part on the steep fare.
