NY Waterway

NY Waterway

Locale	New Jersey New York
Waterway	Hudson River East River New York Bay
Transit type	passenger ferry excursions sightseeing
Owner	Arthur Imperatore
Operator	NY Waterway
Began operation	December 3, 1986
No. of lines	23
No. of vessels	34
No. of terminals	21
Daily ridership	Approx. 30,000[1]
Website	http://www.nywaterway.com/

Weehawken headquarters and terminal

NY Waterway, or New York Waterway, is a private transportation company running ferry and bus service in the Port of New York and New Jersey and in the Hudson Valley. While operations and much marketing come under the NY Waterway logo, the company works with other private companies and in public-private partnership with agencies such as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New Jersey Transit, New York City Department of Transportation, and Metropolitan Transportation Authority, to provide service and maintain docking facilities.^[2]

NY Waterway uses ferry slips at four terminals in Manhattan as well as terminals and slips in Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, and Edgewater, all located along the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, and at landings on the East River in Brooklyn and Long Island City. Commuter peak service is also provided on the Haverstraw–Ossining Ferry, Newburgh–Beacon Ferry, and to the Raritan Bayshore. Excursions and sightseeing trips^[3] include those to Yankee Stadium,^[4] Gateway National Recreation Area, and Governors Island.

History

Founding

In 1981 Arthur Edward Imperatore, Sr., a trucking magnate, purchased a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) length of the Weehawken, New Jersey waterfront, where the company is based,^[5] from the bankrupt Penn Central for $7.5 million, with the plan to redevelop the brownfield site as had others along the west bank of the Hudson River waterfront and to restore ferry service to it. In 1986 he established New York Waterway,^[1] with a route across the river between Weehawken Port Imperial and Pier 78 on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan. Three years later, it began operation between Hoboken Terminal and Battery Park City.^[6][7] During the course of the next decade numerous routes across the Hudson were added.^[8] In February 2011 it was contracted to operate a route calling at slips in Brooklyn and Queens as well as the East River terminals.^[9] Subsidized by the City of New York, the service was originally intended for commuters, but after a few months became popular with weekend users and tourists.^[10]

Expansion and near bankruptcy

The September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center destroyed the PATH terminal located there, greatly reducing cross-Hudson River passenger capacity. The company was well-positioned to take advantage of government investment in ferry service, receiving subsidies and generous agreements to docking at public facilities.^[11][12]

NY Waterway service quickly expanded by adding new routes and increasing the frequency of crossings. It borrowed heavily to fund the acquisition of additional vessels. After PATH service was restored ridership significantly declined, the loss of passengers bringing the company, unable to reduce its fixed costs, to brink of bankruptcy. By December 2004, there was deep concern that there would be a total shutdown of ferry service, disrupting the commutes of 30,000 daily riders.^[13] The Port Authority, as well as city and state agencies had already contracted the construction of new ferry terminals to be leased to private operators. The shutdown was averted when the new BillyBey Ferry Company LLC which had never before operated ferry services, founded by Manhattan lawyer William B. Wachtel, agreed to take over almost half of NY Waterway's equipment and routes. Other ferry and sightseeing boat operators were displeased that the Port Authority approved the transfer without a transparent bidding process.^[14]

In 2009, the fleet included 33 boats, 15 of which are operated by the company for its associate Billybey Ferry.^[15]

Coming to the aid of downed Flight 1549

Rescue operations

NY Waterway has played a role in a number of rescue and emergency operations.^[16] In the immediate after effects of September 11, 2001 attacks, the company was instrumental in the evacuation of passengers who otherwise would have been stranded^[17] in Manhattan due to the chaos created in the mass transit system. The ferry service also brought people across the river during Northeast Blackout of 2003 when service on New Jersey Transit and Port Authority Trans-Hudson trains could not operate. During the 2005 New York City transit strike it provided alternative transportation.

In 2009, the company was instrumental in the rescue of passengers of US Airways Flight 1549, which made an emergency landing on the Hudson River.^[18] The firm gained media attention both for its efforts to rescue passengers from airplane and for its hiring of 20-year-old Brittany Catanzaro as captain. Thanks in a large part to the successful efforts of Captains Vincent Lombardi and Catanzaro, together with their crews, all aboard were rescued.

On April 6, 2012, a NY Waterway ferry rescued the crew of the Katherine G, a tugboat that capsized near Liberty Island.^[19] The ferry's captain, Mohamed Gouda, had also commanded one of the ferries that participated in the flight 1549 rescue.

NY Waterway – NJ Transit partnerships

In June 2012, New Jersey Transit and NY Waterway began a fare-sharing program for riders transferring between the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and ferries at Port Imperial for ten-trip and monthly tickets.^[20] in a program called Surf and Turf^[21] In May 2013 NY Waterway initiated afternoon bus service along the NJT bus routes 158, and 159R, which travel north to Fort Lee, and 156R, with continuing service to Englewood Cliffs.^[22][23] Passengers who purchase a 10-trip or a Monthly Joint Bus-Ferry pass take the bus to the Port Authority Bus Terminal during mornings and travel by ferry in the evening.^[24] In December 2014 it was announced that NJT will buy ten buses for NY Waterway's use on its Manhattan bus routes.^[24] In January 2016, NY Waterway and NJT introduced the Hudson GoPass, allowing for unlimited use on light rail, ferry and bus routes 156, 158, 159.^[25] NJ Transit has also provided funding for boat maintenance and bus purchases.^[26]

Terminals and routes

West Midtown Ferry Terminal

West Midtown Ferry Terminal

Edgewater Landing

Hoboken Terminal

Battery Park City Ferry Terminal at the World Financial Center

Battery Park City Ferry Terminal (at left) is moored in the Hudson River just north of World Financial Center North Cove

Ferries at Paulus Hook Ferry Terminal, Exchange Place

Pier 11 at Wall Street

At Pier 11 on East River

East River route

Service operates in both directions with year-round service running every 20 minutes on weekdays. Peak service runs every 20 minutes, off-peak service runs every 30 minutes during the summer (April–Oct) and hourly during the winter.^[50][51]

The East River route is expected to be merged into the Citywide Ferry Service starting in 2017, after which it will be operated by Hornblower Cruises.^[52]

East River logo

Most vessels used by NY Waterway are bow-loading

Raritan Bayshore route

Crossing the Upper Bay

Upstream Hudson routes

Ferry approaching Beacon ferry slip

Bus routes in Manhattan

NY Waterway operates connecting bus service for ferry passengers on different routes in Manhattan.

See also

References

External links

Media related to NY Waterway at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website