Commentary:
What Should We Expect From Ferry Service?
by Lillian Picchione

With subway crowding increasing and the Tram sidelined for months, ferry service seems like an appealing alternative. As the third Southtown building and the Octagon continue to fill, Islanders are getting a taste of what is to come if we fail to provide additional off-Island transportation. The fourth Southtown building is under construction, RIOC signed off on five new Southtown buildings last week, and RIOC recently envisioned additional residential construction in an RFIP (Request for Initial Proposals).

But will Islanders use alternatives like ferries and express buses in the numbers needed to compensate for the building boom? There is a risk that we may support ferry service for the same reason that suburban car commuters support public transit — not because we plan to use it, but because we hope it will relieve crowding and improve our own commute. Whether alternatives to the Tram and subway can provide enough transportation options to allow the system as a whole to cope with the increasing population depends on how many Roosevelt Island residents will actually use the alternatives.

There are some important disadvantages to ferry service, as compared to the subway. Because ferries are privately operated, they are not covered by MetroCard. Service is most helpful for passengers reaching destinations close to the water’s edge, such as the East Side hospitals or Wall Street. Ticket costs increase with the length of the trip. In contrast, the subway allows residents fast transportation to the center of Manhattan, as well as a huge range of destinations via free transfers to the subway and bus, all for $2.00 (or less, with MetroCard bonuses and frequentuser options). While much of New York City Transit’s operat- 4 Southtown Layout: Building 4 is now under construction. Those shown in black are complete. Buildings 5-9 include two just north of the Tram station, and three east of Main Street. Underlined numbers indicate the number of stories in each building or section of a building. Dotted lines indicate the underground position of the subway tunnel. The “gazebo” shown over the tunnel in Riverwalk Commons may no longer be part of the plans. Southtown from page 1 a rent of about $18.50 a [square] foot [per year]. The other, at 148%, would be at about $34 per square foot.” These numbers mean that (for example) an 825-square-foot two-bedroom affordable apartment will rent to a qualifying tenant family at 825 x $18.50, or $15,263 per year ($1272/month). Under the terms of the deal, there will be 116 apartments of various sizes in this category. Another 348 apartments will rent at $34 per square foot. For an 825- square-foot two-bedroom apartment, a family qualifying in this income tier would pay $28,050 per year ($2338/month). Trust Fund Of the $110 million in land lease costs, Hudson-Related is to pay RIOC some $54 million in a series of trust funds that Beck called “very creative.” The trusts will be self-liquidating, providing an annual ground-rent income stream to RIOC through the 2068 expiration of the lease under which New York State is developing Roosevelt Island, which is owned by New York City. (In the past, RIOC had received prepayments on some property development, using the funds for immediate needs rather than Commentary: What Should We Expect From Ferry Service? by Lillian Picchione setting them aside to produce an annual income stream.) Schedule Buildings 5-9 are to be completed by 2012. On the schedule envisioned in the deal approved May 18, this would mean RIOC could expect income of about $10 million a year by 2014. Kraut responded to that: “I suppose I’m supposed to be impressed with that number. The reason I’m not is that, until ten years ago, the State was giving us $6 million [subsidy] a year, so that $10 million is less than we were getting from the State ten years ago. When [the Governor] Mario Cuomo appointed me to this Board twelve years ago yesterday [May 16, 1994], we were getting a lot of money from the State and [under Governor George Pataki] that money just went away, and I’ve been in a 12-year fight trying to figure out how we’re going to replace it.” Kraut added, “People have been asking when we are going to stop building, and it’s not a rhetorical question. The answer is, when we have a comparable amount of money to what we had before, and I’m hoping this will just about do it.” Mas described the income stream. “In 2007 [this deal] should bring in $3.3 million. You’ll have two [buildings built] in 2007, and then one every year thereafter with, perhaps, some slippage based on market conditions, because you don’t want to flood the market. Basically, you’ll get up pretty fast to the $8-9 million range, stay stable for about six years, and then you’re going to start hitting the $10 million and then the $14 million range.” Other Points • RIOC plans to establish a new Islandwide income-reporting process for affordable rentals. • David Kramer of the Hudson Companies reported that the first two buildings of Southtown are 70% to 80% occupied by tenants who meet the qualifications for affordable housing, subsidized by either Cornell- Weill or Memorial Sloan-Kettering, thereby satisfying or nearly satisfying the developers’ obligation for affordable housing in the first four Southtown buildings. • The developers have put forward a 14- point “green-building” program, Mas reported. ing costs are underwritten by the government, it is the ticket cost that commuters see.

Frequency and timing of service also affects rider decisions. At a cost of $700 per boat per hour, privately operated ferries can’t run as frequently as tax-subsidized services like the Tram or subway.

Reliability is a factor, too. The effects of reliability, frequency, cost, and convenience are currently playing out in a real-life example – Red Bus service to Manhattan. Less frequent (halfhourly), more expensive (a flat $2 with no MetroCard transfer), and longer (30 minutes instead of 7), it’s a stopgap at best and would be no competition for the Tram except in a community of acrophobics. An analytical look at ridership numbers might contribute to an understanding of what it would take to shift a significant number of transit users to ferries.

Even with questions outstanding, there are many reasons to have ferry service. There’s the charm factor, of course. In purely practical terms, though, having more travel choices is valuable. Many Islanders remember that summer day when, simultaneously, the Tram was under repair, the subway went down, and the lift bridge got stuck. A network of ferry services will strengthen the City in an emergency.

Ferries will certainly pull some of us from the subway and Tram, especially those less sensitive to price, travel time, and a more restricted choice of destinations. Overcrowded Tram cabins and subway cars may push some of us to ferry service. But we should not pretend that we are certain it can adequately address the rush-hour impact of 1,800 new apartments coming on line between now and 2014.