Lappin Seeks City Funds For Southtown Ferry Dock
by Lillian Picchione

City Councilmember Jessica Lappin has requested $500,000 in City funding for a ferry dock at Southtown. Her Chief of Staff, Jane Swanson, reports that Lappin is working with the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) to secure the funds needed for the project, believed to cost $1 million. Whether funds will be appropriated is a decision that hinges on City Council budget negotiations and with the mayor. The City’s next fiscal year begins July 1, so the answer should be in hand by the end of this month.

These two docks (near the subway station, above, and near Octagon Apartments, right) could become part of the Island’s transportation infrastructure if separate efforts now under way are successful.

This effort to secure funding for a Southtown dock is separate from efforts by Bruce Becker, developer of the Octagon Apartments project, to secure dock improvements and ferry service at the pier near that development. Working with New York Water Taxi, Mr. Becker submitted plans this past winter, seeking permits. Dock improvements there are less extensive than those at Southtown, and Becker hopes to have ferry service in place by the fall.

Tom Fox, president of New York Water Taxi, says ferry service to Roosevelt Island is a "great idea," adding, "The time is right for robust ferry service" on the East River. There are dock improvements taking place at various locations in Manhattan, and the ferries would serve growing populations on Roosevelt Island and Long Island City.

If Becker receives permission to build, initial service would be to Wall Street via a stop at 34th Street, a trip that would take approximately 30 minutes. Another potential destination is a pier at 90th Street on the Upper East Side. The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is overseeing improvements to the pier, which is scheduled to reopen in the spring of 2007.

As part of the Mayor’s initiative to encourage waterborne commutation and maritime activity, NYCEDC has plans to open docks at 75th Street and 62nd Street. According to Janel Patterson, the agency’s spokesperson, NYCEDC is still in the process of identifying funding and working out permitting issues on these two docks.

Neither Fox nor Becker sees a Southtown dock as a threat to the one at the Octagon. Becker notes that more infrastructure creates a larger network of destinations, increasing the value to users. Fox envisions a route "pinballing down the East River," starting at 90th street and potentially stopping at the Octagon, 75th Street, Southtown and 62nd street. Additional stops do use fuel and increase the trip time for long-distance riders, so routes would be optimized to meet New York Water Taxi’s operating expenses of $700/hour.

Fox compares the relationship with the Octagon to one he has developed with Shaeffer Landing, a high-rise in Long Island City that underwrites Water Taxi service and promotes it as one of the amenities of the building. In contrast, the Southtown pier is envisioned along the lines of public-private partnerships taking place on the Upper East Side, where public funds pay for capital upgrades.