On Wednesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced hiring of captains, engineers and deckhands to help run the service which will offer three new routes to the Rockaways, South Brooklyn and Astoria. They will be connected to the existing East River Ferry Service.
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"For the price of a subway ride, Citywide Ferry service will connect millions of riders to jobs and homes all along New York City's waterfront," de Blasio said.
A 56,000-square-foot maintenance and storage facility is being built in the Brooklyn Navy Yard for 25 boats, supplies and utilities, including a 40,000 gallon diesel fueling system.
It will be fully completed in late 2018, enabling an additional stop on the East River route between South Williamsburg and Brooklyn Bridge Park.
"Opportunity for people who work here at the Brooklyn Navy Yard or are seeking jobs at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which is increasingly a center of employment for the city, we're now going to have an easier and better way to get to work," said de Blasio. "Opportunity for people to get around the city more easily and get from places that in many instances have been too isolated, get to where there is a center of economic activity to give them jobs they need."
The mayor emphasized that half a million people live within a half mile of the ferry ports.
Routes:
-- Rockaway route will connect to the Brooklyn Army Terminal and Wall Street.
-- Astoria route will connect to Astoria, Roosevelt Island (Cornell Tech), Long Island City, East 34th Street and Wall Street.
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-- South Brooklyn route will connect Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Army Terminal, Red Hook, Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 1 and Pier 6, and Wall Street, with an optional link to Governors Island.
-- Rockaway, South Brooklyn and Astoria routes are scheduled to launch in 2017.
-- Soundview and Lower East Side routes to launch in 2018.
-- Routes from Coney Island and Stapleton on Staten Island are in the planning stages.
All ferries will be equipped with WiFi and can carry 150 passengers. Both paper and smartphone ticketing will be available, with cash, credit or debit card payments. Discounts will be available for seniors, children and those with disabilities.
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The Navy Yard will provide free shuttle service for area residents to the new ferry landing.
The city is spending $55 million on infrastructure upgrades, including building 10 new ferry landings, and will spend $30 million in per year, over a period of six years.
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Jobseekers can apply through the City Department of Small Business Services' WorkForce Centers, at CitywideFerry.NYC, or through the Brooklyn Navy Yard's Employment Center.