City officials are proposing a ferry route from Harlem to Edgewater, New Jersey amid news that NJ Transit tickets to World Cup matches at MetLife Stadium will cost more than $100 round-trip.
Residents who live near West 125th Street in Harlem say the pier there is underutilized — and have spent years pushing for a ferry route to New Jersey.
What You Need To Know
City officials are proposing a ferry route from Harlem to Edgewater, New Jersey amid news that NJ Transit tickets to World Cup matches at MetLife Stadium will cost more than $100 round-trip
Residents who live near West 125th Street in Harlem say the pier there is underutilized — and have spent years pushing for a ferry route to New Jersey
Activists gathered with Rep. Adriano Espaillat and City Councilman Sean Abreu, who represent the district, on Friday to renew the push for service ahead of the World Cup
The pier at West 125th Street, which the city built for $20 million, has sat with no ferry service since it was completed in 2009.
Activists gathered with Rep. Adriano Espaillat and City Councilman Sean Abreu, who represent the district, on Friday to renew the push for service ahead of the World Cup.
The goal would be for service to continue after the games.
“Ferry service would not exist in isolation. It would be an important hub,” Abreu said. “The piers can become an accessible link between Upper Manhattan and New Jersey.”
“I know that folks in West Harlem have been calling for this for a very, very long time,” he added. “[It could] mean a West Harlem resident can get [to] a job across the Hudson in under 10 minutes, instead of sitting in traffic on the George Washington Bridge or being priced out of a commute entirely.”
The pier at West 125th Street, which the city built for $20 milllion, has sat with no ferry service since it was completed in 2009.
NY Waterway does run regular ferry service from Edgewater to Midtown Manhattan, but officials say the city’s Economic Development Corporation — which oversees NYC Ferry — should get involved to boost the local economy.
About $200 million in federal funding is available for both a ferry and shuttle buses to MetLife on the Jersey side, but the deadline is in May.
Abreu says he has talked with the EDC and NY Waterway about the proposal, but not with officials in Edgewater.
NY1 has reached out to NY Waterway, the EDC and Edgewater, but has not heard back.