STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — On Monday morning, Staten Island and Brooklyn will once again be connected by boat, with the NYC Ferry set to launch its first trip from St. George to Bay Ridge at 6:05 a.m.
After nearly four years of Staten Islanders pushing for the connection, the New York City Economic Development Corporation — which runs the NYC Ferry — announced in November that a route would run between the two boroughs.
A ferry used to run between Staten Island and Brooklyn, but it was put out of service within days of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opening in 1964.
Instead of creating a another line for the new service, NYC Ferry expanded the existing St. George route, which previously only ran to Manhattan’s west side.
Now the route will operate in two legs. The first will still connect to western Manhattan, with stops at Battery Park City and Midtown West at Pier 79.
The new second leg will run between the existing fast ferry stops in St. George and the American Veterans Memorial Pier at 69th Street in Bay Ridge.
After Bay Ridge, the route will continue to the Atlantic Avenue stop at Brooklyn Bridge Park and finally Wall Street at Pier 11 in Manhattan.
The new map of routes for the NYC Ferry, seen here, will go into effect on Dec. 8.(Courtesy of New York City Economic Development Corporation)
With this connection to the Wall Street/Pier 11 stop Staten Island commuters can transfer to the rest of the NYC Ferry system, which mainly operates in the East River.
From here, other travelers can pick up other NYC Ferry routes that go to Governors Island, Rockaway, Ferry Point Park and Astoria, among others.
Near the ferry stop in Bay Ridge is the B9 bus to King’s Plaza or the B64 line that runs to Coney Island.
Around five city blocks away is the Bay Ridge Avenue station for the R train, located near the intersection of Bay Ridge Avenue and Fourth Avenue.
With the expansion of the St. George route, ferry boats will run approximately every 37 minutes during peak hours.
Trips will be scheduled around 50 minutes apart during non-peak hours.
On weekdays, the first boat to the west side departs at 6:04 a.m., with the first trip to Brooklyn leaving St. George around 6:05 a.m.
Tickets will cost $4.50 per one-way trip. Riders can also purchase a 10-trip pass for $29 or an unlimited two-day ticket for $15.
Tickets can be purchased ahead of time on the NYC Ferry App, or at vending machines located at NYC Ferry stops.