Two years after the city announced it would be bringing concessions back to the Staten Island Ferry, beer will once again be served.
Starting Friday, concession stands on the city’s iconic fleet of giant orange ships will sell beer, hard seltzers and canned cocktails for the first time since 2019.
“Whether you’re commuting or just taking in the skyline, riders of the original fast and free transit service can once again enjoy their choice of a piping hot coffee or an ice cold brew,” Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn said in a statement.
Coffee concessions reopened at the end of 2024 — but the ferry’s status as the city’s most scenic spot to crack open a beer has been on hiatus since 2019, when a contract with a then-vendor expired.
Efforts to reopen concession stands stalled when the city locked down a few months later during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.
The city’s Economic Development Corp. struck a deal with Dunkin’ in 2024, bringing coffee and snacks back to two of the fleet’s largest vessels, the Dorothy Day and the Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis.
A DOT spokesman told the Daily News that those two boats, along with the Ollis-class ship the Sandy Ground, would be the first on which passengers could buy a beer — with plans to extend concessions to more of the fleet.