Downtown Gets a New Ferry Terminal

New York Times
By David W. Dunlap
March 17, 2009


The view from the new Port Authority ferry terminal at Battery Park City.

Years late and millions of dollars over its original budget, the floating Port Authority ferry terminal off the Battery Park City bulkhead is to greet its first commuters from Hoboken, N.J., shortly after 6 a.m. on Wednesday.

Better late than never? Ferry passengers will be the ultimate judges, but an inspection tour on Tuesday revealed a substantial and grown-up transportation structure ? unlike the tent that?s been pitched in Battery Park City?s backyard ?temporarily? for 20 years ? with the capacity to serve even those who aren?t bound for Weehawken, Paulus Hook, Belford or Yonkers.

?This is public space, regardless of whether or not they?re riding a ferry boat,? said Paul Goodman, chief executive of BillyBey Ferry Company, which will operate and maintain the terminal under contract to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. By ?this,? he was referring to the outermost deck of the 160-by-176-foot hull, which is envisioned as an extension of the Battery Park City esplanade.

About 7,000 to 8,000 passenger trips are expected daily through the terminal. (One commuter, going back and forth, would count as two trips.) Before 9/11 and the destruction of the World Trade Center nearby, the temporary terminal handled about twice as much traffic.

The authority puts the ?hard? construction budget at $50 million, with ?soft? costs like fees and interest bringing the total to $91.5 million. The original construction award in 2004 was $35.7 million. At the time, the authority estimated that the terminal would be completed in 2006. As recently as last summer, when the hull was under construction in Brooklyn, it was hoped that it would be open in mid-year. But there were unanticipated construction complications involving the glass windscreens that wrap the passenger deck and gangways, among other issues.

The terminal?s opening coincides with the news, reported in Crain?s New York Business on Sunday, that New York Waterway may go bankrupt this year.

?The question is whether we can survive,? Arthur Imperatore Sr., the company?s chief executive, was quoted as saying in the article.

Both BillyBey and Mr. Imperatore?s company operate under the New York Waterway flag and both will serve the downtown terminal. But Mr. Goodman emphasized that BillyBey, which draws most of its passengers from Hoboken, owns its own boats and runs its own routes. He said of Mr. Imperatore?s financial troubles, ?They don?t pertain to us.?

?We?re concerned about their future, as an operating partner,? he continued, ?but we?re in very different circumstances. Our ridership has suffered but we have the reserves to weather this storm. We don?t think our operations will be affected.?

Looking around the ample, light-filled waiting area as the hull rocked almost imperceptibly on the Hudson, Mr. Goodman took the optimistic view. ?As evidenced by this terminal,? he said, ?the region is committed to the future of ferry transportation.?