- Image: Courtesy of NYCEDC
EDC awarded $9 million contract to BillyBey Ferry Company to provide new ferry service to Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens starting in Spring 2011. On February 2, 2011, the City’s Economic Development Corporation awarded BillyBey Ferry Company a three-year $9 million contract to provide expanded ferry service along the East River. Billybey, operating under the NY Waterways brand, will make seven regular stops connecting riders to Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. The stops will include: Pier 11 in lower Manhattan, Fulton Ferry Landing in DUMBO, South Williamsburg’s Schaefer Landing, North Williamsburg between North Fifth and North Sixth Streets, India Avenue in Greenpoint, Hunter’s Point South in Long Island City, and East 34th Street in Manhattan The service will also stop at Pier 6 in Brooklyn during summer weekends and Governors Island on summer Fridays.
The ferries will run every twenty minutes during weekday peak hours, every thirty minutes during off-peak summer hours, and every hour during off-peak winter hours. Fares will be $3 for up to three stops, and $5.50 for more than three stops. There will be a free bus line from the East 34th Street ferry landing during peak hours that will make stops along the 34th Street corridor. The MTA’s M34 bus will provide service during off-peak hours.
- Image: Courtesy of NYCEDC
The contract guarantees BillyBey $3 million a year over three years. BillyBey will be responsible for any financial losses, but will share profits with the City above an agreed-upon level. The City expects ferry service to begin in Spring 2011.
Expanded ferry service is part of the City’s 2010 Waterfront Vision and Enhancement Strategy (WAVES) which seeks to establish a long-term management blueprint for the City’s shoreline and waterways. The soon-to-be released plan’s main components are the Waterfront Action Agenda, and the Vision 2020 waterfront plan. 7 CityLand 160 (Nov. 15, 2010).