The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry service operated by the New York City Department of Transportation that runs between Manhattan and Staten Island. The ferry departs Manhattan from South Ferry, near Whitehall Street, at the southernmost tip of Manhattan near Battery Park. On Staten Island, the ferry arrives and departs from St. George Ferry Terminal on Richmond Terrace, near Richmond County Borough Hall and Richmond County Supreme Court.
The five mile journey takes about 25 minutes each way. The ferry is now free of charge, though riders must disembark at each terminal and reenter through the terminal building for a round trip to comply with coast guard regulations regarding vessel capacity. Bicycles may also be taken on the lowest deck of the ferry without charge. In the past, ferries were equipped for vehicle transport, at a charge of $3 per automobile; however, vehicles have not been allowed on the ferry since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
For most of the 20th century, the ferry was famed as the biggest bargain in New York City. It charged the same five cent fare as the New York Subway but the ferry fare remained a nickel when the subway fare increased to 10 cents in 1948. In 1970, then-Mayor John V. Lindsay proposed that the fare be raised to 25 cents, pointing out that the cost for each ride was 50 cents, or ten times what the fare brought in. On August 4, 1975, the nickel fare ended and the charge became 25 cents for a round trip, the quarter being collected in one direction only. The round trip increased to 50 cents in 1990, but then was eliminated altogether in 1997.
There is commuter parking at the St. George
Ferry terminal, which is also the terminus of the Staten Island Railway. On the
Manhattan side the terminal has convenient access to select MTA bus (M1, M6, M9,
M15, X90) and subway (1, 4, 5, R, W) connections. The ferry ride is a favorite
of tourists to New York as it provides excellent views of the Lower Manhattan
skyline and the Statue of Liberty.
In the 1700s, ferry service between
Staten Island and the city of New York (then occupying only the southern tip of
Manhattan) was conducted by private individuals with "periaugers," shallow-draft,
two-masted sailboats used for local traffic in New York harbor. In the early 1800s,
Vice President (and former New York governor) Daniel D. Tompkins secured a charter
for the Richmond Turnpike Company, as part of his efforts to develop the village
of Tompkinsville; though intended to build a highway across Staten Island, the
company also received the right to run a ferry to New York. The Richmond Turnpike
Company is the direct ancestor of the current municipal ferry.
In 1817, the Richmond Turnpike Company began to run the first motorized ferry between New York and Staten Island, the steam-powered Nautilus. It was commanded by Captain John De Forest, the brother-in-law of a young man named Cornelius Vanderbilt. In 1838, Vanderbilt, who had grown wealthy in the steamboat business in New York waters, bought control of the company. Except for a brief period in the 1850s, he would remain the dominant figure in the ferry until the Civil War, when he sold it to the Staten Island Railway, led by his brother Jacob Vanderbilt. (Three of the Staten Island ferries were requisitioned by the United States Army for service in the war, but none ever returned to New York harbor.)
Westfield
disaster
During the 1850s, Staten Island developed rapidly, and the ferry accordingly grew in importance. But the poor condition of the boats became a source of chronic complaint, as did the limited schedule. The opening of the Staten Island Railway in 1860 increased traffic further and newer boats were acquired, named after the towns of Richmond County which covered the whole of Staten Island. One of these ferries, the Westfield, came to grief when its boiler exploded while sitting in its slip at South Ferry at about 1:30 in the afternoon of July 30, 1871. Within days of the disaster, some 85 were identified as dead and hundreds injured, and several more were added to the death toll in the weeks following. Jacob Vanderbilt, president of the Staten Island Railway, was arrested for murder, though he escaped conviction. The engineer of the Westfield was a black man, which aroused openly racist commentary in New York's newspapers, though Vanderbilt stoutly defended his employee.
B&O Railroad acquires SIRT and ferry operations
The
competing ferry services that were all finally controlled by Vanderbilt were sold
to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and operated by the Staten Island Rapid Transit
Railroad (SIRT, successor to Staten Island Railway) in 1884.
Northfield accident and city ownership
On June 14, 1901, the SIRT ferry Northfield was leaving the ferry port at Whitehall when it was struck by a Jersey Central Ferry and sank immediately. There were two full deck crews aboard the Northfield and their swift actions ensured that out of 995 passengers aboard, only five ended up missing, presumed drowned. This accident, though minor in comparison to the Westfield Disaster, was seized upon by the City of New York as a justification to seize control of the SIRT ferries, Staten Island now being officially part of New York City, as the Borough of Richmond. Ferry service was assumed by the city's Department of Docks and Ferries in 1905. Five new ferries, one named for each of the new boroughs, were commissioned.
Current operations
Today the Staten Island Ferry annually carries over 19 million passengers on a 5.2 mile (8.4 km) run that takes approximately 25 minutes each way. Service is provided 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Each day approximately five boats transport almost 65,000 passengers during 104 boat trips. Over 33,000 trips are made annually.
During
rush hours, ferries usually run every 15 and 20 minute intervals, decreasing to
30 minutes during the mid-days and evenings. During very late or early morning
hours (the midnight hours) a ferry is provided once every 60 minutes. During the
weekends ferries run every 30 and 60 minutes. In November 2006, additional ferries
running every 30 minutes were provided during the weekend morning hours - the
most significant change in the ferry schedule for about 3 decades.
There are nine ferry boats in four classes currently in service:
* the John F.
Kennedy, the American Legion, and the Governor Herbert H. Lehman, known as the
“Kennedy class”, built 1965. Each boat can carry 3,500 passengers and
up to 40 vehicles, is 297 feet (91 m) long, 69 feet, 10 inches (21.3 m) wide,
with a draft of 13 feet, 6 inches (4.1 m), weight of 2,109 gross tons, service
speed of 16 knots (30 km/h), and engines of 6,500 horsepower (4.8 MW). The American
Legion has been retired after 40 years of service with the acquisition of the
Molinari class ferries. The Herbert H. Lehman retired on Saturday June 30, 2007
after the 10:30 pm run from Whitehall Street to St. George. The John F. Kennedy
will remain in service for another five to ten years as a back-up ferry and for
training purposes.
* the Andrew J. Barberi and the Samuel I. Newhouse, known
as the “Barberi class”, built 1981 and 1982 respectively. Each boat
carries 6,000 passengers and no cars. The boats are 310 feet (94 m) long, 69 feet,
10 inches (21.3 m) wide, with a draft of 13 feet, 6 inches (4.1 m), weight of
3,335 gross tons, service speed of 16 knots (30 km/h), and engines of 7,000 horsepower
(5.2 MW).
* the Alice Austen and the John A. Noble known as the “Austen
class”, (commonly referred to as "the Little Boats" or "Mini
Barberis") built 1986. Each boat carries 1,280 passengers, and no cars. The
boats are 207 feet (63 m) long, 40 feet (12.2 m) wide, with a draft of 8 feet,
6 inches (2.6 m), weight of 499 gross tons, service speed of 16 knots (30 km/h),
and engines of 3,200 horsepower (2.4 MW).
* the Guy V. Molinari, Sen. John
J. Marchi and Spirit of America, known as the “Molinari class”, carry
a maximum of 4,500 passengers and up to 40 vehicles. Built by the Manitowoc Marine
Group in Marinette, Wisconsin, they are designed to recall look and ambiance of
the classic New York ferryboats. The first of the three ferries, the Guy V. Molinari,
named after a former member of the United States House of Representatives for
Staten Island's district and later a Borough President of Staten Island, arrived
on schedule, September 27, 2004, and entered service in 2005. The third ferry,
Spirit of America, was to be put into service on October 25, 2005, to celebrate
the 100th anniversary of the municipal takeover of the Staten Island Ferry from
the B&O railroad. However, mechanical problems on the Molinari class ferries
and legal proceedings kept it sidelined at the Staten Island Ferry's St. George
maintenance facility until its maiden voyage on April 4, 2006. The Marine Group
also will build two similar-sized boats.
Out-of-service New York ferries have not always ended their careers as ferries. The Cornelius Kolff and the Private Joseph Merrell, temporarily housed prison inmates for 15 years at Rikers Island. Both vessels were scrapped in 2004.
Ferry incidents
There have been some incidents during the Staten Island Ferry's official lifetime:
* On
February 8, 1958, the Dongan Hills was hit by a Norwegian tanker Tynefield. 15
were injured.
* In 1978, the American Legion crashed into the concrete seawall
near the Statue of Liberty ferry port during a dense fog. 173 were injured.
* On May 16, 1981, the American Legion was rammed, again in fog, by a Norwegian
freighter.
* On July 7, 1986, a deranged man, Juan Gonzalez attacked passengers
with a machete. Two were killed and nine were injured.
* On April 12, 1995,
the Andrew J. Barberi rammed its slip at St. George due to a mechanical malfunction.
The doors on the saloon deck were crushed by the adjustable aprons, which a quick-thinking
bridgeman lowered to help stop the oncoming ferryboat. Several people were injured.
* On September 19, 1997, a car plunged off the John F. Kennedy as it was docking
in Staten Island, causing minor injuries to the driver and a deckhand who was
knocked overboard.
* On October 15, 2003, at 15:21, the Andrew J. Barberi
collided with a pier (see 2003 Staten Island Ferry crash) on the eastern end of
the St. George ferry terminal, killing eleven people, seriously injuring many
others, and tearing a huge slash through the lowest of the three passenger decks.
After repairs the Barberi quietly returned to service July 1, 2004.
The ferry in film and television
The ferry appears regularly in television shows about New York City such as Sex and the City and in the opening credits of both Late Night and Late Show with David Letterman. It has been featured prominently in several movies, including the opening credits of the 1988 movie Working Girl. In 2003, the ferry was the subject of the documentary Ferry Tales, which followed the conversations of women in the powder room during the morning commute. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. There was also an original one-act play from "Scenes from the Staten Island Ferry" produced by Sundog Theatre, an Island company that produces new works and provides arts education for schools.
* "The Dark Knight" (2008) featured replicas
of the Spirit of America ferries re-named the "Gotham City Ferry", the
city where the movie takes place. In the film, the Joker plans to blow up both
ferries carrying convicted felons on one ferry and ordinary citizens on another
unless one ferry voluntarily blows up the other boat before midnight.
* William
Bilowit's acclaimed 1974 6-minute short Aria da Capo depicts two teenage girls
chasing a young man from one end of the ferry to the other.
* World Trade
Center (2006)
* Wall Street (1987)
* Working Girl (1988) Staten Island
is prominently featured in Mike Nichols' film starring Melanie Griffith, Harrison
Ford, Alec Baldwin and Sigourney Weaver. Shooting took place in New Brighton and
aboard the Staten Island Ferry.
* The Secret of My Success (1987) In a key
scene, Brantley Foster (Michael J. Fox) takes his love interest, Christy Wills
(Helen Slater) on a romantic Staten Island Ferry ride. Staten Islanders will notice
that the ferry takes an unlikely route under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
* The Rutles (1978) A Beatles parody with a Staten Island Ferry scene.
* Zombi
2 (1979) opens with the Staten Island Ferry almost crashing into the boat that
brings the Zombie plague to New York.
* Who's That Knocking at My Door (1969)
A Martin Scorsese film starring Harvey Keitel with a scene shot in the St. George
ferry terminal.
* That Kind of Woman (1959) Sophia Loren and Jack Warden dance
on the Staten Island Ferry.
* I Love Lucy episode titled Staten Island Ferry
(season 5, 1956) - As the Ricardos and the Mertzes prepare for their ocean voyage
to Europe, Fred Mertz (William Frawley) struggles gamely but vainly to overcome
his chronic seasickness. Lucy (Lucille Ball) suggests that Fred take a trial run
on the Staten Island Ferry, and that he fortify himself with seasickness pills.
Unfortunately, it is Lucy who develops a bad case of seasickness — and worse
still, the pills make her extremely drowsy, just at the moment that she must apply
for her passport.
* Basketball Diaries(1995) Leonardo DiCaprio and his friends
take a ride on the Staten Island Ferry to get to an opposing school that they
are set to have a basketball game with.
* "Stairwell: Trapped In The
World Trade Center" (2002) 9/11 movie, probationary fireman and his best
friend ride the ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan as they make their way to
the World Trade Center.
* How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
* Joey Tribbiani
in Friends apparently had sex 'on the back of the Staten Island ferry'.
*
In "Semi-Detached", an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent,
a radio DJ (played by Fisher Stevens) commits suicide by jumping off the deck
of the ferry.
* The Law & Order episode "The Dead Wives Club"
also takes place on the ferry - during a crash similar, but not identical, to
the real one - when a murder takes place on the boat at the same time the crash
occurs.
* The ferry is featured promiently in the opening segment of A Walk
Around Staten Island with David Hartman and Barry Lewis. The documentary which
profiles the history and culture of Staten Island premiered on December 3, 2007
on PBS member station WNET, and can be seen in its entirety on the companion Web
site
* In the 2008 film "The Visitor," Walter, Zainab and Mouna
ride the ferry, pointing out the space where the Twin Towers once stood, as well
as the Statue of Liberty.
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