One of the locations being eyed for a new ferry station in Long Island City has spurred complaints from a local lawmaker, who says building a dock on Center Boulevard would bring unwanted crowds to Gantry Plaza State Park.
Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan penned a letter to the Economic Development Corporation last week, saying a ferry station at the park's northern end "is not the best use of" the public green space.
"The increased traffic through the park may detract from the enjoyment of park visitors and cause undue wear and tear on the park facilities," Nolan said in the Oct. 8 letter.
"How will lines of people be handled at this location? The park should not be a queuing location for the ferry," she continued.
13 comments:
Great idea, not in my back yard...
$omeone forgot to make campaign donations$.
Unwanted crowds??? LOL! What century does he thinks this is? No one takes the ferry after the first hooplah week of operation-- it's a myth. Too pricey and they go from nowhere to nowhere. I wouldn't sweat it. You'll get a new dock and bulkhead out of it for fishing and kids on bikes.
Has Catherine Nolan ever seen lines for this ferry? Does she have this confused with the Staten Island ferry?
Does she have a better idea?
I mean, I get it: it's a park, not the greatest spot for lines. but the same could be said for the liberty & ellis island ferries - and the existing ferry stop just to the south.
Speaking of, why don't they just expand that stop? Or create a new one where the old abandoned BEDT flat bridge is (LIC's other gantry)? That area is set to become a park too but at least there's the tiny chance they could build it better there before construction begins in full swing.
Anonymous said...
$omeone forgot to make campaign donations$. ... 100% agree.
And as the service is constantly halted for weather/safety concerns, people will not be able to consistently rely on it for getting to work, it will die a natural death...
And you taxpayers will have payed for another government boondoggle!
Seems like jurisdiction for how to handle the park's property - including building a dock or not for a city ferry - is up to the state, not the city.
What about the unwanted crowds in the rest of LIC after all of these residential/hotels/homeless shelters are built?
And you taxpayers will have payed for another government boondoggle!
I am sick and tired of all this attention on the waterfront - stuck in traffic today on Steinway Street - yet Jimmy and Costa are excited about a traffic study on Vernon?
Because developers want to put 1000s were no one lives so its using our community and ignoring our needs - just like that blackout nearly a decade ago. The lights were on for an all but empty waterfront while Astoria made do with 1950s wiriing.
The waterfront should be a park like in Chicago - don't cut us off from our waterfront!
The city built many of these new "ferry" docks in the past 5 years-- they are sleek and nice. Look very impressive. Some have historic signage and pavilions and benches, etc. Check out the east side of Manhattan. Few have any actual service. Boats are expensive and unreliable. They are likely to end up all unused for decades.
Ferry service was replaced by rail between 1840-1890.
They want to experiment with the developer money fine - but the bitch is that, to honor campaign donations, they are taking this out of public transportation money that could benefit 99% of the public. Instead a large chunk of money will benefit the tiny minority that lives in the towers.
Once the towers are filled and the construction loans paid off. they will cut the service and riffraff will move in - as it is a hike from any mass transit. After the lobbies will likely be flooded by a hurricane dumping several feet of sewage and toxic waste in their lobbies a few times they will not be able to give those apartments away.
Meanwhile folks in Far Rockaway are begging the mayor to get their ferry back.
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