THE CITY
A developer wants the city to extend a ferry line by one stop to connect Astoria with the Upper East Side – at public expense.
The
Durst Organization recently opened the first tower in a planned
seven-building residential complex in Astoria, about a 10-minute walk
from the neighborhood’s ferry terminal.
The
ferry route currently runs from Wall Street to 34th Street, with
subsequent stops at Long Island City, Roosevelt Island and Astoria. The
Durst Organization is calling for the line to stretch back over the East
River, ending at the 90th Street ferry terminal in Yorkville.
“It’s
about 1,000 feet between the two ferry stops. The trip would take less
than five minutes,” said Jordan Barowitz, a Durst spokesperson.
Barowitz
stressed the proposal was preliminary. He added the developer would
rely on the New York
City Economic Development Corporation to pick up
the tab.
The Astoria-to-Upper East Side proposition comes as budget watchdogs scrutinize ferry subsidies amounting to $10.73 per ride. City Comptroller Scott Stringer has demanded the city move the ferry operation out of EDC’s purview following THE CITY’s reporting that taxpayers are on the hook for as much as $369 million in ferry purchases.
The
developer plans to float the proposal before a Manhattan community
board Wednesday before making a formal pitch to the Economic Development
Corporation, which oversees the city’s ferry service.
For
Durst, an impetus for the plan is to improve transit options for
residents within its planned 2,400-unit Astoria development, Halletts
Point, which opened its first tower to tenants earlier this year.
There should be no more debate about what this service was tailor made for.
5 comments:
Developers must get together over drinks and laugh about how easy it is to fleece the City.
Doesn’t seem like the city is even going to entertain it, so probably not even worth debating.
Municipal Docking, like parking, to encourage boaters to commute in the Aquapolis of New York
Sounds like LIC developers are asking for payback from the city for having screwed up amazon.
I would prefer that my taxes not go toward helping private developers. It's bad enough that Bid Bird hands out such generous amounts to supplement the low fares for existing ferries.
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