 Borough President Vito Fossella is officially asking the city to explore the use of electric ferries, currently used throughout Europe, at varying locations across Staten Island, which could potentially cut a commute down to as little as 30 minutes.
“The Staten Island commuter is beleaguered daily, especially from the South Shore to Midtown to Downtown -- it’s a very tough thing for the people of Staten Island to endure day in and day out," said Borough President Fossella at a press conference on the Ocean Breeze fishing pier. Borough President Fossella praised the introduction of fast-ferry service in St. George, but said adding fast-ferry service to other parts of Staten Island is not only limited by parking, but also by the existence of “no-wake zones” in parts of the Arthur Kill and the Kill van Kull. “There’s new technology that is coming out, especially in Europe, where there are hydrofoils that can operate without generating a wake,” said Borough President Fossella. “It means it can get from Point A to Point B in a faster duration.” The hydrofoils use underwater fins to lift the hull above the water, allowing faster and smoother navigation. A Swedish company, called Candela, simulated the estimated run time of an electric ferry from different locations on Staten Island to different locations in the city. Here's a snapshot: A simulation of a trip on an electric ferry from Ocean Breeze to the Whitehall Ferry Terminal took 20 minutes, a trip to West 39th Street took 28 minutes and a trip to East 34th Street took 29 minutes. Similar simulations from Fresh Kills and Great Kills were also conducted with travel times peaking at 46 minutes from Fresh Kills to East 34th Street. “So, it seems like there are opportunities to explore,” said Borough President Fossella. “This is real, the service is up and operating in certain parts of the world already. Today, we are officially asking the New York City Economic Development Corporation, which would spearhead this effort, to begin a formal process to evaluate and to open a dialogue with some of these companies that provide these types of services.” Borough President Fossella said it could be "gamechanger" if a commuter could travel from Great Kills to 34th Street in under an hour, adding the city should evaluate the pros and cons of each location and the feasibility of building piers to accomodate electric ferries. “The people of Staten Island deserve at least for the city to explore it," he said. "I think they’re open to it and they deserve a break -- the commuters do -- and this would really be a gamechanger for their lives, give them another hour or two of their life back each day and that’s something that we need to continue to push for.” Comments are closed.
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