​On Monday, June 5th, BP Oddo joined with City Council Member Steven Matteo and Danny Cassella, President of ATU Local 726, to announce the next phase of improving the express bus system.
 
After conducting the Comprehensive Bus Study, which included studying routes and surveying riders, the MTA recently announced a plan to change routes to improve commute times. Currently, the average express bus makes 27 stops before ever leaving Staten Island. The study also found that 83 percent of riders use the busiest 50 percent of stops and that underused stops slow trips and complicate routes. The MTA’s plan includes rerouting some buses, eliminating underutilized stops and making more direct routes for more efficient commutes.
 
BP Oddo encouraged Staten Islanders to give their feedback, both online and at in-person forums, to ensure that their voices are heard.
 
“The current system is antiquated and inefficient,” noted BP Oddo. “We’re big believers in the overarching principles the MTA came out with. This is the best chance we’ve had in a generation or two to improve this service, and we want to make the most of it. We need Staten Islanders to participate in the process. Your input is critical.”
 
For more information, visit MTA.info/siexpressbus

​On Thursday, April 13th, BP Oddo and NY Waterway President and Founder Arthur E. Imperatore announced the framework of an agreement that will bring fast ferry service for commuters from a new dock to be constructed in St. George to the West 39th Street Ferry Terminal in Midtown.

The service would improve the trip for those commuting to Midtown, who currently either take express buses or take the Staten Island Ferry to various subway lines. A trip on the new ferry to West 39th Street would take approximately the same time as it currently takes the Staten Island Ferry to arrive at its destination at Whitehall in downtown Manhattan. In addition, those utilizing the new ferry would have access to New York Waterway’s free connecting bus service from their Midtown terminal to other Midtown destinations, with seven free routes covering a multitude of work destinations between 57th Street and Canal Street.  This would give commuters back some of their valuable time currently spent in commuting, either in traffic or on various subway lines waiting to get to their Midtown destinations. 
 
BP Oddo said, “Twenty-five minutes from St. George to Midtown. Twenty-five minutes. This is not the answer to all our traffic or commuting woes. But this has been a successful collaboration, entirely outside of citywide government, between us at Borough Hall and the private sector, to get Staten Islanders the possibility of a better commute. This mission continues on various fronts. Let me be clear, this does not negate the City’s obligations to our borough in its ‘5 Borough (since renamed ‘Citywide,’ but still inaccurate) Ferry Service at a subsidized fare. That fight continues. In the interim, we have been exhausting all options and possibilities to create a new fast ferry route to give Staten Islanders more choices.    
 
Oddo continued, “I have been speaking with Mr. Imperatore for more than four years, learning more about fast ferry service and trying to figure out how we can bring it to Staten Island. He has an incredible breadth of knowledge about this industry and how to structure routes that work. Here, we finally have a confluence of events that will make this workable. We have a new dock being constructed, new development poised to open, plenty of parking at the Empire Outlets and NY Wheel sites, a ferry operator ready, willing, and eager to help Staten Islanders, and my constituents who are desperate for new transportation options. While I continue to work with the City on bringing additional ferry options to Staten Island, particularly to the South Shore, which has challenges that have to be overcome, the time was right to work with NY Waterway on this project. The reality is, once the construction of the new dock is completed, in around a year, we will be ready to sail. I have continuously said that ferry service will beget more ferry service once we can demonstrate how successful it will be.”
 
“It is an honor to work with Borough President James Oddo and to have this opportunity to improve the quality of life for Staten Islanders with safe, reliable, environmentally-friendly commuter ferry service,” Mr. Imperatore said.  “NY Waterway has a +99 percent on-time performance record, the most reliable mass transit system in the Metropolitan Area.  Staten Islanders will know with certainty when they will get to work – and more importantly, when they will get home.”
 
“This is big win for Staten Island and it means an even brighter future for the St. George community. Fast ferry service will have a transformative impact across Staten Island by shortening commutes for our residents and bringing more visitors to our incredible North Shore,” said Joseph Ferrara, principal of BFC Partners, developer of Empire Outlets. “We applaud Borough President Oddo for once again demonstrating leadership that improves quality of life for the borough while also growing our local economy. We are also grateful to Arthur Imperatore of NY Waterway for his vision, foresight and commitment to serving Staten Islanders.”
 
“Providing quick, affordable access to midtown is critical to the North Shore reaching its full potential as a neighborhood and a destination,” said New York Wheel CEO Rich Marin.  “We applaud the Borough President and New York Waterway for making such a significant investment in the future of Staten Island for locals and visitors alike.”
 
“This is a huge economic development boost for St. George as it will only increase the number of employees, visitors and residents that come to this area,” said Lester Petracca, President of Triangle Equities. “The new ferry service provides current and future developments and businesses, including Lighthouse Point, a major benefit and only solidifies St. George as a viable option to live, work and visit.” 
 
“NYCEDC is thrilled to celebrate the continued growth of Downtown Staten Island,” said NYCEDC President James Patchett. “The New York Wheel, Empire Outlets, Lighthouse Point and New Stapleton Waterfront together will bring 2,000 jobs and more than $1.6 billion in investment to Staten Island’s North Shore. Additional ferry service will bring even more energy to the area, and it should surprise absolutely no one that Borough President James Oddo is the person who has brought everyone closer to making it a reality.”
 
The new service will run throughout the day to service commuters. The price has not yet been determined, but Mr. Imperatore promised it would be fair and attractive to commuters given the faster and more certain commute for Staten Islanders, many of whom now take more than two hours to get to Midtown.

​On Wednesday, April 12th, BP Oddo joined Mayor de Blasio at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal in St. George to announce that lower level boarding will be restored. The change comes after BP Oddo wrote to DOT asking for the restoration. He also spoke to the Mayor directly about the issue earlier this year. Adding lower level boarding will improve passenger flow and alleviate some of the challenges commuters face.
 
“This is a small, but important victory for Staten Island ferry riders,” said BP Oddo. “The ferry is not an amenity, it’s a necessity. Any way we can improve that service is key, especially with the four million tourists that will be riding the ferry next year. I explained the everyday challenges of Staten Islanders to the Mayor, and he was receptive to it. When it comes to the Ferry, the Mayor is a strong ally.”
 
“Staten Island has always had one of the longest commutes in the city,” noted Mayor de Blasio. “More and more there is a crowding issue getting onto the Ferry. It’s our job to make it better.”
 
Beginning in September, passengers will start boarding on the lower levels at both terminals. Additional security will be added at the lower level entrances.

Looking to right an oversight the city made when it announced its Five Borough Ferry Plan and failed to include Staten Island, Borough President James S. Oddo wrote to Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen to ask for St. George to be considered as an additional stop on the proposed ferry route that will link Manhattan to the Brooklyn neighborhoods of DUMBO, Red Hook and Bay Ridge.
 
In his letter, dated December 19, 2016, BP Oddo wrote:
“The $1 billion+ investment in the New York Wheel, Empire Outlets and Lighthouse Point will undoubtedly attract millions of visitors and will provide New Yorkers with thousands of jobs, many of whom will seek alternative methods of transportation. This investment, along with the City’s commitment to extend ferry service, offers a unique opportunity to reconnect the boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island in a manner far more efficient, and far less expensive, than driving over the Verrazano Bridge.
 
“I have been told that the developers of the St. George projects are currently about to finalize an agreement with NYCEDC to install a ferry dock, and that the developers have agreed to assume responsibility for the capital expenditure and the maintenance of the facility.
 
“As things stand now, there will be significant demand from Brooklyn and Queens residents to visit the St. George attractions, yet there are limited public transportation options from these boroughs to the North Shore. Many of these visitors will choose to drive, pay the $15 toll, and add additional pressure to an already overtaxed Staten Island road system. We must also consider that there will be a heavy weekend component, thereby insuring ridership during what would otherwise be a slack time.”
 
This is the third Ferry proposal that the Borough President has made to the City, all of which would serve different purposes. Connecting St. George to Brooklyn would provide Staten Islanders another form of transportation to jobs in Brooklyn, as well as Brooklyn residents who work on Staten Island. It would also help bring off-Island residents to the upcoming North Shore attractions. The Borough President’s South Shore Fast Ferry proposal would provide South Shore residents with a quicker and more reliable form of transportation to work. The proposal, currently being studied, to add a Staten Island Ferry stop in Midtown or another Manhattan destination would primarily serve commuters from all areas of Staten Island who work far from South Ferry.  
 
“The fact is connecting Staten Island to Brooklyn via Ferry is not a novel concept,” said Borough President Oddo. “In fact, for more than 50 years, we were connected to Bay Ridge by boat. “We were inexplicably left out of Phase 1 of the Five-Borough Ferry Plan, and now is time correct that oversight. Adding Staten Island to the Brooklyn to Manhattan route would help in so many different ways that it really is a no-brainer. I look forward to discussing this proposal, along with some of my other ideas, with Deputy Mayor Glen.”
 
The five-borough ferry initiative, proposed by the Mayor, is scheduled to begin this year.