The NYC Economic Development Corporation is casting a line into the waters off Coney Island, exploring the viability of bringing a ferry service to a neighborhood with a deep history in amusement and a desire for more accessible transit. The EDC has placed a buoy near Steeplechase Pier to collect data on wind and wave patterns, assessing whether larger vessels can safely navigate the area.
"As NYCEDC continues to explore expanded ferry service across New York Harbor, we are placing a buoy off Steeplechase Pier on Coney Island to collect data about nearby wind and wave conditions and to assess the feasibility of providing service to Coney Island Beach," reported the Brooklyn Reporter. This move is part of a near-long-standing effort to connect the coastal community to other parts of New York more directly and efficiently.
Councilmember Justin Brannan, a strong proponent of the Coney Island Ferry, celebrated the progress on social media. "We are taking another big step towards making the Coney Island Ferry a reality," he wrote, as per Brooklyn Reporter. Recent endeavors, including a dismantled ferry landing at Kaiser Park after the city spent more than $13 million taxpayer money on a project deemed unsuitable, have instilled a mix of hope and skepticism within the community.
Coney Island residents and advocates see the ferry as a means to slash commute times and boost economic activity. "A ferry from Coney Island to Lower Manhattan would take about 25 minutes. Same trip by train would take over an hour," Craig Hammerman, co-president of Coney Islanders for an Oceanside Ferry, emphasized in a statement obtained by CBS News New York. Hammerman, who has collected memorabilia symbolizing the ferry effort, remains a steadfast believer in the project's potential benefits.
However, the checkered history of attempted ferry service implementation has left some Coney Islanders wary. Local father Kouichi Shirayanagi expressed his concerns to CBS News New York, stating, "What should be a positive project which could benefit everybody in the community, people are more questioning of it and thinking of it as a contractor boondoggle."
