James Messerschmidt for NY Post
City officials are taking a deep dive to assess the possibility of bringing Manhattan ferry service to a historic Coney Island pier.
The new stop could be Steeplechase Pier, on the Atlantic Ocean at Coney Island’s more tourist-friendly southern end.
A century ago, the landmarked Steeplechase Pier welcomed steam-powered paddle boats. It’s now a popular spot for fishing and crabbing.
A ferry would cut commuting time to Lower Manhattan by 30 minutes, and help relieve traffic and transit issues that have long plagued the neighborhood, according to officials.
Steeplechase Pier sits next to Maimonides Park, home of the Brooklyn Cyclones, and is within walking distance of billionaire developer John Catsimatidis’ new Ocean Drive condo complex. Catsimatidis, who is also pushing to bring casinos to Coney Island, has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying the city for a neighborhood ferry landing.
The city had long planned a ferry stop on the north side of the filthy Coney Island Creek, but the proposal is all but dead in the water after a significant sand-shift was discovered during construction that requires significant dredging work to make it navigable, officials said.
The city’s Economic Development Corp., which oversees NYC Ferry, claims it hasn’t given up on putting a stop along the creek, but after a push from community advocates, has begun working with engineers to see if the project could be moved to Steeplechase Pier, which has its own issue: the ocean’s choppy waters. The city is studying both plans and is expected to have results next month.
Paul Martinka for NY Post
In January 2019, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio announced an expansion of NYC Ferry service that included the Coney Island Creek stop. The route was supposed to launch last year, but the project was held up after Assemblywoman Mathylde Frontus (D-Brooklyn) and other critics raised concerns about environmental issues with the creek site.
As reported by New York Post , By Rich Calder , September 3, 2022 4:49pm