YES, THE ROCKAWAYS NEED FERRY SERVICE ... and we need the ferries to run seven days a week to bring people easily from Manhattan and Brooklyn, and everywhere else, to and from the Rockaways! Ferry service is the fastest and most relaxing way for commuters to get to and from Manhattan and Brooklyn during the week. Weekends are recreation time for many, and what better way to get to and from the Rockaways via public transportation than by ferry? It should also be noted that visitors can bring their bicycles and surf boards on the ferry which is difficult or impossible to bring on other modes of public transportation. Yesterdays (Sunday, June 29) opening reception of the new art festival, Rockaway! at Fort Tilden (collaborated by MoMA, RAA, the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, and the National Park Service) is yet another example of why the Rockaways would benefit from ferry service. The exhibits, activities, and evening concert drew thousands of people to our Peninsula from all parts of NYC and beyond. A good number of people who attended the art festival traveled to and from Manhattan via the weekend ferry (which operates during the summer). The summer arts festival - which will last through Labor Day weekend, is a tremendous boon to Rockaways recovery process after Sandy, because it is attracting people to our corner of the world -- and they will soon discover how much the Rockaways have to offer. Theyll tell their friends, and before long, lots of people will be flocking to our beaches, parks, restaurants, and local stores. Ferry service is the lifeblood to the financial survival and growth of a community that is surrounded by water - the Atlantic Ocean on one side and Jamaica Bay on the other. Other modes of public transportation to and from the Rockaway Peninsula are cumbersome and not always reliable. However, those who ride on the SeaStreak LLC Rockaway/Brooklyn Army Terminal Ferry during the week and the American Princess on the weekends, know that they can rely on ferry service for a quick, smooth ride to and from Manhattan and Brooklyn. They dont have to worry about signal problems, traffic jams, and delays as they would on the subways and buses. The same applies to Rockaway residents traveling to Manhattan and Brooklyn for a day of recreation. Revenue would flow and it would be a win-win situation for everyone. This past week, Mayor de Blasio made the decision not to include our weekday ferry service into the annual fiscal budget for 2014-5. This means that our public transportation lifeline - the ferry - could be shut down by the city in October 2014. What more do we have to do to prove that ferry service is vital for the Rockaways, as well as Brooklyn? We cannot allow allow our weekday ferry service to end. The mayors decision is unacceptable. Either we have to persuade our mayor to change his mind from no to yes on giving permanent ferry service to the Rockaways or we have to find other financial means to support and enable our ferry service to remain afloat. Either way, we have to see to it that we will have the ferry in the first week in November. What can we do to help save the ferry? We need to take action NOW. In the event that we plan future rallies in support of the ferry, we need HUGE numbers of people to show up and voice their reasons as to why the ferry must remain with us. We need to continue our high ridership numbers and boost the numbers even higher by getting more people to ride on the ferry. We have to continually make phone calls and flood the emails of our mayor and other city officials to get our ferry back on track!
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 11:23:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015