The NYC Ferry stop in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn, finally reopened for service on Thursday, July 29, after an almost four-month renovation.
The quasi-public Economic Development Corporation, which manages the city’s ferry service, closed the Kent Avenue landing in April and initially forecast the $6.7 million makeover would cut service for eight-10 weeks, but it took about twice as long to finish the job.
That was due to EDC having to fix a loading ramp and make sure the wheelchair-accessible slope was appropriate for all passengers, according to spokesman Chris Singleton.
The scheme replaced the jetty, one of the oldest in the NYC Ferry system, with a barge capable of docking two ferries at a time instead of just one, while moving the ticket vending machine to a new location on the floating berth.
The city business booster remade the entrance at South 10th Street to make it more wheelchair-accessible, officials previously told locals during a community board presentation.
In April, EDC also closed the Dumbo landing just south of the Brooklyn Bridge for a similar $4.7 million revamp, but reopened that pier largely on schedule on June 19.
The Greenpoint stop further north along Brooklyn’s East River coast, which unlike its peers is privately owned, was taken out of service in May after a NYC Ferry skipper discovered damaged support piles under the jetty.
That left the borough with three out of nine stops closed to nautical commuters for weeks on the heavily subsidized transit system.
The city pays more than $9 for every $2.75 ferry ticket to keep the maritime public transportation fare on a par with the cost of swiping in at the subways and buses, which are operated by the state’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The owner of the north Brooklyn stop, multinational developer Lendlease, fully removed the landing at the time, and spokeswoman Stefanie Murphy said the stop will still be closed for repairs for “several months” at least.
“We still anticipate that the landing will be closed for, at a minimum, several months,” Murphy said. “We will continue to share updates transparently and we appreciate the public’s patience as we rebuild the landing responsibly.”
