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UPDATE: NYC Ferry Staten Island stop reopens after Sunday morning malfunction

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An NYC Ferry departs from St. George in Staten Island on Aug. 23, 2021.
File Photo by Kevin Duggan

The city’s ticketed NYC Ferry service to Staten Island was cut short for several hours Sunday morning after its months-old pier in St. George closed due to a mechanical issue.

The pier has since reopened as of 10:30 a.m., according to a spokesman for the Economic Development Corporation, which oversees the ferry system. 

Service from the Rock to Manhattan first halted for more than 3.5 hours, starting just before 7 a.m., according a notice on social media. 

“Due to a mechanical issue, service to the St. George ferry landing is suspended until further notice,” the NYC Ferry Twitter account posted at 6:49 a.m. on Jan. 16. “At this time all ferry services on the St. George route will bypass the St. George landing.”

The service ran a reduced route along the Hudson River between Battery Park City and Pier 79 at W. 39th Street.

The dock on Staten Island’s North Shore opened less than five months ago in August, offering waterborne commutes from the borough to Lower Manhattan in 18 minutes for $2.75.

The city’s quasi-public EDC oversees the heavily-subsidized maritime transit option, a pet project of former Mayor Bill de Blasio, which is operated by private company City Experiences (formerly known as Hornblower).

The new boats depart just a two minute walk away from the iconic — and free — Staten Island Ferry, which is run separately by the Department of Transportation. 

The additional dock cost the city $44 million to build and $13 million per year to operate, according to 2018 estimates by EDC. 

EDC reps and Staten Island pols praised the expansion at the time of the launch, arguing it shaves off about 20 minutes for a commute up the Hudson River to Midtown West, compared to someone taking the other ferry and transferring to the subway. 

An EDC spokesman did not immediately provide more details about the malfunction of the brand-new facility.

The Staten Island stop has been closed five times in almost as many months since it opened, including three times due to a mechanical issue, once for high winds, and another time in late November without a reason given in the notice, according to an amNewYork Metro review of the ferry’s Twitter posts.

The system has had six closures on two other stops this month alone due to mechanical issues, including four times in Astoria, Queens, and twice on Roosevelt Island.

The landing in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, broke in May of last year due to aging piles and will be out of action until at least this June. 

Unlike other stops, the jetty is privately-owned by multinational developer Lendlease, which blamed the slow repair schedule on a state moratorium on in-water construction until May. 

EDC also opened a new stop in Throggs Neck, the Bronx, just before de Blasio left office on Dec. 29, and the nonprofit corporation is scheduled to build another pier in Coney Island, Brooklyn, this summer.