The city yesterday revealed the three types of seats it is considering for new Staten Island ferries at the Whitehall Terminal.
Commuters were asked to try out the different models on the terminal’s second floor, and take a survey from the city’s Department of Transportation on the different models.
One style is a long bench, while the other two are in pairs of clearly delineated seats.
The chair of the Staten Island Riders Committee said the group was pleased riders could finally be involved in picking out the design, but that the colors — which range from green and brown to orange — were garish.
“The past ferries came out of the darkness of the night,” said Nicholas Zvegintzov, 75, who has lived on Staten Island’s North Shore for 35 years. “The seats have been a bitter source of complaints since the ’80s.”
The three new boats will carry 4,500 passengers each, and won’t hit the water until 2019. The Elliott Bay Design Group, based in Seattle, said it will design the $309 million boats. The city hopes to finish the design in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to the DOT’s website.
The oldest DOT ferryboat dates back to 1965 — the John F. Kennedy, which can carry up to 3,055 people.
There are 109 ferry journeys between Staten Island and Manhattan on weekdays, and 22 million people use the service every year.
