Southwest Brooklyn Ferry Committee Launched

With the MTA's year-long closure on August 2 of the Montague Tunnel leaving 65,000 R train riders with no direct route to lower Manhattan, representatives of local elected officials, residents of Bay Ridge and Sunset Park, and the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance met at CB 10 this week to brainstorm about how to bring ferry service back to southern Brooklyn.

A ferry ran from Brooklyn Army Terminal at 58th Street in Sunset Park for a while after 9/11 and for a few days in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  But despite local interest, there is no commitment by the city Department of Transportation or the MTA to restoring ferry service.

The committee, which has mounted a Facebook page and launched a petition drive, will host another meeting at 7 PM on Tuesday, July 30 at CB 10's office at 8119 Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge.

The mayoral candidates will be invited in hopes of making ferry service to Southern Brooklyn a campaign issue. Local advocacy groups -- and the neighborhood -- are also invited.