OP-ED: Come aboard for federal ferry funding

Here are some ways to pay for both New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Staten Island Ferry and NYC Economic Development Corporation Private Ferries operations. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) on May 18 for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Passenger Ferry Grant Program and Ferry Service for Rural Communities Program. This is an opportunity for transit agencies to apply for $220 million in national competitive grant.

This program supports capital projects to buy, replace or modernize passenger ferries, terminals and related equipment under the Passenger Ferry Grant Program. There is $50.1 million available, of which $5 million is set aside for low - or zero-emission ferries and related facilities/equipment.

There is also an opportunity to apply for $170 million in competitive grant funding available under the Rural Ferry Grants Program. This program provides funding for capital, operating and planning expenses for ferry service to rural areas. Deadline to submit grant applications is July 17.

FTA recipients such as NYC DOT can also choose to spend whatever they receive under their share of formula federal FY 2023 formula for ferry projects. The Federal Highway Administration has funding under several programs, including Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ), Surface Transportation Program (STP) and others, which can be flexed or transferred to FTA and can also finance capital ferry projects.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams should direct NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez to apply for these funds. NYC Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Andrew Kimball should do the same on behalf of the Private Ferry Operators Program. This is another great example of Washington providing financial assistance to promote public transportation.

NYC DOT is the nation's largest ferry operator, with 66,000 pre COVID-19 daily riders. The agency is a direct recipient of FTA funding on behalf of the Staten Island Ferry System. There are other passenger ferry systems in Boston, New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle and others around the nation. Since passenger of the 1964 Urban Mass Transportation Act, all have benefited from capital, operating and planning grants from Washington.

Thousands of pre COVID-19 riders daily used ferries sponsored by the NYC Economic Development Corporation Private Ferry operators program. They connect various waterfront neighborhoods around NYC. This includes Soundview and Throggs Neck/Ferry Point in the Bronx, Astoria, Hunters Point South, Long Island City, Roosevelt Island, the Rockaways in Queens, East 90th St., East 34th St., Stuyvesant Cove, Pier 11 Wall Street, Governors Island in Manhattan, along with Greenpoint, North Williamsburg, South Williamsburg, Down Under Manhattan/Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Atlantic Avenue, Red Hook, Sunset Park (Brooklyn Army Terminal) and Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, St. George, Staten Island Ferry Terminal to Pier 79 West 39th Street Midtown Manhattan with an intermediate stop in Battery City Park adjacent to the World Financial & World Trade Center. Potential future new routes include service to Coney Island and Canarsie, Brooklyn, Staten Island South Shore to Manhattan and Staten Island to Brooklyn and downtown Manhattan to Queens LaGuardia Airport.

Former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio failed to convince Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman Janno Lieber and the MTA Board to support the private ferry program fare structure to also include cross honoring a free transfer to a bus or subway using the old MTA Metro or new One New York (OMNY) Fare Card. Perhaps current NYC Mayor Eric Adams will succeed.

NYC can also apply for capital grants from the New York State Department of Transportation and other formula and competitive discretionary FTA grants to assist in funding. Albany also provides State Transportation Operating Assistance (STOA). Ridership on any transit service generates yearly federal transportation capital assistance via the annual FTA Section 15 annual reporting process.

Numerous past private ferry operators have come and gone. They could not financially survive without government subsidy. MTA bus, subway, Staten Island Railway and commuter rail along with NYC DOT Staten Island Ferry is subsidized by a combination of city, state and federal assistance for both capital and operating costs. All new ferry services will require similar subsidies to survive.

New ferry services can be implemented more quickly than construction of new subway, commuter rail or highways. These can take years or even decades until completion of environmental reviews, planning, design, engineering, real estate acquisition, permits, procurements and construction before reaching beneficial use. Completing all of the above, along with finding funding for ferry boats, docks and parking with costs in the millions is easier than finding the billions of dollars for construction of new or extended subway, commuter rail or highways. Utilization of ferry boats equipped with fuel efficient engines can make a positive contribution to air quality.