De Blasio Announces Hiring For Soon-To-Launch Citywide Ferry Service
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A new way for New Yorkers to get around will also create hundreds of jobs.
On Wednesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced hiring for some of the 200 new jobs that will be created by the Citywide Ferry Service.
The service is currently in need of captains and deckhands.
The mayor also touted the convenience that the service will bring to New Yorkers. For the price of a subway ride, the expanded service is expected to log 4.6-million trips each year, 1010 WINS' Al Jones reported.
Mayor at site for citywide ferry home port at Navy Yard...routes to Rockaways, So Bklyn and Astoria. #1010WINS pic.twitter.com/GBwfhusaba
— Al Jones (@aljoneswins) March 8, 2017
"Over half-a-million people will live within half-a-mile of one of those ferry stops, half-a-mile, walking distance," de Blasio said.
The mayor said the expanded service launches this summer bringing Astoria, south Brooklyn, and the Rockaways online -- 21 stops in all. Next year, New Yorkers will be able to take a ferry to and from the Soundview section of the Bronx and the Lower East Side.
"It's quintessential to opening up places where people haven't had a fair shake. If you talk to people in the Rockaways, south Brooklyn, Soundview in the Bronx, they'll tell you they don't feel the city's transportation system was built for them," the mayor said.
As CBS2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer reported, the jobs that the ferry will create come as an added benefit for the mayor who is running for re-election.
"The principal positions are open and available," Cameron Clark, Vice President and General Manager for Hornblower New York said, "Great health benefits all the way down to pet insurance as well."
Officials said the new ferry service will cover over 60 miles of waterways and could be faster than subways and buses.
The 150 passenger ferries have WiFi and accept MetroCards. A trip from the Rockaways to Wall Street will take about an hour, the ride from Astoria to 34th Street will take 22 minutes, and the trip between Soundview and Wall Street will take less than 45.
Officials said if the service proves popular and successful it could be extended to Coney Island, Staten Island, and other ports of call.
The ferries will sell alcoholic beverages along with food and soft drinks.