Restored Hoboken Ferry Terminal Opens
HOBOKEN, NJ (WCBS 880) - Ferry service at the Hoboken terminal has been running out of a temporary slip for more than 20 years after the terminal grew old and rusty. But on Wednesday, service returned there for the first time since 1967.
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It's all part of a renovation of the Erie Lackawanna Ferry Terminal. It operated for 60 years until ridership between New Jersey and New York City dwindled.
Ferry service resumed in 1989 and since then, passengers have been using a barge covered by a tent -- but no more.
"Today we're opening a new terminal in the historic Erie Lakawanna ferry terminal, a terminal that was built in 1907," said Billybey Ferry CEO Paul Goodman on Wednesday.
"Cornelius Vanderbilt had the first scheduled ferry service in New York harbor before he created the New York Central Railroad. So, it's almost like 'Back to the Future,'" said New Jersey transportation commissioner Jim Simpson.
The $120 million upgrade includes five new slips for the ferry boats to New York City as well as original Tiffany glass in the ceiling of the waiting room.
"It was built a hundred years ago, but this restoration is for the next hundred years," Goodman told WCBS 880 reporter Levon Putney.
"The riders' experience will be a lot more favorable. They'll be a lot more apt to ride the ferries," said Simpson.
He says they're seeing more ferry riders after toll hikes on Hudson River crossings.
As many as 8,000 riders use the NY Waterway each day out of Hoboken. For schedule information, visit the NY Waterway website.
Would you ever switch to the ferry for getting across the river? Do you already use it? Share your story in the comments section below!
