Brooklynites will soon be able to board the ferry to Governors Island year-round, as the urban playground will be added to the southern Brooklyn ferry route.
“We’re proud to deliver on the promise of daily, year-round ferry service to Governors Island as part of our continuing expansion of NYC Ferry’s five-borough network, which has become an integral part of New York’s transportation system and the City’s recovery,” said city Economic Development Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Rachel Loeb. “We join Mayor Adams in congratulating the Trust for Governors Island and all of our partners who have worked so hard to turn this vision into reality.”
The city Economic Development Corporation and Trust for Governors Island announced the new opening in a joint statement, promising to deliver service to Governors Island from Brooklyn by Jan. 24 — which will be a stop between Sunset Park’s Brooklyn Army Terminal and Red Hook — to accommodate the recreational island’s winter hours from 7 am to 6 pm.
The southern Brooklyn route will service Governors Island weekdays and on non-summer weekends in conjunction with daily ferries from Lower Manhattan. During peak ridership on summer weekends, direct ferry rides to Governors Island will open up from Brooklyn Bridge Park-Pier 6 and Red Hook in addition to continued service from Wall Street/ Pier 11.
When the new service launches, the Southern Brooklyn line will make stops at Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, Governors Island, Red Hook, Atlantic Ave/Brooklyn Bridge Park, Wall Street/Pier 11, Dumbo and Corlears Hook.
Once the highly-controversial Coney Island Ferry route launches, slated for late-2022 after announcing a yearlong delay, the southern Brooklyn route will terminate at Governors Island and no longer serve Sunset Park and Bay Ridge — which will both be moved to two separate lines, Bay Ridge will switch to the Coney Island route and Sunset Park will be on the Rockaway line.
The incoming Coney Island route will only make stops at Coney Island, Bay Ridge and Wall Street Pier 11 and the updated Rockaway route would go from Rockaway to Sunset Park to Wall Street — taking away crucial Brooklyn connections between Bay Ridge, Sunset Park and Red Hook. The Southern Brooklyn line would no longer travel to southern Brooklyn, with the last Brooklyn stop in northerly Red Hook.
Governors Island has been increasingly accessible throughout the course of the pandemic as the city and Trust for Governors Island announced in September that the island would be opened to the public year round for the first time in history, and just earlier this week announced that dogs will be allowed on Saturdays from 7 am to 3 pm at the new dog park behind Liggett Terrace starting Jan. 22.
“This past year, we made historic progress in announcing that New Yorkers will now be able to enjoy all that Governors Island has to offer, 365 days per year, and we’re thrilled that we’ll now have expanded connections to Brooklyn and Manhattan through NYC Ferry,” said Clare Newman, president and chief executive officer of the Trust for Governors Island.
