We’re gonna need a bigger boat.
An afternoon run of Mayor DeBlasio’s NYC Ferry Rockaway-Sunset Park-Manhattan route that shoved off with a full boat on May 1 thanks to a swell of evening commuters the left some Brooklynites stranded on foreign shores.
“They had to turn some of us away because there were just too many people,” said Steven Anders, who was hoping to shorten his commute back to Sunset Park. “It’s frustrating because of all the hype around the ferry and then you can’t even get on.”
Excited straphangers-turned-sailors packed the port in hopes of snagging a ferry back to Sunset Park and onward to Queens, but were turned away when the 5:30 pm boat filled to its capacity of 150 riders — less than one subway car, which holds roughly 200.
So dozens of commuters had to either wait another hour for the next run or hop on a train. Anders opted to take the sluggish R train back to Sunset Park — turning what could have been a scenic 16 minute boat ride back into a 40 minute schelp.
Typically, the Rockaway route ferries commuters in just under an hour from Queens to Sunset Park and finally to Manhattan.
More than 1,800 voyagers packed the line on the inaugural day, according to the ferry operator. And straphangers were bound to get left behind, said Anders.
“Everyone wanted to try it and it was rush hour. But I hope it won’t get overloaded again,” said Anders. “It was definitely a disappointment.”
In other parts of Brooklyn, mechanical snafus stranded passengers in Williamsburg. Some boats also didn’t have promised snacks such as coffee and beer. Instead, workers passed out Dunkin Donuts munchkins and coffee.