Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 10 a.m. (New York City time), Committee Room - City Hall
Committee: Committee on Economic Development
The Committees on Economic Development and Transportation and Infrastructure held a joint oversight hearing on transit on New York City's waterways, covering NYC Ferry operations and finances, the East 23rd Street seaplane base, party boats, and several bills to expand ferry service (Intros 704, 246, 1022, and 1032). EDC officials reported record ferry ridership, a per-rider subsidy of $8.79, a fare increase from $4.50 to $5 effective the day before, and testified that the agency does not support the council's ferry expansion bills, favoring instead a systemwide vision study expected to wrap up in summer 2027. Council members pressed EDC and DOT on seaplane safety and noise enforcement, wheelchair accessibility, and site-specific cost estimates. Public testimony included strong support for City Island and Canarsie ferry proposals, opposition from some City Island civic voices who favor an Orchard Beach landing instead, disability advocates demanding four-point wheelchair securement, and Waterside Plaza residents describing seaplane violations and noise.
0:03 Worried? Oh, are
0:03 . Hello. Good morning. Welcome
0:13 to today's New York City
0:14 economic development join
0:19 hearing with transportation
0:22 and infrastructure. Please
0:23 sell his old phones. If you
0:24 wish to speak into today's
0:25 hearing.
0:25 Pleas for letting a parent's
0:27 card with one of the sergeants
0:29 moving forward no one is to
0:30 approach the day is chair, you
0:38 begin, all right. Good morning
0:39 and welcome to this joint
0:41 hearing of the New York City
0:44 council's committees on
0:44 economic development and
0:45 transportation and
0:48 infrastructure. My name is
0:49 Virginia Maloney and I hav
0:50 ethe privilege of serving as
0:51 the chair of the committee on
0:53 economic development and I'm
0:54 pleased to be joined by my co
0:56 chairman, majority leader
1:00 Shaun, who chairs the
1:01 committee on transportation
1:03 and.
1:03 Infrastructure before we
1:04 begin. I'd like to note that
1:06 we've been joined by a few
1:08 council Council Member ball
1:09 Council Member for member
1:13 reilly and Council Member luis
1:17 who who is is here as well
1:20 . Today we are looking at how
1:22 New yorkers travel on the
1:24 city's waterways and the role
1:26 plays in managing them York
1:30 City City ferry and also
1:32 oversees the sea plane base at
1:34 least 23 street it controls
1:37 birthing for the excursion
1:38 vessels at City owned peers
1:39 across the five boroughs.
1:42 These are all City assets and
1:44 they affect the neighborhoods
1:45 around them every day. We want
1:47 to understand today how
1:49 manages those assets and how
1:51 it holds operators accountable
1:52 when things go wrong. First
1:55 we'll be discussing fairies.
1:56 New York City ferry has become
1:59 an important part of how New
2:00 yorkers get around the system
2:03 carried trips last fiscal year
2:06 and this summer, the City ran
2:08 the most fairy service in its
2:11 history in he launched the
2:13 first major system wide
2:14 redesign of the routes since
2:16 the system began, and this
2:18 fall New York City ferry
2:20 expanded discount fares to
2:20 middle school students
2:24 . And we all enjoyed the fifa
2:24 wrapped boats this summer. Um
2:28 ,however, the New York City
2:29 ferries system. It is very
2:30 expensive to run in fiscal
2:32 year 20 25. The system costs
2:37 $8 million to operate and
2:37 brought in about 27 million
2:40 ,which puts the subsidy at $8.
2:44 03 Per trip and that figure
2:45 does not include capital costs
2:48 of or the depreciation of the
2:51 boats themselves as of
2:51 yesterday. Riders are now
2:52 paying more with the base fare
2:54 rising from $4.525
2:58 . The biggest decision ahead
2:59 is the operating contract New
3:01 York City ferry is run by a
3:04 ivate operator under a
3:05 nagreement worth up to $40
3:08 5million and this agreement is
3:10 expiring in September 2028,
3:13 the last procurement process
3:14 took about a year so the City
3:15 will have to decide very soon,
3:17 whether or not, they plan to
3:19 renew the current operator
3:21 seek New bids or try something
3:25 altogether different.
3:26 The City owns the boats, so
3:26 every option is on the table.
3:28 We want to know how the
3:29 operator has performed what
3:30 the City has received an
3:32 advertising and other revenue
3:33 and how is planning the next
3:35 phase of the New York City
3:38 very.
3:38 A decision of this siz
3:39 eshould not be made without the
3:40 council and the public at the
3:44 table
3:44 . Second sea planes are anne
3:46 issue that hits close to home
3:48 for the east side communities
3:50 that I represent on July 5 o
3:51 fthis year a sea plane carrying
3:54 eight people made a har
3:55 dlanding in the east river
3:57 right off the base at least 23
3:59 street, snapping a wing strep
4:03 .the I had to take passengers
4:04 off the plane. Thankfully, no
4:06 one was seriously hurt, but it
4:07 was not the first incident on
4:08 the east river and residents
4:10 along the waterfront are
4:12 living with regular noise and
4:13 traffic of these flights
4:16 . I understand the federal
4:18 government regulates and the
4:19 City cannot set the flight
4:21 paths, but the City owns the
4:23 facility and therefore can set
4:24 reasonable rules for how it is
4:27 used did that just 10 years
4:29 ago at the downtown manhattan
4:31 heliport when it cut tourist
4:33 helicopter flights in half and
4:34 ended them on sundays and when
4:37 this council passed local law
4:39 64 last year to rein in noisy
4:41 helicopters see planes were
4:44 not covered
4:45 . We want to know who has
4:46 agreements with at the sea
4:47 base. What the City gets in
4:48 return and whether is prepared
4:50 to use the tools it already
4:51 has to work with the council
4:53 and east side communities t
4:55 obetter regulate these planes.
4:58 Third party boats raised many
4:59 of the same concerns in augus
5:03 t2025 a party boat carrying 300
5:05 people collided with another
5:06 vessel in the east river near
5:08 the 23 street landing, sending
5:10 vense people to the hospital
5:12 in June 2025, a party yacht
5:14 with 400 people aboard struck
5:17 a doc near west 120 fifth
5:19 street, injuring 35.
5:22 Unlicensed charters have
5:24 been even more dangerous this
5:26 a mother and her five month
5:27 old daughter were killed when
5:29 a boat carrying more
5:30 passengers than it could
5:34 legally hold capsize near the
5:36 statue of liberty, the City.
5:37 Has acted before in 20 19
5:40 .it stopped party boats from
5:41 boarding in Chi bay after
5:44 repeated complaints from
5:45 residents. So we want to know
5:46 what requires of these
5:48 operators before it lets them
5:49 doc, whether anyone checks
5:50 their coast guard credentials
5:52 and what happens whe
5:53 nsomething goes wrong
5:56 . Today we are also hearing
5:57 David bills that would require
5:58 fairy service or a study of
6:00 fairy service at kenner at
6:03 willets point at west 120
6:05 fifth street and City island
6:08 .these bills reflect real
6:09 demand from communities that
6:10 want to be connected to the
6:11 rest of the City by water.
6:13 I'll leave it to my co chair
6:15 and the bill's sponsors to
6:16 speak to the legislation
6:20 before we begin. I want t
6:21 orecognize the economi
6:22 cdevelopment committee staff
6:23 for their work in preparing
6:25 for today's hearing. Thank you
6:26 to senior counsel alex falling
6:28 off senior policy and analyst
6:31 william hanak and financial
6:32 analyst spencer kun, I'll now
6:35 turn the floor over to my co
6:36 chair majority leader Shaun
6:37 Abreu his opening remarks.
6:38 Thank you, Maloney. Good
6:40 morning and welcome to today's
6:41 joint hearing. I am council
6:43 member Shaun Abreu, leader,
6:44 and she of the committee on
6:45 transportation and
6:48 infrastructure. I would like
6:49 to thank chair Maloney for
6:50 joining me in today's hearing
6:52 .New York City water New New
6:52 York city's waterways are an
6:54 integral yet often overlooked
6:56 part of our transportatio
6:57 nthat work in our economy every
7:00 day they support public and
7:02 private ferry services
7:03 commercial and recreation of
7:05 vessels freight movement and
7:07 see operations.
7:07 New York city's very systems
7:09 are particularly noteworthy.
7:12 The staten island ferry is the
7:13 busiest municipal ferry
7:14 passengers annually 24 hours a
7:20 day 365 days a year and the
7:23 New York City fairy with 38
7:25 vessels across six routes and
7:28 25 landings makes over 7
7:30 million trips per year and is
7:32 the largest passenger onl
7:33 yfairy fleet in the country
7:37 .these systems have made
7:37 improvements over the years,
7:39 but there
7:39 . Still a need to make the
7:41 systems more affordable,
7:42 reliable and accessible.
7:46 The city's 20 25 New York
7:47 City ferry optimization plan
7:49 was an important step toward
7:50 addressing some of these
7:52 issues
7:52 . The plan, reconfigure the
7:54 fairy network to improve
7:55 connections and make service
7:58 more efficient today we want
7:59 to understand what those
8:00 changes accomplished what the
8:03 administration has learned and
8:03 how those lessons can form the
8:06 future of the system for many
8:10 waterfront communities fairy
8:11 service has the potential to
8:12 fill much needed gaps and
8:15 transportation, especially
8:16 we're access to the subway
8:16 system is limited, it would
8:20 allow for additional means of
8:21 accessible transit support
8:24 additional housing density and
8:25 strengthen local commercial
8:30 corridors. That is why I
8:30 introduced introduction number
8:32 1022 to establish regular
8:33 ferry service ad or near west
8:38 1 25 street, west harlem
8:38 already has waterfront
8:39 infrastructure and connections
8:40 to the surrounding
8:41 transportation network that
8:42 could be leveraged to better
8:44 connect this community to the
8:45 rest of the City.
8:49 Thank you to my staff and
8:49 can a their hard work in
8:50 preparing for today's hearing.
8:53 Lisa, my deputy chief of staff
8:55 bori, my senior adviser
8:57 ,sierra townsend seen an edge
9:00 council theodore miller,
9:03 legislative council. Kevin
9:04 kostovski, senior policy
9:04 analyst john brazil senior
9:06 policy analyst and richard
9:08 yates wang, finance analysts
9:13 when I turn over to counselor
9:16 Farah. Thank you both to
9:18 Maloney and abby for convening
9:20 today's joint hearing and
9:21 providing the opportunity t
9:22 ospeak on my legislation intro
9:25 1032. I want to also thank my
9:28 co prime sponsor and sponsors
9:29 of the bill councilmembers
9:30 ,Shirley audible, Kevin Riley
9:31 and Justin Sanchez for their
9:35 partnership and commitment to
9:36 expanding transportation
9:37 opportunities for our
9:37 communities in the bronx for
9:40 four years I served as chair
9:40 of the committee on economic
9:42 devepmenlot where I worked
9:44 hard to expand ferry service
9:45 and bring more landings
9:46 throughout our City, including
9:49 along the east side of the
9:56 bronx. Can we make sure all
9:57 mics off. Thank you. I pushed
10:00 to make fairy service more
10:02 accessible to middle and high
10:04 school students advocated for
10:06 greater language access and
10:07 held hearings on how we could
10:08 use our waterways to promote
10:10 tourism and create New revenue
10:11 generating opportunities for
10:14 our City, among many other
10:15 oversight topics, you folks
10:16 are familiar with that
10:18 experience reinforced my
10:19 belief that our waterways are
10:20 in underutilized resource for
10:22 transportation, economic
10:23 development and connecting
10:26 communities. Today I am
10:27 bringing that same commitments
10:28 to City.
10:28 Island since 20 23 residents
10:30 have reached out to my office
10:32 about the possibility of ferry
10:33 service to City island. I have
10:35 spoken with residents and
10:36 local business owners and as
10:37 someone who has lived in the
10:39 bronx my entire life and
10:40 regularly spends time on the
10:43 island. I understand both its
10:44 unique character and the
10:45 challenges that come with
10:48 getting their
10:48 . City island is one of the
10:49 bronx is most distinctive
10:50 destinations with the rich
10:52 maritime history. What are
10:54 fishing opportunities and
10:55 independent businesses that
10:56 contribute to our boroughs
10:59 identity. Yet access to the
11:00 island remains heavily
11:01 dependent on traveling by car
11:02 or bus with one way in and one
11:04 way out my dadarli eer this
11:07 year, news 12 reported that
11:09 more than 20 storefronts on
11:10 City island were vacant and
11:12 many of those have remained
11:14 vacant for decades. This
11:15 should give us pause. We need
11:18 to ask what more New York City
11:18 can do to support these
11:21 commercial corridors attract
11:22 customers and create
11:23 opportunities for businesses
11:26 to thrive. Very service should
11:27 be an integral part of that
11:28 conversation.
11:29 A connection to the citywid
11:30 eferry network yields that
11:32 promise of a broader customer
11:33 base to the City islands,
11:35 restaurants, shops and what
11:38 affront attractions. It could
11:38 also provide residents with
11:39 another transportation
11:41 opposite option for commuting
11:42 and accessing essential
11:44 services while giving visitor
11:44 san alternative to driving
11:46 taxis or limited bus service
11:49 we s.hould be looking for ways
11:51 to support economic activity
11:52 without requiring every
11:54 additional visitor to arriv
11:55 eby car, improved transit
11:57 access presents an opportunity
11:59 to strengthen local businesses
12:00 while examining ways to ease
12:01 our roadway congestion.
12:04 My office is heard directly
12:05 from bronx sites and City
12:06 islanders alike all who want
12:07 the City to explore this
12:09 possibility to date.
12:10 We have currently received
12:12 over 350 e mails and letters
12:15 in support of expanding ferry
12:16 service to City island,
12:19 including from folks on the
12:20 City island rising membership
12:21 and other individual
12:23 supporters with the majority
12:24 representing supporters of
12:26 this legislation
12:27 . In comparison to date I have
12:29 received eight expressions of
12:30 opposition and or amendments
12:34 to this legislation the level
12:34 of support we have received
12:35 from the people who have
12:36 personally taking the time t
12:37 oengage with my office on this
12:40 proposal underscores the
12:40 importance of evaluating all
12:42 potential benefits through
12:44 this comprehensive feasibility
12:47 study. We must listen to
12:47 concerns and consider the
12:49 potential impacts, but we must
12:51 also recognize the interests
12:52 and exploring a transportation
12:54 investment that could benefit
12:56 residents, businesses and
12:58 visitors alike, and while I
12:59 have the opportunity I want to
13:00 clarify the scope of intro
13:02 1030 , two. I encourage
13:03 everyone to read the bullet
13:04 bill and its entirety because
13:07 this legislation cause for the
13:09 evaluation of potential
13:10 landing sites on or adjacent
13:14 to City island if a suitable
13:15 location is identified. The
13:16 bill. It also establishes a
13:17 process for site selection
13:19 design and construction with
13:20 very service to follow upon
13:23 completion.
13:24 While previous
13:24 administrations and the New
13:25 York City economic development
13:28 corporation has studied City
13:29 island and orchard beach and
13:31 reach their own determinations
13:32 we should
13:33 . Continue exploring broader
13:36 waterfront
13:36 . Broader waterfronts, given
13:37 the success we have had with