ROOSEVELT ISLAND — Plans to install a new ferry landing on the north side of Roosevelt Island as part of the coming East River Ferry service were met with open arms this week, but some community members worried it wouldn't attract enough to commuters to make the stop viable in the long term.
"I don't expect it to be wildly successful," said resident Frank Farance who serves on RIRA's common council. "It's more of a novelty for Roosevelt Island rather than a serious commuting option."
The new landing would be used as part of the East River Ferry's Astoria line starting in the spring of 2017.
It will be a floating barge in the East Channel with a gangway connecting it to land, and will be located just to the east of the oil barge slightly north of the Queensboro Bridge. It will be the second stop on the Astoria line, which also hits Long Island City, East 34th Street in Manhattan and finally Wall Street and Pier 11.
The ferry's landing barges will have a gate and a ticketing machine, and in the frosty winter, they will be covered by a canopy.
The Astoria route alone is expected carry as many as 4,000 riders per week day with 20- to 30-minute headways, or two to three ferries per hour, according to the city's Economic Development Corporation, which presented the plans to the Roosevelt Island Residents Association and Community Board 8 on Wednesday.
To get from Roosevelt Island to East 34th Street, it would take 14 minutes, James Wong of EDC said.
"We are pretty sure this is the best route system looking at it from a full city-wide scale," Wong said. "There is plenty of water depth [at the Roosevelt Island stop] and it can accommodate three types of vessels so that we have a resilient system ... in an emergency so other vessels could come in and use it."
Farance said that by being connected to the Astoria line, Roosevelt Island gets to be the "Weehawken of the city" because it will then have a ferry, a tram and a subway stop.
He said, however, it's likely that commuters from Astoria will be frustrated they have to stop at Roosevelt Island before heading south to East 34th Street in Manhattan.
"When you add up the time getting to 34th Street and all the transfers, it's a long haul," he said. "That is what people in Astoria will complain about."
Mickey Rindler, a RIRA common council member, said he was concerned that Roosevelt Island could be removed from the line because it will have fewer commuters.
Wong said the stop would be supported even if numbers were lower. The current East River Ferry, which connects stops in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, has certain areas with lower ridership but are able to be supported by those with more commuters.
He said Hunters Point South and North Williamsburg are high traffic points, but Greenpoint is not, but it is sustainable, he said.
Resident Sharon Bermon said cyclists will most benefit from the ferry coming to the island because it will finally connect them to areas otherwise inaccessible.
"For the cycling population this is really going to make a difference, especially from Roosevelt Island, where many of us don’t need to commute," she said. "This isn’t biggest reason why people would take the ferry from here — you will get a lot of people on bikes."
The EDC says the Astoria line will be completed in tandem with the Rockaway, South Brooklyn and a Governors Island lines in 2017.
A line hitting Upper East Side points, East 90th and East 62nd streets, ending at Wall Street and Pier 11, as well as a Lower East Side line are planned for 2018, according to the EDC. Those plans will be brought to Community Board 8 in the near future.
EDC is working on its draft environmental impact study, which is due out in February 2016, and once that is completed, it can apply for permits from the U.S. Army Corps and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, Wong said.
EDC is planning to select a private operator to run the ferry by early next year.
