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Read the press release here.

Fighting Passengers Force DOT to Stop Phone Charging on Staten Island Ferry

By Trevor Kapp | July 19, 2016 3:05pm
 Staten Island Ferry rider Shayo Dasilva called the DOT's decision to disconnect the power to its outlets
Staten Island Ferry rider Shayo Dasilva called the DOT's decision to disconnect the power to its outlets "very frustrating."
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DNAinfo/Trevor Kapp

STATEN ISLAND — Passengers who brawl over power outlets on the Staten Island Ferry have caused officials to cut the electrical supply.

The Department of Transportation disconnected the outlets after a series of fracases among passengers who were jostling to plug in their phones — including one dust-up in which a ferry worker was attacked.

The employee is on medical leave after being punched and seriously hurt as he tried to break up a fight between two passengers over use of an outlet, a source said.

The DOT made the decision with the NYPD for public safety reasons, DOT spokesman Scott Gastel said.

The DOT had also received several complaints about wires connected to chargers creating a trip hazard.

The story was first reported by the Staten Island Advance.

Rider Jason Thompson, 25, said he’s seen multiple skirmishes aboard the boats and believes the DOT made the right decision.

“People get heated. They say, ‘I have less percentage than you,’ or, ‘I have to do something important,’” he said.

“It’s never, ‘Can I please use the charger?’”

But other riders were dismayed that they could no longer charge their appliances.

“It’s very frustrating. Nothing works,” fumed Staten Islander Shayo Dasilva, 18, as he tried to charge his Samsung Galaxy aboard a Manhattan-bound ferry Tuesday.

“I’ve never seen fights over the chargers and I take this every day.”

Maci Olivares, 20, who commutes to the College of Staten Island from Washington Heights each day, said the lack of outlets just makes her two-hour trek more maddening.

“It’s ridiculous,” she said.

“A lot of people travel long distances and the ferry is a chance to charge. I don’t see why they’re doing that.

“People would race for the outlets, but it really wasn’t that serious."