ST. GEORGE — A man tried to stab a fellow commuter over an electrical outlet on the Staten Island Ferry, prosecutors said.
Kendell Nisbit, 30, of East Flatbush, was riding the hurricane deck of the Senator John J. Marchi ferry boat Monday night heading toward Staten Island when he got into an argument with another rider over the outlet, according to his criminal complaint.
Nisbit then took out a green-handled knife, lunged at the man and tried to stab him at about 8:35 p.m., prosecutors said.
The passenger moved out of the way and Nisbit hit the wall instead.
Nisbit was arrested when the boat docked at the St. George Ferry Terminal and charged with attempted assault, menacing, criminal possession of a weapon and harassment at his Tuesday arraignment, the Staten Island District Attorney's office said. His bail was set at $1,000.
The Department of Transportation cut power to the outlets in July after too many instances of passengers fighting to plug in their phones — but turned the power back on at the outlets in August.
In one case, a ferry worker was punched and seriously injured after he tried to break up a fight between two passengers.
Officials planned to install charging ports to the boats and also added new stations to the St. George and Whitehall terminals inside former payphone kiosks in September.
Officials said the decision to install the kiosk stations was not influenced by fights over the outlets.
A spokeswoman for the DOT said they were working with the NYPD to monitor the activity in the outlets in the terminal and on the boats.
Nisbit's lawyer could not be reached for comment.
