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Next Monday, a new ferry route will debut at the Battery Park City Ferry Terminal.
NY Waterway, which operates the Hudson River routes connecting New Jersey with Manhattan, will initiate its new South Amboy route on October 30. The ferry will arrive/depart eight times each weekday, starting at 6:40am and concluding at 6:30pm.
Some local residents are concerned that increased ferry traffic may add to noise levels. The low-frequency rumble of engines revving at the dock, starting as early as 6am each weekday morning, stems from a policy by ferry operators of not tying up at the terminal, but instead running their engines to press the vessels to the side of the dock while passengers disembark and board, as a means of saving time. Local parents say that the engine noise, combined with horns blasting as the boats pull away, has long deprived children in nearby apartments of sleep.
A second set of concerns, about air pollution from the diesel engines currently used by most commuter ferries in New York Harbor, is being addressed by NY Waterway as it works to convert to electric power the part of its fleet that services Battery Park City. Electric ferries would likely diminish engine noise.
“Our goal is a 100 percent electric fleet when we land at Battery Park,” said Don Liloia, NY Waterway’s executive vice president, at a February 23 meeting of the Executive Committee of Community Board 1. “There’ll be no engine noise. There’s always prop wash, because the prop always has to turn. So what you should have is a relatively silent boat, and no emissions at the dock.”
At the same meeting, Alan Warren, NY Waterway’s vice president of operations and maintenance, said that the timeline for implementing this plan is “late spring or early summer” of 2024.
About the new South Amboy route that will launch Monday, a NY Waterway spokesperson said, “we look forward to providing this ferry connection for travelers who seek fast, comfortable, and reliable service.” He added that a planned new terminal in South Amboy is expected “to be a catalyst for economic development in that area.”
Matthew Fenton
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