What's Going On With Roosevelt Island East River Ferry Service? East Channel Oil Ferry Dock Considered By RIOC - West Channel Ferry Dock Study To Commence Soon

RIOC Officials At Oil Dock in November 2009 Watching NY Water Taxi Ferry Boat Go By

DNA Info reported last month on free fares rides being offered to celebrate the 6 month anniversary of East River Ferry Service. Included in the article was this statement from NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn

... Quinn said she, too, wants to see the ferry service expand, and she mentioned Roosevelt Island, City Island and the Bronx as potential future destinations...

At that time, I asked NY City Council Member Jessica Lappin, who has been very involved in seeking ferry service for Roosevelt Island, the following:

Is there anything new to report on the possibility of ferry service coming to Roosevelt Island?

Ms. Lappin's office replied:

Nothing new to report. We continue to push for ferry service, and advocate for an expansion with Speaker Quinn, the Economic Development Corp, and bidders for the applied sciences school as well.

Here's what we know about the possibility of Roosevelt Island ferry service.

The Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) commissioned an engineering study to determine the feasibility of a ferry landing for Roosevelt Island. At the the July 29, 2011 RIOC Operations Committee meeting (Audio webcast of meeting is here), there was a presentation and discussion regarding the possibility of locating a Roosevelt Island ferry dock at the Oil Dock facility (pictured here) on the East Channel below the Queensboro Bridge.

During this meeting, the Ocean Coastal engineering consultant hired by RIOC described the current decrepit state of the Oil Dock, what is required to make the Oil Dock suitable as an active ferry dock and two possible options for a future ferry dock.

Option 1 was the minimum necessary to meet American With Disabilities requirements for a ferry dock landing which would be a barge held in place by spud piles with the ferry docking parallel to the land. The cost for this option was estimated at $5.2 million.

The second option was to create a multiple use facility in addition to the ferry dock that would include a small park with landscaping, public benches and a floating dock for kayaks and other small water crafts. The cost for this option was estimated at $7.5 million. RIOC VP of Operations Fernando Martinez recommended option 2, noting that there could be city and state funds available for the ferry dock as well as funds for a dock from the Applied Sciences School should Roosevelt Island be selected. We now know that Cornell will build the Applied Sciences School on Roosevelt Island.

No decision has been made to date by RIOC as to where, whether or what type of ferry dock facility will be built on Roosevelt Island. During the July meeting, it was stated that if a Roosevelt Island dock was built, it would probably be located on the East Channel side facing Queens. I recently learned that  RIOC is about to commission another study by Ocean Coastal to determine if a ferry dock landing can be built on the West Channel of the East River.

Here's some of the July 29 RIOC Operations Committee Meeting discussion on the Ferry dock.

You Tube Video of RIOC Roosevelt Island Ferry Dock Discussion

The audio cast of the full meeting is here.

More on Roosevelt Island Ferry Service from previous posts.