FERRY SERVICE - WHY NOT ROOSEVELT ISLAND?

THE NEW YORK POST HAD A COLUMN YESTERDAY BY ARTHUR E. IMPERATORE, THE PRESIDENT OF NY WATERWAY, DESCRIBING THE BENEFITS OF FERRY SERVICE TO THE NEW YORK TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM. HE WRITES:

Ferries will play a big role in the development of the Brooklyn, Queens and Bronx waterfronts, which will become more attractive because ferry commuting avoids congestion-pricing fees. A ferry takes less than 10 minutes to get from Greenpoint in Brooklyn to Wall Street.

Subsidized ferry fares, paid from some part of the congestion-pricing fee, would encourage even more commuters to leave their cars behind.

Ferry terminals, linked to surrounding neighborhoods by bus, are the fastest and cheapest form of transportation infrastructure.

OF THE FERRY ROUTES HE DESCRIBES IN THE COLUMN, NONE INCLUDE ROOSEVELT ISLAND. MR. IMPERATORE WRITES:

Among the routes we could create:

* West 70th Street to Lower Manhattan, a 15-20 minute trip for residents of Riverside South and the surrounding area, reducing traffic on the West Side and relieving pressure on the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 subway lines.

* Randalls Island to Lower Manhattan, a 25-minute trip for Queens/Long Island commuters who could park in the hundreds of spaces under the Triborough Bridge, taking traffic off the FDR Drive.

* Midland Beach in Staten Island to Lower Manhattan, a 22-minute trip, cutting traffic on the Verazzano Bridge-Gowanus Expressway corridor.

* Jamaica Bay service, with stops in Rockaway and at Floyd Bennett Field or Sheepshead Bay and in Bay Ridge, taking traffic off the Belt Parkway.

I KNOW THAT NEW YORK WATER TAXI WOULD LIKE TO INCLUDE A FERRY STOP ON ROOSEVELT ISLAND. NY WATER TAXI HAS HAD DISCUSSIONS WITH ROOSEVELT ISLAND PROPERTY OWNERS TO INCLUDE ROOSEVELT ISLAND ON AN EAST RIVER FERRY ROUTE. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT, IF ANY, INPUT RIOC HAS ON THIS MATTER. DOES ANYBODY KNOW WHAT ARE THE MAIN OBSTACLES TO FERRY SERVICE ON ROOSEVELT ISLAND AND HOW THEY CAN BE RESOLVED?