De Blasio Fights Ticket Scams After Alec Baldwin Complains

LOWER MANHATTAN, NY — Days after Alec Baldwin said he was tricked into buying scam Statue of Liberty boat tickets, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a crackdown on illegal ticket hawking that has been plaguing the area for years.

De Blasio announced Tuesday the Department of Transportation sent cease-and-desist letters to Freedom Cruises and Sphinx Transport, two companies apparently tied to Baldwin's alleged scam tickets.

The crackdown comes after years of cries for change, but just two days after the "Saturday Night Live" star and his wife, Hilaria, fell for the grift — though de Blasio denied the timing of the announcement had anything to do with the celebs.

"There's nothing I know that suggests that because again this idea had been in (the) works already," de Blasio said at an unrelated press conference.

"We’ve been after this company for a while and that’s just the beginning. If they continue to ignore our enforcement efforts, we will try and put them out of business."

In an Instagram notice posted Sunday, Baldwin said he bought $40 tickets, more than double the price of authorized tickets to Liberty Island, only to find out they had to take a shuttle bus to New Jersey to use them.

"We paid," Baldwin said on Instagram. "Then we read the tickets. NO ON [sic] EVER MENTIONED NEW F***ING JERSEY!!!"

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So, we head to South Ferry. Me and @hilariabaldwin Two sharp, savvy NYers. Kids in tow. We buy the tickets for the “boat tour” of the Statue of Liberty. We are escorted to a shuttle bus. To New Jersey! I kid you not. We paid. Then we read the tickets. NO ON EVER MENTIONED NEW F***ING JERSEY!!! This is a scam. Take the SI Ferry. It’s the best ride in NY.
A post shared by Alec Baldwin (@alecbaldwininsta) on Oct 6, 2019 at 12:10pm PDT

The companies are believed to be running from unauthorized bus stops to New Jersey from Lower Manhattan for the boat tours, which also don't stop on the Statue of Liberty, according to the mayor's office. Only Statue Cruises is permitted for boat tours to Liberty Island itself.

De Blasio's office says a multi-agency effort will hand out flyers to tourists, issue summonses to bus operators breaking the rules, bar companies using city docks from selling tickets through street vendors, increase signage for tourists, and add a ticket kiosk to an unused portion of a building near the Staten Island Ferry Terminal.

The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection will also finalize rules requiring sellers to disclose on tickets that boat rides don't stop at the Statue of Liberty's island or Ellis Island. The department is "exploring legal options" against companies too, according to a press release.

"We've built a multifaceted strategy that is broader than a simple enforcement plan," said NYPD Captain Angel L. Figueroa Jr. "We're sharing information, working with the community and our business and elected leaders and other city agencies, and it is starting to show positive results."

This isn't the first time the hawkers have wreaked havoc in downtown Manhattan. In 2017, a street vendor shot at another vendor over ticket turf that left him and a passerby injured.

Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou said she was threatened by vendors while cops stood by this summer.

And the Downtown Alliance said it has to scrap bus service every summer to avoid tourists getting tricked into buying tickets for the business improvement district's free bus route.

Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Democrat who represents much of Manhattan's west side and parts of Brooklyn, said he's been decrying the situation for years.

"Unsuspecting tourists are being scammed by unscrupulous and aggressive ticket hawkers and being sold tickets that actually don't take them to Statue of Liberty," said Nadler.

"It is our job as public officials to ensure that those who visit our City come away with a positive experience."

Patch reporter Noah Manskar contributed to this report.