Keep Pandemic Red Hook Ferry Stop Year-Round, Board Says

BROOKLYN, NY — Brooklyn officials are pushing for the city to make a Governors Island ferry stop added during the coronavirus pandemic a year-round option for the borough.

Community Board 6 unanimously voted Wednesday to request that the city keep a ferry stop that was set up at Red Hook's Atlantic Basin last summer in an effort to give more access to open spaces during the coronavirus crisis.

The stop has become a popular option among residents in the area, who have limited transit options, and an economic driver for the neighborhood, board members said.

"2020 ridership data indicates residents from Red Hook and South Slope neighborhoods were two of the top three neighborhoods that used the ferry," the board wrote. "...Having Red Hook as a ferry site would bring more people through Red Hook, thus increasing economic opportunities for businesses."

The Trust for Governors Island moved the Brooklyn ferry stop from Brooklyn Heights' Pier 6 to Pier 12 when the ferry opened for the season in July, both to help manage the newly-limited ticketing system and give Brooklynites with less access to parks access to the island, according to the board and announcements from the time.

Red Hook, at just 500 yards from its southern side, is the closest neighborhood to the island.

Making the ferry stop year-round will help underserved Brooklynites get access to the nonprofit, educational and cultural sites the Trust is working on bringing to the southern side of the island, the board said.

Community Board 6's request asks the city to "ensure that Red Hook remains a ferry dock for the 2021 operating season" and "expands to year-round operation as Governors Island develops year round uses."

The stop also means that the neighborhood's New York City Housing Authority tenants, part of the largest NYCHA development in Brooklyn, get to take advantage of Governors Island, the board said. Tickets for the ferry are free for NYCHA tenants.

Community Board 6 members emphasized that their request is only to have the Red Hook site stay, not necessarily to get rid of the usual ferry stop at Pier 6.

"We wold love to see it go to the two sites — Downtown Brooklyn is key site," said Rick Luftglass, chair of the Economic/Waterfront/Community Development & Housing Committee. "...We’re not precluding Brooklyn Heights or Pier 6, we’re simply saying, 'Make sure to include Pier 12 and Red Hook."