NYC Ferry’s first 350-passenger boat arrives in Brooklyn Navy Yard

The first of NYC’s six 350-passenger ferries has arrived at Brooklyn Navy Yard, and will be ready for service by the end of July. Due to higher than anticipated traffic on the ferry, the city has previously had to hire charter boats to meet the growing demand, but once the six larger boats are fully operational and running that shouldn’t be as much of an issue.

Ocean Queen Rockstar—New York City school students gave it that name—arrived from the Gulf Coast at the NYC Ferry Homeport in the Navy Yard earlier this week. The boat will join the existing fleet of 16 boats operating across four routes. Later this year, the ferry will also debut routes servicing the Lower East Side and the Bronx. The existing fleet of boats can accommodate about 150 passengers but because of the popularity of the ferry, the city has also added eight charter vessels that can accommodate between 250-500 passengers this summer.

The NYC Ferry also announced earlier today that it has now served 5 million riders since its official launch on May 1, 2017. By 2023, the ferry expects to have served 9 million riders, which is more than double the city’s original estimate.

• NYC Ferry expects 9 million riders by 2023 [Curbed]
• NYC Ferry braces for Soundview, Lower East Side routes [Curbed]
• NYC Ferry Archives [Curbed]