Frustrated by the continued dearth of dependable transit choices in the east Brooklyn neighborhood, Canarsie residents are once again urging New York City Mayor Eric Adams to introduce boat service to the area.
Proponents of the expansion will gather on Sunday afternoon to press the Adams administration on the matter years after ferry service was extended under Mayor Bill de Blasio—without a stop in Canarsie.
“To say he’s for transit equity, to say that Canarsie deserves a ferry, and now being in office almost finishing his first term [as mayor] and not delivering on that promise? It is really frustrating,” stated Jibreel Jalloh, founder of the Flossy Organization, a Canarsie-based advocacy group.
As the president of the Brooklyn borough, Adams had made repeated requests for the introduction of ferry service to Canarsie, a neighborhood whose citizens have long suffered from a lack of dependable transportation choices into Manhattan and other areas of the city.
“My pursuits of ferry service to Canarsie — a community in true need of transit equity — as well as a ferry connection between Brooklyn and Staten Island are as strong as ever,” Adams stated in 2019.
However, locals claim that despite receiving strong support from voters in east Brooklyn and other communities with limited access to public transportation while running for mayor in 2021, Adams has not lived up to his promises to take appropriate action to address the problem.
Hizzoner reiterated his earlier support for ferry service to Canarsie during a town hall in February, although he did not specify when it may become a feasible alternative for local transit.
Adams’ deputy mayor for housing, economic development, and workforce, Maria Torres-Springer, confirmed that the government was aware that it has been a problem for the Canarsie community for a long time.
“When we look at landings to determine whether a stop should be in a community, there are a number of different criteria, including what the ridership might be, whether it is feasible technically to do it, whether you might actually see savings in travel times,” she stated.
