Brooklyn's Progress
January 2002

By Isaac Esterman, Two Trees Management It is about to get much easier to hail a taxi in DUMBO. Beginning this July, New York Water Taxi will begin operating three 90-person boats that will service the Fulton Ferry Landing at Old Fulton Street and numerous stops in lower Manhattan. Commuter trips will cost $2.50 and a crossing to Wall Street will take less than four minutes. The new black and yellow checkered boats, which went into fabrication last week, will serve both commuters and tourists. For commuters, the water taxi will be an ideal travel solution in both directions. Residents of DUMBO and the surrounding communities can take the short ride to Pier 11 at Wall Street or around the Battery to a number of points on the west side. DUMBO's office workers who take the Staten Island Ferry will now have a completely water-borne link to Brooklyn without transferring to automobile or subway. More boats and additional stops are scheduled to be added in the second year, including potential Brooklyn sites at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, in Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Red Hook and at Atlantic Avenue. This transportation alternative will be a huge asset to DUMBO and the entire Downtown Brooklyn community. The project is being organized by Douglas Durst, one of New York's most civic minded developers and Tom Fox, a home grown Brooklyn planner. New York Water Taxi is planning to take advantage of increased public and private investment in New York City's waterfront, characterized by what has transpired in DUMBO and the proposed Brooklyn Bridge Park. In addition, studies show that ridership on private ferries is increasing quickly in New York City; currently over 35,000 people ride private ferries daily, an increase of 12 percent from last year alone.