NYT event listing for Children's Museum, Nov 2003

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

'World Financial Center. The Port Authority is building a new, glass enclosed, five-slip (four end loading and one side loading), floating ferry terminal at the World Financial Center. This new terminal will replace the existing two-slip Port Authority facility by the end of 2005. This project, planned before September 11th, incorporates a modular design that could be duplicated (in varying sizes) at coastline locations elsewhere. ■Lower East River/Wall Street ylrea: The existing terminal facility at I^r 11 has seen a huge increase in demand since September 11th, but its mostly outdoor environment offers relative­ ly limited amenities for passengers. Pier 11 has recently been improved, but its popularity as a destination suggests that more investment is needed on the lower East River. Enhancing the landside infrastructure along Lower Manhattan’s eastern waterfront, whether at Pier 11 or a nearby location, would be a logical investment to improve the quality of ferry service downtown. •Tbe Easf Riverferry network: New York City's EDC is instituting an East River service with terminals at East 90th, East 75th, East 67th, East 34th, East 23rd Streets, and Slip 5 of the Battery Maritime Building. The primary operations at these locations are envisioned as com­ muter services between Lower Manhattan and the Upper East Side with the ferry operations potentially extended to and from LaGuardia Airport (see below and Chapter 2). Service at these terminals will be operational in July 2004. •W^ifebaR Ferry Tertnina/: Reconstruction of the Whitehall Ferry Terminal to improve opera­ tions for the Staten Island ferry is currently underway with its completion scheduled for summer 2004. •Poteniiai new terminal: Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Presently, ferry service from Brooklyn departs from points in Bay Ridge and the Brooklyn Bridge waterfront area. These locations have limited ridership due to the fact that they only serve the residential areas adjacent to the ter­ minals. By locating the terminals more strategically, a greater number of commuters could benefit. In the case of Bay Ridge, utilizing the 65th street yard as a ferry stop, the market can be expanded to include commuters driving the Belt Parkway/Gowanus Expressway route to Manhattan. The 65th Street location can be expanded to include a weather protected parking structure with direct highway links to the Belt Parkway and Gowanus Expressway. This structure would provide a protected access to the ferries and allow customers to exit the highway system before reaching bottleneck locations. This ferry service would be direct to the Lower Manhattan terminals and a convenient way to reduce driving time. (Further study required.)

80 Lower Manhattan Transportation Strategies

NYC-WTC_000143289