The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
Citywide Ferry Service
Project Identification Lead Agency
CEQR No. 15DME009Y Office of the Deputy Mayor for Housing
SEQRA Classification: Type I and Economic Development
253 Broadway, 7th Floor
New York, New York 10007
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT public hearings will be held as detailed below for the Citywide Ferry Service. The purpose of the hearings is to receive comments related to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Citywide Ferry Service in accordance with Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law. Public hearings have been scheduled at the following dates/times/locations:
May 19, 2016
New York City Economic Development Corporation
110 William Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10038
The meeting will commence at 6:00 p.m.
May 23, 2016
Queens Borough Hall
120-55 Queens Boulevard, Kew Gardens, NY 11424
The meeting will commence at 6:00 p.m.
May 24, 2016
St. Francis College, Founders Hall
180 Remsen Street St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
The meeting will commence at 6:00 p.m.
May 25, 2016
P.S. 47
1794 East 172nd Street, Bronx, NY 10472
The meeting will commence at 6:00 p.m.
Interpretation services can be accommodated upon request by calling or emailing the contact information below at least on week prior to the hearing. Comments are requested on the DEIS and will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 5, 2016 and may be submitted at the hearings, or to the project contact below.
The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is proposing to implement a Citywide Ferry Service (CFS) that would provide an affordable and convenient transit option to residents in otherwise transit-isolated neighborhoods. The proposed CFS expands on the existing East River Ferry (ERF), a privately operated commuter and recreational transit service paid for by the City of New York and NYCEDC and managed by NYCEDC. The ERF serves seven landings year-round including two Manhattan terminals at East 34th Street and Pier 11, and five other landings along the Brooklyn and Queens waterfronts. On summer weekends, the ERF also serves Governors Island. Ferries are expected to operate daily, generally between 6:30 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., with frequent and consistent service during weekday peak periods. During off-peak periods, including weekends, the frequency of service would vary based on the season. NYCEDC expects to launch three routes (Rockaway, South Brooklyn and Astoria) in Spring/Summer 2017 and the remaining two routes (Lower East Side and Soundview) in Spring/Summer 2018. In addition to the new ferry routes, the CFS project would potentially introduce two new shuttle bus service routes to service the Rockaway landing.
The CFS would include 21 landings, which would require the construction of 10 new ferry landings, upgrades to five existing landings (including two terminals, Midtown/East 34th Street and Pier 11/Wall Street), and the use of six existing landings. Upgrades to existing landings would be intended to increase capacity for ferry landings and/or accommodate additional passenger circulation. The majority of the new and upgraded landings would feature a barge (35 feet by 90 feet) that would be connected to the shore by a gangway. For some landings, two gangways may be provided to optimize passenger flow. The barge would accommodate passenger queuing and shelter, a ticket machine and information kiosk, lighting, and static or digital signage. All landings would be designed for accessibility in conformance with all relevant laws and regulations, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Local Law 68. At many landings, monopile dolphins would be constructed around the barges to ensure safe ferry operations while vessels are docking. These dolphins may also be used by vessels berthing to lay over when not in service at each landing. Some landings may require more extensive infrastructure, including bulkhead and/or pier construction. Responsibility for the maintenance of the ferry landings and upland areas would be governed by memoranda of understanding between NYCEDC and owners of adjacent upland sites. In addition, CFS would introduce new shuttle bus service to support the Rockaway ferry landing with both weekday and weekend service. Lastly, The City and NYCEDC are considering potential alternatives to the operator’s existing homeporting facility, to provide including establishing a central location within New York City to homeport, fuel, and maintain the CFS/ERF fleet. Two such alternatives, both located at City-owned sites, were analyzed including a Brooklyn Army Terminal Homeport Alternative and a Brooklyn Navy Yard Homeport Alternative, which would also add a landing to existing ERF route.
The DEIS disclosed significant adverse impacts with regard to Transportation (traffic and pedestrian safety), Air Quality and Noise. The results of the traffic analyses show impacts to one lane group at each of two intersections—South Street at Old Slip and South Street at Wall Street. The DEIS identifies measures that would fully mitigate impacts through modifications to on-street parking regulations, channelization and lane designations to make more efficient use of available street widths. The results of the analysis of pedestrian conditions shows that demand from the proposed project would result in significant adverse impacts at a total of two crosswalks in proximity to the Pier 11/Wall Street terminal during both the AM and PM peak hours—the south crosswalk on Water Street at Wall Street and the north crosswalk on South Street at Gouverneur Lane. The significant adverse impacts to both crosswalks would be fully mitigated by widening each crosswalk by one foot (from 10.5 feet to 11.5 feet). Implementation of the recommended improvements is subject to review and approval by the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT).
The maximum predicted total pollutant concentrations, with the increase in emissions from ferry engines with the proposed project, could potentially exceed the NAAQS for 1-hour average NO2, potentially resulting in a significant adverse impact on air quality at open space receptors adjacent to several of the proposed new and upgraded ferry landings and residential receptors adjacent to the proposed ferry terminals in Manhattan—the Pier 11/Wall Street Terminal and East 34th Street Terminal, and the landings in Longs Island City. Based on analysis of potential emissions reduction measures, full mitigation of the significant adverse air quality impacts that would potentially result from CFS operations is not possible by the 2017 project launch, even with the application of best available technology for the types of vessels proposed for use in the CFS. Therefore, unmitigated potential significant adverse air quality impacts cannot be avoided. The proposed CFS would result in significant adverse noise impacts at open space receptors adjacent to several of the proposed new and upgraded ferry landings and residential receptors adjacent to the proposed new Astoria, Long Island City, and Red Hook-Van Brunt Street ferry landings. The existing building façades and mechanical systems would be sufficient to provide acceptable interior noise levels (i.e., less than 45 dBA) at the impacted residential receptors, even with increased noise levels resulting from the proposed CFS. Therefore, no mitigation is proposed. The DEIS also evaluates several alternatives to the proposed project, including a No Action Alternative, a No Unmitigated Significant Adverse Impact Alternative, and two Homeport Alternatives.
The Notice of Completion and the DEIS for this project were issued by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development on April 18, 2016, and are available for review from the contact person listed below and on the websites of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability at www.nyc.gov/oec or NYCEDC at http://www.nycedc.com/project/citywide-ferry-service
Project Contact:
Mayor’s Office of Sustainability
Attn: Denise Pisani, Senior Project Manager
253 Broadway, 7th Floor
New York, New York 10007
(212) 676-3290 Email: dpisani@cityhall.nyc.gov
Project Information
Lead Agency:
Office of the Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development
Nilda Mesa, Assistant to the Mayor
253 Broadway, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10007
Sponsoring Agency:
New York City Economic Development Corporation
Attn: Dina Rybak, Assistant Vice President
110 William Street, New York, New York 10038
(212) 618-5763, Email: citywideferryeis@edc.nyc
Location of Action:
Brooklyn Community Districts 2, 6, 7, and 10: Block 5778, Lot 1; Block 611, Lot 25, Block 595, Lot 52, Block 515, Lot 61, or Block 612, Lot 130; Block 5835, Lot 30 and Block 6140, Lot 1; Block 245, Lot 29
Queens Community Districts 1, 2, and 14:
Block 490, Lot 100; Block 21, Lot 500 or Block 489, Lot 23; Block 16166, Lot 177
Bronx Community District 9:
Block 3435, Lot 75 or Block 3435 Lots 18, 35, and 40
Manhattan Community Districts 1, 3, 6, and 8: Block 1474, Lot 60; Block 1373, Lot 1; Block 991, Lot 29; Block 262, Lot 25; Block 1587, Lot 27 and Block 1592, Lot 1; Block 967, Lot 50; Block 36, Lot 1
This Notice of Public Meeting has been prepared pursuant to Article 8 of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law (the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA)), its implementing regulations found at 6 NYCRR Part 617, and the Rules of Procedure for City Environmental Quality Review found at 62 RCNY Chapter 5, and Mayoral Executive Order 91 of 1977, as amended (CEQR).