The grassroots movement to restart the Beacon-Newburgh ferry picked up support recently when the Orange County Industrial Development Agency agreed to kick in $100,000 for a weekend ferry pilot program.
But that’s still about $100,000 shy of what’s needed to run regular weekend trips across the Hudson River between Dutchess and Orange counties, according to Carson Carter, one of the leaders of the Save the Ferry Coalition.
The coalition, which counts 1,500 members and dozens of businesses, has already lined up a ferry operator and are trying to generate funding from public and private interests on both sides of the river with the goal of offering weekend ferry service in June.
“It’s a really big step in the right direction and a real vote of confidence that we’re grateful for,” Carter said of the IDA funding.
The IDA’s CEO, Bill Fioravanti, views the pilot as a way to deliver foot traffic to Newburgh’s growing slate of downtown restaurants and businesses, either visitors from across the river or those traveling on Metro-North Railroad.
“There’s no question that the opportunity to cross the mighty Hudson on the ferry is a much more romantic and scenic way to cross,” Fioravanti said.
Bringing foot traffic to Newburgh
A trial, one-day ferry run for a Newburgh festival a few years ago convinced Fioravanti interest could be strong. “The opportunity to harness the market from across the river will only be a huge boost to the local economy in Newburgh,” Fioravanti added.
The funding will come through the Orange County IDA’s sister agency, the Orange County Funding Corp. And Fioravanti said he’s working to enlist matching financial support from Dutchess County and other groups.
The funding will focus on generating more tourist dollars in the region.
But Carter sees it as a first step toward convincing the state and Metro-North of the need for weekday ferry service that connects Orange County commuters with Metro-North trains in Beacon.
Metro-North shut down ferry service last summer, citing low ridership — about 62 passengers a day — for service that cost the Metropolitan Transportation Authority over $2 million a year.
Carter believes the weekday ferry service suffered from being limited to peak rush hour times. “It’s got to run regularly and it really should run seven days a week,” Carter said.
7-day-a-week service is the goal
After the shutdown, the state increased the number of free shuttle buses available to take commuters over the Newburgh-Beacon bridge, where they can catch trains to Manhattan.
But Carter says that while the increased shuttle runs are welcome, bottlenecks have stalled the commute home to Orange County. “Mostly it works well until evening time when commutes westbound over the Newburgh-Beacon turn into 45-minute gridlock,” Carter said.
A six-minute trip on the ferry across the Hudson would be more dependable, he said. He’s hoping a successful weekend pilot program will demonstrate to the state and Metro-North that there’s real demand. “We’re not giving up the fight,” Carter said.
He said riders would be charged a nominal free of $1 to $2. Metro-North charged passengers $1.75.
Thomas C. Zambito covers energy, transportation and economic growth for the USA TODAY Network’s New York State team. He’s won dozens of state and national writing awards from the Associated Press, Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Deadline Club and others during a decades-long career that’s included stops at the New York Daily News, The Star-Ledger of Newark and The Record of Hackensack. He can be reached at tzambito@lohud.com
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Newburgh-Beacon ferry service gets $100k for weekend pilot program
Reporting by Thomas C. Zambito, New York State Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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