The Staten Island Ferry wants to leave you alone with your thoughts.
The passenger ship that transports thousands of commuters each day is instituting a "Quiet Deck," where riders can be free from chatter, small talk, ferryboat preachers, iPod blasters and perhaps the worst public transportation offenders of all: Cell phone users.
After reviewing legal issues surrounding free speech and how it applies on public transportation, the Department of Transportation has agreed to adopt the Staten Island Quiet Deck, with signage posted on the Bridge Deck of the three newest Molinari-class ferryboats, the Staten Island Advance reported.
The politician behind the silence, Staten Island Sen. Diane Savino, suggested the idea to give a "place for people who just want to sit and decompress" before or after a long day at work.
The quiet deck will be based on similar quiet areas aboard Long Island Railroad and Amtrak trains.
City Councilman Ken Mitchell has pledged to introduce legislation to give transportation officials and police more enforcement power to maintain quiet in the area where the signs will be posted. But until then, riders will be asked to police themselves, and keep their voices down voluntarily.
