City Council Members Propose West Side Ferry Service

Commuters on the west side may have a new travel option.

Several city council members are calling for ferry service on the west side of Manhattan that would run from Washington Heights to lower Manhattan.

In February, Mayor de Blasio proposed a new five-borough ferry plan that would launch in 2017 and, along with the existing East River Ferry service, link neighborhoods like Coney Island, Astoria, Queens, the South Bronx and Staten Island. However, that plan does not include service on the west side.

The proposal announced Thursday at the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance’s annual conference would include stops at Whitehall or Wall Street, 39th Street, 125th Street, 178th Street and Dyckman Street, though infrastructure still needs to be built for the latter two planned stops.

NYC Council Transportation Chairman Ydanis Rodriguez said $500,000 had already been allocated for construction at the Dyckman Street stop.

"A ferry network with stops on the west side of Manhattan and uptown would help alleviate crowding on the increasingly over-packed 1 and A trains, remove hundreds of fumes-spewing vehicles from our streets, and help stimulate economic activity," Democratic council member Mark Levine said in a statement.  

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