June 5, 2023 By Michael Dorgan
The city is nearing the completion of a study that seeks to examine alternative sites for a new ferry terminal at Hunter Points South Park, which will replace the existing station.
The NYC Economic Development Corp., which oversees the city’s ferry routes, said it is considering the feasibility of four new locations at Hunter Points South Park where a large docking barge would be built to accommodate ferry vessels.
The current ferry terminal, known as Hunters Point South, needs to be dismantled since it is coming to the end of its useful life, according to the EDC. The terminal, which the EDC says is around 30 years old, is located in front of the beach volleyball court near the waterfront café.
The EDC says it is unable to replace the current structure — at its existing location — as the new terminal needs to be much bigger and would require several piles to be driven into the seabed, which poses a danger to the tunnels underneath.
The EDC filed plans in October to build the new dock in front of the main west-facing boardwalk saying the site was the most practical location to put the new structure. Two boats would be able to dock at the barge.
However, residents and local stakeholders argued that a new ferry structure built at the site in front of the boardwalk — and its docked boats — would block the waterfront views, a key feature of the park.
Community Board 2, in a recommendation to the EDC, voted against the plan in December, while Council member Julie Won also voiced her opposition to the plan. Frank Ottomanelli, who owns the waterfront café is also against the plan, as is the Hunters Point Parks Conservancy, a local volunteer group that helps with the upkeep of the park.
Some residents have backed the plan.
The weight of the public push back from those against the initial plan — and those who were hesitant without exhausting alternative options — forced the EDC in January to pause its…
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