Res 0241-2018

By Council Member Rose Whereas, New Yorkers have long used the city's extensive waterways as an important means of transportation; and Whereas, Ferries play a vital role in the city's current transportation network; and Whereas, The Stated Island Ferry serves over 23 million passengers each year and the NYC Ferry network served more than 2.8 million passengers in 2017, its first year of operation after absorbing and expanding upon the former East River Ferry service; and Whereas, In 2011, Representative Rick Larsen and Senator Patty Murray introduced the Ferry System Investment Act (H.R.1879/S.980), a bill which would have provided $200 million per year for construction of ferry boats and terminal facilities by, made ferries eligible for the Clean Fuels Grant Program, and established both a federal Ferry Joint Program Office and an academic National Ferry Transportation Institute; and Whereas, The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), signed into law in July 2012, provided $67 million annually to construct ferry boats and terminal facilities; and Whereas, The Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), signed into law in December 2015, increased that amount to $80 million annually; and Whereas, Ferries are not only an important mode of day-to-day travel for many New Yorkers, they are also one of the most resilient forms of transportation and often play an essential role during emergencies; and Whereas, The federal government should invest in new and upgraded boats and terminal facilities so that both passengers and the communities served by the country's ferry systems can benefit from the safest, most efficient, and most environmentally-friendly infrastructure possible; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the United States Congress to pass, and the President to sign, legislation increasing federal investment in the nation's passenger ferry systems. JM LS# 1776 2/27/2018