What’s not to like? The ferry…are you joking?
New York transplants (like myself) have a long and sentimental relationship with the Staten Island ferry.
While it may have faded for a couple of decades, it was quickly revived after the World Trade Center attacks in 2001.
At that time, ferries were diverted to Bay Ridge due to the closures of subways and roads across the East River. This continued into 2002, by which time some 2,200 passengers per day were using the ferry, and continued to do so even after the subways and highways were reopened.
We recently discovered a brilliant book written by a local author that goes even further back in history to examine the ferry’s allure.
Staten Island: Like It or Not! should resonate with San Francisco Bay Area ferry riders as it explores the consequences of redevelopment and bad-idea transit alternatives like BART and car-hailing services.
The book can be ordered at local stores, and is also available on Amazon.
Here’s what they have to say about it:
Author Lorenzo Lucchesi has produced the family-held stories and testimony of Islanders ranging from century-old residents to politicians to restauranteurs to bakers to tradesmen to tell the incredible story of New York City’s last frontier. As suburbanization increases exponentially throughout the once rural streets paved by the hands of hardworking immigrants and settled in the early-1900s by entrepreneurs seeking a retreat from their city homes at summer bungalows, Staten Island faces the Armageddon for the salvation of its triumphant past battled at the forefront of its industries, innovations, and vibrant personalities. An entertaining yet genuine look at Staten Island, Staten Island: Like It or Not! draws on the Island longed for both past and future by many, and the Island accurately interpreted by few.