Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.
This joint hearing of the New York City Council's Committees on Economic Development and Transportation and Infrastructure, chaired by Virginia Maloney and Majority Leader Sean Abreu, examined oversight of transit on NYC's waterways, including seaplane and party boat operations, and the future of New York City Ferry service. The committee heard testimony from the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC), Department of Transportation (DOT), and members of the public on four proposed bills (Intros 704, 846, 1022, and 1032) to expand ferry service to Canarsie Pier, Willets Point, West 125th Street, and City Island. No votes were taken; all introductions were laid over.
Hello, good morning. Welcome to today's New York City Council Heron for the Committee on Economic Development. Joint hearing with transportation and infrastructure. Please silence all phones. If you wish to speak in today's hearing, please fill out an appearance card with one of the sergeants. Moving forward, no one is to approach the day's. Chair, you may begin. All right. Good morning, and welcome to this joint hearing of the New York City Council's Committees on Economic Development and Transportation and Infrastructure. My name is Virginia Maloney, and I have the privilege of serving as the chair of the Committee on Economic Development. And I'm pleased to be joined by my co-chair, Majority Leader Sean Abreu. Before we begin, I'd like to note that we've been joined by a few council members. Councilmember Aldeball, Councilmember Farias, Councilmember Riley, and Councilmember Lewis. Today we are looking at how New Yorkers travel on the city's waterways and the role EDC plays in managing them. EDC runs the New York City Ferry and also oversees the seaplane base at East 23rd Street. It controls berthing for the excursion vessels at city owned piers across the five boroughs. These are all city assets and they affect the neighborhoods around them every day. We want to understand today how EDC manages those assets and how it holds operators accountable when things go wrong. First, we'll be discussing ferries. New York City Ferry has become an important part of how New Yorkers get around. The system carried 7.4 million trips last fiscal year, and this summer the city ran the most ferry service in its history. In December, EDC launched the first major system wide redesign of the routes since the system began. And this fall, New York City Ferry expanded discount fares to middle school students. And we all enjoyed the FIFA wrapped boats this summer. As of yesterday, riders are now paying more, with the base fare rising from 4.5 to $5. The biggest decision ahead is the operating contract. New York City Ferry is run by a private operator under an agreement worth up to $405 million. And this agreement is expiring in September 2028. The last procurement process took about a year, so the city will have to decide very soon whether or not they plan to renew the current operator, seek new bids, or try something altogether different. The city owns the boats, so every option is on the table. We want to know how the operator has performed, what the city has received in advertising and other revenue, and how EDC is planning the next phase of the New York City ferry. A decision of this size should not be made without the council and the public at the table. Second, seaplanes are an issue that hits close to home for the Eastside communities that I represent. On July 5th of this year, a seaplane carrying eight people made a hard landing in the East River right off the base at East 23rd Street, snapping a wing strut. The FDNY had to take passengers off the plane. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt, but it was not the first incident on the East River, and residents along the waterfront are living with regular noise and traffic of these flights. EDC did that just 10 years ago at the downtown Manhattan Heliport when it cut tourist helicopter flights in half and ended them on Sundays. And when this council passed local law 64 last year to rain in noisy helicopters, sea planes were not covered. We want to know who EDC has agreements with at the seaplane base, what the city gets in return, and whether EDC is prepared to use the tools it already has to work with the council and east side communities to better regulate these planes. Third, party boats raise many of the same concerns. In August 2025, a party boat carrying 300 people collided with another vessel on the East River near the 23rd Street landing, sending seven people to the hospital. In June 2025, a party yacht with 400 people aboard struck a dock near West 125th Street, injuring 35. Unlicensed charters have been even more dangerous. This August, a mother and her five-month-old daughter were killed when a boat carrying more passengers than it could uh legally hold, capsized near the Statue of Liberty. The city has acted before. In 2019, it stopped party boats from boarding in Sheepshead Bay after repeated complaints from residents. So we want to know what EDC requires of these operators before it lets them dock, whether anyone checks their Coast Guard credentials, and what happens when something goes wrong. Today we are also hearing four bills that would require ferry service or a study of ferry service at Canarse Pier, at Willet's Point, at West 125th Street, and City Island. These bills reflect real demand from communities that want to be connected to the rest of the city by water. I'll leave it to my co-chair and the bill's sponsors to speak to the legislation.