New York Water Taxi

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New York Water Taxi
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Locale	Highlands and New York City
Waterway	East River, Flushing Bay, Harlem River, Hell Gate, Hudson River, New York Harbor, Buttermilk Channel, Erie Basin, Upper New York Bay, The Narrows, Lower New York Bay, Raritan Bay, Rockaway Inlet, Sandy Hook Bay, West Channel
Transit type	Water taxi
Began operation	September 25, 2002
No. of lines	15
No. of vessels	12
No. of terminals	15
Daily ridership	Approximately 1,370
Owner	Douglas Durst Helena Durst
Website	New York Water Taxi
Operator	New York Water Taxi

New York Water Taxi is a water taxi service based in Red Hook, Brooklyn offering commuter and sightseeing service mainly to points along the East River and Hudson River. It is one of several private operators of ferries, sightseeing boats, and water taxis in the Port of New York and New Jersey.

On November 3, 2008, New York Water Taxi purchased Circle Line Downtown, a cruise and sightseeing company that operates on the New York Harbor, and together with Water Taxi Beach formed the Harbor Experience Companies. On June 21, 2010, the Durst Organization purchased New York Water Taxi and Circle Line Downtown, with Water Taxi Beach operations handed over to former New York Water Taxi co-president Tom Fox, and the Harbor Experience Companies name discontinued.

Vessels

New York Water Taxi operates a fleet of 12 vessels of four distinct types with most of them being named for what the company refers to as "New York's civic heroes". The 67.1-foot (20.5 m) Ed Rogowsky, Gene Flatow, Marian S Heiskell, Sam Holmes, and Seymour B. Durst vessels built from 2005 to 2008 by the Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding Corp. are capable of carrying up to 149 passengers at a speed of 26 knots. The 53.3-foot (16.2 m) Curt Berger, John Keith, Michael Mann, Mickey Murphy, and Schuyler Meyer Jr. vessels built from 2002 to 2003 by Robert E. Derecktor Connecticut Shipyards LLC are capable of carrying up to 74 passengers at 24 knots. The 95-foot (29 m) American Princess built in 1988 by Breaux Brothers Enterprises can carry up to 250 passengers, while the American Princess II is capable of carrying up to 288 passengers. All vessels can sustain massive amounts of abuse from the elements, and every vessel (except for the American Princess and American Princess II, which are monohulled) is a catamaran.

Commuter services

New York Water Taxi currently operates two commuter services:

• The East River Commuter Service serving:
  • The Hunters Point Slip (Water Taxi Beach and the Long Island City Long Island Rail Road station) in Queens
  • The East 34th Street Pier in Kips Bay, Manhattan
  • The Schaefer Landing in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
  • The Fulton Ferry Landing in Brooklyn
  • The Wall Street Ferry Pier at the Financial District in Manhattan
• The IKEA Express Service serving:
  • The Wall Street Ferry Pier at the Financial District in Manhattan
  • The IKEA Slip in Red Hook, Brooklyn

The Ed Rogowsky on the East River near Brooklyn Heights

Seasonal services

During the summer, New York Water Taxi operates four seasonal services. New York Beach Ferry services connect slips along the East River in Manhattan with beaches at Jacob Riis Park in Roxbury, Queens, Highlands in New Jersey, and Sandy Hook in Middletown Township, New Jersey. Hop-on/Hop-off services serve various slips along the East River, Hudson River, and New York Harbor within the city. All services run on weekends and holidays, with NYHarborWay Brooklyn/Manhattan Express Service also provided on Fridays:

New York Beach Ferry services

• The Rockaway Beach Service serving:
  • The Wall Street Ferry Pier at the Financial District in Manhattan
  • The US Coast Guard's Riis Landing in Roxbury, Queens
• The Sandy Hook Beach Service serving:
  • The East 34th Street Pier in Kips Bay, Manhattan
  • The Wall Street Ferry Pier at the Financial District in Manhattan
  • The Sandy Hook Bay Marina in Highlands, New Jersey

Hop-on/Hop-off services

• The NYHarborWay Brooklyn/Manhattan Express Service serving:
  • The Fulton Ferry Landing in Brooklyn
  • The South Street Seaport Pavilion Pier (Water Taxi Beach) at the Financial District in Manhattan
  • The Governors Island Pier (Water Taxi Beach) (Fridays and Holidays only)
  • The Atlantic Avenue Slip (Brooklyn Bridge Park) in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
• The Statue of Liberty Downtown Express Service serving:
  • The South Street Seaport Pavilion Pier (Water Taxi Beach) at the Financial District in Manhattan
  • The Fulton Ferry Landing in Brooklyn
  • The West 44th Street Slip (The Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum) in Clinton, Manhattan
  • The Battery Park Slip in Battery Park City, Manhattan

Other services

New York Water Taxi also provides sightseeing tours of the Hudson River and New York Harbor. Special events services connect slips along the East River in Manhattan with Citi Field, Icahn Stadium, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Yankee Stadium, and Water Taxi Beach locations at Governors Island and Hunters Point.

Gallery

• NYWT Tottenville yd jeh.JPG

  A boat drydocked at a maintenance marina in Tottenville, Staten Island

• Fat March Taping in New York City.JPG

  A Hop-on/Hop-off boat leaves the Fulton Ferry Landing during the taping of reality TV show Fat March

• Water Taxi parking Erie Basin jeh.JPG

  Boats moored at New York Water Taxi's storage facility in Red Hook, Brooklyn near New York Water Taxi's former ferry slip behind the Fairway Market

• Erie Basin, Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York 2009-07-19 at 11-11-29.jpg

  Marians Heiskell departs the storage facility in Red Hook

• Water Taxi.jpg

  The Schuyler Meyer Jr. arriving at the Wall Street Ferry Pier

• WaterTaxiIkeaByLuigiNovi1.jpg

  The Seymour B. Durst loading passengers at the IKEA Slip in Red Hook

External links

• Official site