Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Delivers Remarks in Celebration of the Launch of the St. George Ferry Route on Staten Island

August 23, 2021

Executive Director James Wong, Economic Development Corporation NYC Ferry Division: Hello, everyone. My name is James Wong, I run NYC Ferry at the New York City Economic Development Corporation.  

[Applause] 

And we are so excited that you could all join us for the launch of our new St. George route. I've had the opportunity to be a part of this project since its announcement in 2015. Since then, we've built boats, opened landings, and began operating and growing the NYC Ferry system. To be here for the moment we can truly be a city-wide ferry system is thrilling. And so, today I would like to welcome and introduce a man who truly needs no introduction, Mayor Bill de Blasio.  

[Applause] 

Mayor Bill de Blasio: First of all, everybody, the folks at the Economic Development Corporation, the folks who particularly work NYC ferry, everyone at Hornblower, a group of people who have done this now for years, truly as a labor of love to bring New York City back to our water, to bring us back to the waterways that have been part of this history, of our city for 400 years, to reconnect us with what's around us, to make it easier for us to get around. There are no traffic jams on the water, okay. This is the one thing we can say for sure. And what these guys have done is amazing. So, give, with me, a huge round of applause to everyone at NYC Ferry, everyone at Hornblower. 

[Applause] 

Amazing. James, thank you for your leadership. You've done a great, great job. Now, you cannot be on the water and be safe without these guys. The United States Coast Guard has been with us every step of the way, making sure NYC Ferry is safe. And they don't get the credit they deserve for all the things that happen in our harbor, our waterways, it works because of the Coast Guard. Let's thank them. 

[Applause] 

So, so many people believed in this. I want to thank the community leaders, the advocates, the activists who called for more transportation options for Staten Island. You believed it could happen, and it has happened thanks to you. Thank you, everybody. 

[Applause] 

This is history today. We all know that one of the great icons of this city is the Staten Island Ferry, but we also know Staten Islanders deserve more, more options, more places that you can get to by water. We knew that NYC Ferry needed to keep growing. And now for the first time in generations, maybe ever, Staten Islanders can go directly to the West Side of Manhattan and access everything there and vice versa. I know Jimmy Oddo believes in the vice versa. There's so much in Staten Island for folks from Manhattan and all five boroughs to experience. And now it's going to be easier than ever. 

This is history today, the very first day – St. George to Battery Park, and then to the West Side of Midtown, this is going to make life so much better, so much easier for so many Staten Islanders. And every place that NYC Ferry has gone we've heard the same thing. It changes people's lives, makes things faster, easier. It's comfortable. It's convenient. You're on the water. A lot of people have told me it's like the one time in their day where they chill out, is when they're on the water, even going to and from work. If you're going to and from work on NYC Ferry, life is good. And yes, beer and wine is served, but – that was a very important, specific part of the plan.  

But 18 minutes to Battery Park on the West Side, and then on up. It's going to connect us more deeply. And I want everyone to understand, this city is coming back. We've seen the naysayers over the years, anytime we had a problem – we had a problem in the city, in the 60s and 70s, we had a problem in the fiscal crisis. We had a problem, a horrible tragedy of 9/11. We had the Great Recession. Every time, every single time you had people say, ‘oh, New York City's best days are behind.’ And every single time New York City came roaring back. All five boroughs. The Census Bureau told us last week after everyone was trying to say, ‘oh, what's happened, we've lost people.’ Guess what? We have the highest population in our history, 8.8 million of us here because people believe in New York City. They believe in Staten Island. They believe in all five boroughs. So, this city is going to be stronger than ever. We will recover and we will become better. 

And here's an example – still fighting off this pandemic and yet we're opening new things. We're starting things, we're making big things happen. That's what New York City is about. That's what Staten Island is about. So, everyone, we're going to have a recovery in the city. It's going to be a recovery for all of us. It's going to be a recovery for all five boroughs. And our job every day is to make life better in all five boroughs. This week, we are going to celebrate Staten Island. We're going to make sure the City government is focused on Staten Island, continuing to improve life in Staten Island. And for eight years, my partner in that work – and by the way, here's a little civics lesson. Doesn't matter that I happened to be a Democrat and he happens to be a Republican. It matters we both care to do the right thing by the people of Staten Island and this city. And that's why we've been able to work together for eight years to get things done. I'm really happy this happened before you left office. It's my pleasure to introduce Borough President Jimmy Oddo. 

[Applause] 

Staten Island Borough President James S. Oddo: Thank you Mr. Mayor, and Councilwoman Rose and everyone. Good afternoon. It is good to see you. Today we strike a blow for equity and fairness. And today the city-wide fast ferry system truly becomes a citywide fast ferry system. This is not the ending. This is the beginning. And from here we grow out a fast ferry system. By the way, the next stop should be adding Staten Island to an existing Brooklyn route. So, if you have some time before the end of the term, Mr. Mayor, that's the next step. If you look at the projections pre-COVID made by the New York City EDC, this route was expected to have 1.9 million rides, the second most popular route in the entire system. That's great news. This is not a panacea. This is not a cure-all, this doesn't get us to mass transit equity. It doesn't get us to mass transit fairness. It doesn't solve all Staten Island commutes, but as sure as heck helps a lot of people, it reduces their commutes, and it gives a bit of their lives back to them.  

I want to thank the Mayor. We're not here, but for him, it's his decision. And I am very appreciative that we are here today. There's my new favorite acronym, RLFC. It's not a football club, it’s the Rachel Loeb Fan Club, the president of the EDC. I am the president of the Staten Island chapter of the Rachel Loeb Fan Club. I want to thank her. I want to thank her predecessor, a guy that some of us used to call ‘El Presidente,’ James Patchett. Wherever you are, James, thank you for your friendship. Thank you for all of the work that you did to get us to this point. I want to thank the EDC team, the ferry team, the capital construction team, the transportation planning and the external fairs. James Wong, Franny Civitano, Jennifer Cass [inaudible] –

I want to say one last thing that builds upon some of the comments I made this morning in the Mayor's briefing. On September 6th, 2017, Jason Razefsky, my land-use planner Bob Englert, and I toured Staten Island with the Board of Standards and Appeals Commissioner Perlmutter. It was the first time a BSA chair came to Staten Island and really cared. And we toured Staten Island looking at some of those – the most horrendous residential housing developments. And we were trying to find a fix to it. At the end of that tour, I was told the Mayor would be calling. September 6th, 2017. I am not known as an optimist, but I was optimistic we were going to get good news on the fast ferry. And Jason and I went to the conference room, the Mayor was on the speaker phone or actually on the headset. And the Mayor said, ‘Jimmy, we're not doing it this round, can't get it done.’ I pushed back. The Mayor pushed back. I pushed back a little harder. And the Mayor said, ‘this is the way it is, before we leave, we will get it done.’ 

The Staten Island Advance – ‘BP Oddo builds a strong case for fast ferries.’ The Staten Island Advance – ‘Cage rattling gets City Hall to talk fast ferry.’ I want to say this. We get things done, those of us who represent Staten Island, not by our public displays, but by our private ones. Yes, every now and then you got to jump up and down. I'm as good on Twitter as anyone, never missed an opportunity. There was a snowstorm in March of 2017. Very funny, fast ferry, fast ferry, fast ferry, snow. All right, we – 

Mayor: Wait, what’s that headwear right there? 

Borough President Oddo: That's a durag of sorts. 

Mayor: [Inaudible] Before I finish this. I just want this to be part of history. That’s very controversial –  

Borough President Oddo: That's a reverse durag of sorts –  

Mayor: [Inaudible]  

Borough President Oddo: My point is, yeah, we talked about this publicly on plenty of occasions. Yes, my tweets are [inaudible] at times and witty, but it is the constant conversations behind closed doors that gets it done. So, this is an old guy who's leaving office kind of preaching a little bit to all the elected officials on Staten Island and the want-to-be elected officials. Yeah, you might get lots of likes jumping up and down, calling the other guy or the other woman a bum, but you get stuff done behind closed doors. We are here today not because I stood up and ranted and raved and called Mayor de Blasio bad names. We're here today because we were ever persistent, ever dogged in making the case on the facts, on the data, on the number and those won the day.  

I will close with this because there's a name that we have to utter. It would not be right if we closed this event without uttering his name, and that is Arthur Imperatore Sr. Arthur Imperatore is the reason why we have fast ferry in New York Harbor. Long before the Mayor was the mayor, Arthur Imperatore was introducing fast ferry. And he was a guy that I befriended late in my term in the City Council. He became a mentor of sorts, particularly on this issue. And he told me, ‘Jim, it's about price point, it's about frequency, and it's about parking.’ And the Mayor will remember in the press conference at Borough Hall a few years ago, when we announced this route, I famously uttered the name Arthur Imperatore because I used him to explain why this is on the North Shore and not on the East Shore or the South Shore. That video is out there on Twitter. I suggest to all Staten Islanders to watch it. 

In conclusion, Mayor, thank you so much for this. This is the beginning of a really robust, fast ferry system on Staten Island. You are helping the lives of Staten Islanders, you are returning time to them. And I very much appreciate it. And I will close, Mayor, by saying, be grateful this morning I didn't reference my socks –  

Mayor: Okay. Hold on. Oh, okay. That's –  

[Laughter] 

Borough President Oddo: A little inside humor there folks. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.  

[Applause] 

Mayor: Jimmy Oddo, no stranger to controversy, now extends them to his fashion choices. But Jimmy, thank you. Thank you for always fighting. And it does get things done when people actually talk. And I want to turn into another leader who's really fought hard for this and also behind the scenes helped us find a way to make it happen. But first I want to give some credit where credit is due. This ferry boat today named by students. This has been one of the greatest things with NYC Ferry. There’s a lot of things to love about it, but we let the kids of New York City public schools named the ferries. So, the students of P. S. 65, the Academy of Innovative Learning, chose the name and they couldn't have done better. They called it, Dream Boat. Let's give them a round of applause.  

[Applause] 

And now someone who has advocated really passionately for more fairness for Staten Island, more resources for Staten Island, and definitely more ways for Staten Islanders to get around. And she told me, this is something we got to get done. I'm happy we could do it while she's in office as well. Council Member Debi Rose. 

[...] 

Council Member Deborah Rose: Good morning, Mr. Mayor. I am excited. I can't think of any better way for us to start your visit here on Staten Island with us. You were attacked, you were cajoled. And I think everything that we could throw at you about the fast ferry was thrown at you and you survived it and you delivered. And I want to thank you so much. I want to also thank the EDC. I want to thank New York City Ferry and our Coast Guard that's going to made sure that we would be safe in all of these endeavors. And I want to say to all of you that are here, today is a good news day for New York City commuters. And that's not something we hear often in New York City, right? That it’s a good day for commuters. This long-awaited opening of our St. George route by New York City Ferry will give commuters and volunteers a convenient, but fast and comfortable option for travel between Staten Island and Manhattan. You know the Mayor said that there are no traffic jams on the waterways. And we have a beautiful natural harbor that I'm so glad to see we are now using it as a main source of transportation. So, ferries are part of the solutions to moving people around throughout the city, safely and expeditiously. You know, there's a lot of talk about commuter pricing – what’s it called? 

Mayor: Congestion pricing. 

Council Member Rose: Congestion pricing – and why is it called congestion pricing? Because there's a lot of congestion and this is going to also help eliminate some of that for those of us who travel on the Staten Island Expressway in the morning, trying to get into Manhattan. So, I just want to say thank you so much. We are really grateful. This is – oftentimes things are done. But this has long-term far-reaching ramifications for all of us. So, I just want to thank all of you. I want to thank the Mayor. I want to thank the Borough President for his efforts and everybody who helped to make today possible. Thank you. 

[Applause] 

Borough President Oddo: I just wanted to say two other quick things. The Mayor mentioned vice-versa, and the trip from Manhattan to Staten Island. I tweeted out in February, 2017, listen to this number, 13 percent of the St. George Theater’s customers come from Manhattan and Brooklyn, and the Staten Island-Brooklyn fast ferry would help our culture [inaudible] and small businesses. I think that's a pretty remarkable number, 13 percent. And then the other thing I just mentioned to the Mayor is everyone just kind of look over your shoulder and look at Richmond County Ballpark. We're going to be talking about that later in the week. For those good folks who live in other boroughs, this is how close the fast ferry landing is to the ballpark. And starting next April, you'll be able to hop on a fast ferry, maybe have an adult beverage or two, watch a game, and be able to travel home safely. So, it's a good thing.  

Mayor: [Inaudible]  

Executive Director Wong: Mr. Mayor, I know you have a busy week here on Staten Island. So, I do want to thank you for having taken the time to be here. Also, I'll just ask folks, as folks are getting off of this ferry just to make a little space back there. This is the first NYC Ferry to Staten Island. And the first to sail along the West Side of Manhattan on the Hudson River. It will get you into Lower Manhattan in just 18 minutes or to Midtown West in 35 minutes. The St. George commuter route will be a game changer for commuters, and as has been said, will improve the quality of life. This new route will bring more business to Staten Island with New Yorkers and tourists being able to get here more easily and taking advantage of shopping here at the Empire Outlets right here, or visiting a restaurant in Snug Harbor. This has been about delivering accessible, affordable ferry service to connect neighborhoods and to make them stronger.  

And this could not be more important as our city recovers from the economic impact of COVID-19, and as New Yorkers may be looking for alternative forms of transportation. So, we at EDC who run NYC Ferry and these routes are extremely proud to continue to serve our communities and expand transportation options. In closing, I want to thank the team at NYC Ferry, the Mayor for being here, our students from P. S. 65, Borough President Oddo, Council Member Rose, the Coast Guard, and also to invite anyone who would like to be on the Dream Boat here behind me to say, thank you to everyone. And for those who would like to take a ride, we welcome you aboard the Dream Boat. And Borough President Oddo –  

Mayor: [Inaudible] Oddo –  

Borough President Oddo: It’s like an encore. I just want to point out everyone, not one, but two slips. Originally the location was going to be closer to the Staten Island Ferry terminal, but the good folks at New York City EDC found a better location. Two slips. You know what that means, twice the fun. That means more routes, it's already built. Thank you, sir. Already built, two routes, Brooklyn. 

Mayor: [Inaudible] I just want to say I'm impressed by the kids naming this boat, the City Fishy. 

[Laughter] 

Thank you, everyone.