Mayor de Blasio on Wednesday kicked off construction of a Lower East Side ferry dock that he said would provide a 17-minute ride to Midtown when it opens this summer.
That compares to what officials said was a 13-minute walk to the nearest subway — the F train at East Broadway — for residents of the Vladeck Houses and other public-housing developments.
A new dock will also open in the Soundview section of The Bronx this summer — bringing the total number of ferry landings citywide to 21.
“The beauty of NYC Ferry is that we can put this online very, very quickly,” the mayor said at a press conference near the Williamsburg Bridge.
The ferry charges $2.75 per ride, the same as the subway.
But some residents complained that the new terminal is more likely to bring outsiders to the Lower East Side than to help local low-income public-housing residents.
“For the past 30 years, the community did not have access to the waterfront because of the poor conditions,” said Nancy Ortiz, a resident leader at Vladeck Houses. “The community feels that the needs and the wants of the community — and the desire of the community to access the waterfront — is not being met.”