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Growing up in the Southeastern Bronx, I feel as though I have always been aware that New York City was mostly made up of islands (with the exception of the Bronx being connected to the mainland). Although, people may not view this city as a nautical one, it most certainly is and has always been. This is when I realized, there are some areas of the city very close to the water that are not well connected to bus and train lines. This is especially the case when you discuss the Southeastern Bronx and Northern Queens. 

Take a look at this map here. We can see that there are various parts of the Bronx that are right across the water from Queens Naturally, it should be easy for someone coming from Soundview to go to College Point, or maybe someone coming from Port Morris to go to Astoria. Now let’s look at potential routes from these two areas of the Bronx. 

To go from Port Morris to Astoria (Ditmars-Steinway), it would take about an hour, and would require crossing through Manhattan to get to Queens. To go from Soundview to College Point would be about the same, and would require one to take 2 or 3 buses depending on where you are going. As we can see from these two routes, it is not easy for someone coming from either of these areas to get to the other. With the total distance from Harding Park to College Point being 1.85 miles, and the distance from Port Morris to Astoria being 1.73 miles, surely there is a better and easier way to get to these places. Well there is! Look no further to ferries, a service that the city began to revitalize at the end of the 2010s. 

The use of boats to get around New York predates European settlements. The Lenape used canoes to travel around Manahatta (the original name of Manhattan, meaning hilly island), and up and down the Hudson River. The first regular ferry service was established by Dutch Settlers in the 17^th century, which they would use to get from Lower Manhattan to Breuckelen (Brooklyn), where they had begun establishing plantations. These early ferries were operated by the Common Council of New Amsterdam. However, there was one major issue with these boats, they were reliant on sails and oars which made them susceptible to being damaged during their trips around the East River. 

The invention of the steam boat changed this, and ushered in a new era for the city, one in which ferries would be extremely important for the city’s economy. The first steam ferry service in New York was pioneered by Robert Fulton in 1807. This route took people up the Hudson River with stops until Albany. Then, in 1814 the steam ferry service was opened across the East River. From there, more ferry lines began to be established. The ferries not only brought people across the water, but horse drawn carriages, and freight. The primary way for moving freight in the early 1900s was by ferry as there was only one railroad freight line going into Manhattan. 

By 1904, 147 ferry lines were running in the city and the next year the government began its takeover of the ferry system, after it acquired a ferry route between Manhattan and Staten Island. The Department of Docks and Ferries ran these new lines through the New York City Municipal Ferry System, and in the years after 1905 even more ferry routes began to be established around the city. 

In June of 1911, construction on a new ferry line began, and it was one between Clason Point in the Bronx and College Point in Queens. The ferry was operated by the Twin City Ferry company, and was backed by businessmen from Long Island and the Bronx who believed that it would, “open up territory on both the Bronx and Long Island shores to a new era of prosperity.” 

Clason Point (called Clason’s Point on some old maps), located where the East River meets the Long Island Sound, was purchased by Isaac Clason in the early 18^th century. Most of this land was used for farming until 1892, when 25 acres of the peninsula was purchased by Clinton Stephens. The land was then converted into a waterfront neighborhood, with an amusement park (often called the Coney Island of the Bronx). Park attendance started to dwindle in the mid-1920s due to a tornado hitting New York (with winds up to 100 m.p.h.), causing the ferris wheel to fall while people were still on it. The death toll was 7 and 35 people were injured. 

College Point in the 1920s was a residential enclave, mostly populated by Germans, Italians, and Irish immigrants living and working in the area. Like Clason Point, it had been a popular area for people to relax at. Many residents at the time worked at the rubber, soap, or ribbon factories. Most public transit at this time cost only $0.05 to ride including the ferry and trolley’s which took residents to other parts of Queens and Long Island. Daily ferry service was nothing new in College Point; the service began in the 1880s with a ferryoperating between College Point and East 99th Street, in Manhattan. This route allowed farm wagons from Long Island to cross the East River and sell their products at the Harlem Market. 

One College Point resident recalls riding the ferry with her mother to Clason Point on Sundays, which was a “great treat” for her. Another, recalls riding the ferry with his older sisters as a small child. When it was time for the ferry to return back to Queens, he and his sisters hid so that they wouldn’t have to pay the $0.05 fare again. The ferry served as a beautiful memory in many College Pointers lives.

Ferry service grew under Mayor John Hylan’s administration (1918-1925), but just as soon as New York’s ferry service met its peak, it would begin to be out paced by new methods of transportation. Ferries that went across the Hudson River began to be challenged by the openings of three new bridges/tunnels, the Holland Tunnel (1927), the George Washington Bridge (1931), and the Lincoln Tunnel (1941). 

The construction of these bridges and tunnels was not the only factor which contributed to the fall of the municipal ferry system, the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression which followed ensured that there would be less funding for public services like ferries. 

The decline of the College Point ferry began in 1936, when the Triboro Bridge opened, and by 1939 it was out of service following the completion of the Whitestone Bridge. For many College Pointers the opening of the bridge was something extremely exciting. At the time of the opening, people were able to walk across the bridge. 

“A beautiful day. Wendel (my husband) and I walked the new Bronx-Whitesone Bridge from Malba to the Bronx this morning. It was a thrill. We crossed both directions in about 1 ½ hours, doing it quite leisurely. It was grand!” – Excerpt from College Point Remembrances.

However, not all residents marked this change as something completely positive. 

“The opening of the Whitestone Bridge and closing of the College Point – Clason Point Ferry isolated College Point from the main stream of traffic.” –Excerpt from College Point Remembrances 

Today, many of us probably couldn’t imagine what it would be like if we didn’t have access to the Whitestone or Throggs Neck Bridges. Not being able to cross into New Jersey over the George Washington, or to Manhattan over the Triboro Bridge seems strange. But something that may be even stranger is the fact that many of us have forgotten that New York is a coastal city. For much of its history, residents of the 5 boroughs used the various water ways to get from island to island. The new settlers, whether they were Dutch, English, or German, saw this as the best way to get around. So, why is it that we have forgotten these roots, and allowed the ferry system to become run down? 

One of the issues that we face is the fact that much of New York’s coastline is underdeveloped, and by many residents, these coastal areas are considered less than ideal. Take into account Orchard Beach, built to be New York City’s own riviera, but today many Bronx residents would laugh at you if you said that you wanted to go swimming in Orchard Beach. 

While the Whitestone Bridge carries hundreds of thousands from the Bronx to Queens and vice versa, there are many negative effects this mode of transportation brings. Studies have shown that there are increased levels of lead in the areas below the Whitestone and Throggs Neck Bridges. The expressways that connect to the bridges have negative environmental impacts on the neighborhoods that are next to them. For example, children in the Bronx have higher rates of asthma because of the mix of the industrial environments, and expressways which cut through neighborhoods. 

Since 2017, the city has begun to revitalize ferry service across the 5 boroughs. Here are the current ferry lines that are available to New York City residents at all times of the year. However, there is still no true direct route from Queens into the Bronx, to ride the ferry that way you still need to transfer to the Astoria Route at East 90th Street.

What am I proposing here, that we all remember we live in a coastal city, and that the waterways are excellent ways for us to travel from borough to borough. There should be a revamp of a ferry line from the Bronx straight into Queens. 

In New York, constant traffic, honking, and road rage is something that is to be expected. In Manhattan the average speed of a car is 7 miles per hour. Air quality and public health in cities are directly linked to how accessible public transit is. In a city with 8 million people, it is important to think about not only the fastest ways to get people around, but the quality of life of all city residents around these areas with high amounts of traffic.

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