The owners of the Greenpoint ferry dock that collapsed into the East River last winter still have not repaired it but are promising it will be fixed in time for the stoppage of G-train service to Queens late this month, the city said.
The East River Ferry has been without its India Street pier since Feb. 13, when the floating portion of the pier broke free of its moorings, plunging the connecting gangway into the icy water moments after commuters crossed it. G-train service to Queens is scheduled to be cut off on July 28, beginning five weeks of work to repair the Hurricane-Sandy damaged tunnel beneath Newtown Creek. The city’s Economic Development Corporation, which oversees the passenger-boat service connecting Brooklyn Bridge Park, Williamsburg, Queens, and parts of Manhattan, said the dock’s owner is working hard to get the stop back on the ferry’s schedule in time for the Queens disconnect.
“We have been working very closely with the private pier owner since the incident to ensure that their repairs are completed and service is restored as safely and quickly as possible,” said agency spokeswoman Kate Blumm. “The pier owners have been extremely responsive and appreciate the urgency of the situation, and we have every confidence that ferry riders will be able to board again before the G train shuts down at the end of July.”
Blumm did not explain why the pier owner is performing the repairs and not ferry operator Billybey, which is responsible for keeping it safe.
The dock’s owner Red Sky Capital resisted paying for the fix, Capital New York reported.
A rider said it is long past time for the ferry stop to come back online — and that ferry staffers are mum when it comes to information about when that might happen.
“It would be so much more useful if everyone did not have to walk all the way from Greenpoint,” said rider Magda Sadiq as she got off the ferry at the N. Sixth Street pier in Williamsburg. “And the guys on the boat are not informed of anything, so they are no help.”
