NY: Public transit group floats $200,000 plan to revive Newburgh-Beacon Ferry

A group of public transit enthusiasts has a plan to revive the defunct Newburgh-Beacon Ferry on their own terms. The Save the Ferry Community Coalition has been pushing for the return of the ferry since last year, when the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced it would discontinue the service.

Now, the grassroots group has a new goal: raising $200,000 from public and private sources to operate its own ferry service beginning this summer. That's how much the group estimates it would need to hire a boating company to operate trips between the two cities on weekends throughout the summer and early fall, said Carson Carter, a Newburgh resident and Save the Ferry spokesperson.

The group has already been speaking with a local operator, the New York Boat Company, to explore potential costs and considerations for the private weekend service.

"This is a seasonal pilot we are suggesting," Carter said. "We think this would be a good proof of concept."

Residents and businesses in both cities were frustrated when MTA said in July that it would no longer operate the Newburgh-Beacon Ferry due to low ridership and high costs. A petition to continue ferry service garnered more than 1,700 signatures. Seventy businesses issued letters of support. Orange County, Dutchess County, the town of Newburgh and the city of Beacon passed resolutions calling on the MTA to act.

The campaign seems to have caught the attention of state officials. In December, soon after advocates delivered the petition to Gov. Kathy Hochul's office, the state Department of Transportation announced it would expand a free bus service that shuttles riders between the two cities on weekdays. But daily commuters say the shuttle can take more than 45 minutes due to traffic on the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge — much longer than the 10-minute ride across the river in the commuter ferry. And it only runs Monday through Friday, meaning anyone traveling via Metro-North on weekends must rely on private cars or rideshare apps.

Several lawmakers criticized the MTA's decision to suspend ferry service, but MTA officials said ridership did not justify the ferry's $2.1 million annual price tag. In an effort to prove that the ferry still has broad public support, Save the Ferry members decided they needed a new tactic. Their plan to provide weekend ferry service without the help of MTA came together with the help of Austin Haase, captain and owner at New York Boat Company. Haase heard about the group's campaign and reached out to offer his services earlier this year.

"I basically just opened my books to them," Haase said, adding that he told the group, "I have an extra boat and I would love to be part of this effort."

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Haase offered the use of his 1940s Navy boat, The Nellie Bly, and said his company would shuttle passengers between the two cities throughout the summer if the group could find the money to hire a captain and pay for boat-related expenses. The Nellie Bly can carry 49 people and takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete trips across the river, Haase said.

The group was tight-lipped about its potential funding sources. State Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson, a Newburgh Democrat, pledged earlier this year to discuss the ferry at state budget hearings. Jacobson's office did not immediately comment when reached by phone on Wednesday. The Orange County Funding Corporation, a nonprofit focusing on economic development projects, was set to consider Save the Ferry's proposal at a meeting on Wednesday night.

Amanda Dana, Orange County's director of tourism, said her office would help market the ferry to visitors throughout the New York metropolitan area if it receives full funding. The ferry would improve access to communities on the west side of the river, which historically have fewer public transit options, she said.

"Selfishly, we would love for more people to come over to the west side of the Hudson," Dana told the Times Union. "We have to be so creative to make that last-mile connection with our visitors."

Carter said any public money the group receives would be administered by the Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston, a registered nonprofit. He was confident that state and local representatives would see the benefit of boosting the region's public transit options.

"There is so much good happening here in terms of housing and business," he said. "But multimodal transit is the connective tissue that makes those things work."

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