Governor Hochul announced on Friday, May 10, 2024 cross-Hudson ferry service in the Hudson Valley will be extended to weekends from 9:00am until 9:30pm. It's been such a long time since this petition was posted, but here we are.
Our work is not finished, however.
We wanted midday and late-night service daily. That means on weekdays and on weekends. Also, the effort by the MTA and the Governor's Office is billed as a "pilot," meaning they could ultimately take the service away if it's deemed to have yielded too low ridership.
We shouldn't settle for less than a ferry service that matches the MetroNorth Railroad Hudson Line timetable. Daily service, all day and into the late-night period. Rockland needs rail service on par with Westchester County's extensive service. Expanded ferry connections to Ossining Railroad Station is a step in the right direction. Ultimately, restoration of the West Shore Railroad passenger line from Hoboken and Secaucus to Haverstraw, West Haverstraw through Bergen County, Orangeburg and West Nyack (and perhaps all the way up to Newburgh) is required. The west shore of the Hudson River needs real passenger rail to revitalize rivertown communities there.
The Governor and Legislature should finally recognize transit has the power to unlock entire regions to new housing to relieve this housing crisis and create the lasting economic development New York needs. Act now, please!
photo credit: Tyler Blodgett