Hundreds Evacuated from Staten Island Ferry After Engine Room Fire
Five people were injured and hundreds more evacuated after a fire broke out aboard a ferry traveling from Manhattan to Staten Island on Thursday evening, officials said.The Sandy Ground, one of the Staten Island Ferry's newly commissioned Ollis-class vessels, was carrying 868 passengers and 16 crew members when the engine room fire started shortly after 5 p.m., FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Frank Leeb said during a press conference.First responders from the FDNY and NYPD, as well as commercial tugs and other passenger vessels…
Pete Davidson and Colin Jost Buy Decommissioned Staten Island Ferry
An out-of-service Staten Island Ferry vessel has reportedly been purchased by Saturday Night Live stars Pete Davidson and Colin Jost.The Staten Island natives bought the decommissioned 277-foot ferry John F. Kennedy at auction in partnership with Manhattan real estate broker and comedy club owner Paul Italia, the New York Post reported.“The idea is to turn the space into a live entertainment event space, with comedy, music, art, et cetera,” Italia told The Post.“We’re in the early stages…
Staten Island Ferries: A "New York State of Mind"
It takes a thick skin to live in New York City, let alone to run its Staten Island Ferry service. James C. DeSimone, Deputy Commissioner, Ferry Division, New York City Department of Transportation, has been charged with running the ferry service for the last 16 years. We met with him for his insights on the challenges of keeping the iconic ferry running safely and efficiently.Jim DeSimone has led a maritime life, with his time equally split between the private and public sectors. His maritime affiliation is literally in his blood, as his father Guy J.
Profiles in Training: Staten Island Ferries
When James C. DeSimone, Deputy Commissioner, Ferry Division, New York City Department of Transportation, signed on to run the Staten Island Ferries in 2003, the organization was still in the aftermath of one of the most significant accidents in its history: the ferry Andrew J. Barberi allision of October 2003, an accident which included a number of fatalities and serious injuries. DeSimone, who had long-tenures in both the commercial and public end of the marine business, brought a unique perspective to the organization.“For the city to go outside the system to hire (me) was huge…
STILL FIGHTIING FIRES AFTER ALL THESE YEARS
How much water has flowed under the bridge since 1938? Well, for starters, the bridge itself - in this case, the Verrazano-Narrows - wasn't even built yet. We had no PCs, no CDs, no LPs, not even TVs in 1938. Manhattan's shore ended at West Street, which bristled with steamboats and their docks. Hundreds of daily arrivals brought people and cars and horse-drawn wagons across the North River, from the Garden State and the terminals of powerful railroads. Containerization, like cartridgization and cassetization, were yet to be thought of, and so were containerports. So was the strip of the Kill known as gasoline alley, and events it would sponsor - the Exxon/Mobil blast a year and a half ago…
Memo to the New Staten Island Ferries: Welcome to New York
How long does it take to build a double-ended municipal ferryboat? Any boat with two bows should have two answers, if not more. If by "build a ferryboat" we mean from the moment we start laying the keel to the moment the boat hits the water, we could say a ferryboat takes eleven months to build. Or anyway, that's how long it took Marinette Marine, Inc., a division of Manitowoc Corporation, to build the first in "the new Kennedy class" - at 310-feet and 7.1 million pounds loaded, with a $40-million price tag, the largest vessel constructed by the yard. Altogether, there are three. "The second two were identical," said Marinette Marine's Duane Roehm, Vice-President, Program Management and Planning, "but during the construction of the first, there was a strike.
Staten Island Ferry Completes Maiden Voyage
The Spirit of America, the third and last in the new Molinari class of Staten Island ferryboats, had its maiden voyage on April 5 with a low-key trip across New York Harbor. Ferry managers and a handful of elected leaders took the inaugural trip, a 10 a.m. run from St. George that commenced without the ceremony, speeches and hoopla that welcomed the Spirit's sister vessels, Guy V. Molinari and Sen. John J. Marchi. Staten Island Advance readers voted to name the boat Sprit of America in 2004, after its original name, September 11, was deemed inappropriate by many people. The Spirit can carry as many as 4,400 passengers on its four passenger decks. The Molinari entered the fleet in January 2005 and the Marchi followed in May. The Spirit has mostly sat idle at St.
