Study Names Best Spots For Proposed Ferry Station In Hoboken

HOBOKEN, NJ — The City of Hoboken has released the results of a study to assess the best possible site for New York Waterway’s proposed ferry repair and refueling station. And it’s not the company’s desired location, the Union Dry Dock, officials said.

On Tuesday, city officials announced the results of the study, which was conducted by Boswell Engineering and can be seen in full here.

According to Hoboken city officials, the study shows similar results as the one conducted by NJ Transit in 2009, both of which reached the same conclusion: the best option is Lackawanna Terminal in south Hoboken, not the Union Dry Dock property.

“I’m sure there are people saying this is a NIMBY issue, that we don’t want this in our backyard,” Hoboken Mayor Ravinder Bhalla said. “We’re saying the exact opposite. We’re saying yes, we do want this in our backyard. We just don’t want it in a residential area of Hoboken. We want it in an area of Hoboken that’s appropriate, and that appropriate location is our transit hub at Lackawanna Terminal.”

• See related article: NY Waterway Founder To Hoboken Council: Leave Dry Dock Alone
• See related article: Hoboken Continues Tug Of War Over Union Dry Dock

City officials said that the study analyzed 24 properties from the George Washington Bridge to the New York Bay in Bayonne, ultimately focusing on the five “most feasible locations.”

The locations were measured on a range of criteria, including capacity, zoning/use compatibility, development timing, accessibility, public safety, environmental constraints, future expansion, and cost, city officials said.

The sites were ranked as follows:

• Hoboken South (Lakawanna Terminal)
• Bayonne Peninsula
• Binghamton Ferry Site
• Union Dry Dock
• Port Imperial Ferry Terminal

Citing the new study - as well as NJ Transit’s 2009 study - Bhalla called on Governor Phil Murphy to urge New York Waterway to choose an alternate location, such as Lakawanna Terminal, and allow the City of Hoboken to purchase the Union Dry Dock property at a “fair market value.”

• See related article: Hoboken Makes $11.6M Offer To Buy Dry Dock From NY Waterway

NY Waterway has argued that the company has a right to operate a maintenance facility on the Dry Dock property at 901 Sinatra Drive, which it recently purchased for $11.5 million.

"The Union Dry Dock site has been used as a marine repair facility for more than a century," said Arthur Imperatore, a member of the New Jersey Hall of Fame and founder of NY Waterway. "It is the only available site with the zoning required for NY Waterway to operate. There is no other available and suitable facility than Union Dry Dock with deep water, piers and heavy electrical power."

Local commuters should support NY Waterway's plans for the Dry Dock, especially those who take the ferry when the other public transit systems fail, Imperatore previously said.

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Photo: YouTube / NY Waterway