NYC Ferry Stop Sinks For A Day After New Owners Take Over

NEW YORK CITY — Commuters gathered on a Greenpoint pier Monday morning watched helplessly as the New York City Ferry sailed past the stop.

“No service,” a boat operator shouted from the vessel.

Video depicting the scene was shared on Twitter by City Council candidate Elizabeth Adams, who joined a chorus of New Yorkers confused and angered by the sudden service interruption.

The cause, as Adams laid out, was the property’s recent sale.

“This isn’t how public transit functions,” she tweeted.

The stoppage eventually was lifted Monday at 4 p.m., according to NYC Ferry.

NYC Ferry, in conjunction with Hornblower, offered the Greenpoint stop as part of its East River ferry service. It tweeted that “temporary restrictions” prompted a service suspension.

A spokesperson for Lendlease, the company that recently bought the property, said in an email that the issues were resolved.

“After working collectively to resolve the issues at hand, Hornblower and Lendlease are now jointly able to announce the resumption of NYC Ferry services to and from Greenpoint,” the spokesperson wrote.

The resolution capped what Mayor Bill de Blasio called a “quizzical situation.”

The closure stemmed from the recent $111 million purchase of the property by Lendlease and Aware Super.

The two Australian companies plan a “major urban regeneration project” that will turn a full city block into a mixed-use development with 800 residential units, 30 percent of which will be affordable housing.

“The property, uniquely positioned on the Greenpoint waterfront, will also encompass a reimagined public waterfront esplanade with improved connection to the India Street Pier and NYC Water Ferry,” a company release states.

But as Brooklyn Council Member Stephen Levin, who represents the area, pointed out it apparently caused a hiccup in the ferry system’s use of the property. He called himself “livid” over the situation, which left commuters stranded.

The Lendlease spokesperson apologized for the situation.

“We apologize for any inconvenience that this interruption to NYC Ferry service caused for riders,” the spokesperson wrote. “We look forward to serving all New Yorkers throughout the NYC Ferry network as service resumes.”