‘Not on my watch’: Schumer prevents $80M cut to Staten Island Ferry funding

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Nearly $80 million in federal funds earmarked for the Staten Island Ferry that was at risk of being rescinded has been maintained in the recent debt ceiling deal.

On Wednesday, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer visited the St. George Ferry Terminal to announce that he successfully negotiated the restoration of $843 million in unobligated federal relief funds for transit agencies across the country, including just over $79 million designated to the Department of Transportation (DOT) for Staten Island Ferry operations.

The $79 million in funding was appropriated to the DOT for Staten Island Ferry operations through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) that passed in December 2020.

It includes $35 million for security services, $26 million for staff salaries, $14 million for fuel costs and $4 million for terminal cleaning.

Support for a contract resolution was echoed by several of the borough’s North Shore elected officials in attendance for Wednesday’s press conference, who stressed the importance of the Staten Island Ferry given the borough’s dearth of other mass transit options.

“It’s so important that our ferry workers are compensated accordingly. Our ferry is an essential service for all Staten Islanders and in order for them to run, we need the workers and we need for them to be paid,” said State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-North Shore/South Brooklyn).

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