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Newburgh–Beacon Ferry

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The Newburgh–Beacon Ferry is a ferry service crossing the Hudson River that connects Newburgh with Beacon in the U.S. state of New York . It carries passengers between the two cities during rush hour , primarily transporting commuters from the west side of the river at Newburgh to the commuter train station on the east side at Beacon where they can catch Metro North Hudson Line service to Grand Central Terminal and other points in New York City .

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51-705: NY Waterway operates the ferry under contract from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , along with the Haverstraw–Ossining Ferry downstream. Service began in 2005 after the Newburgh–Beacon Bridge had, 42 years earlier, rendered over two centuries of ferry service obsolete. The Beacon terminal is at a dock immediately adjacent to the station; the Newburgh terminal is at the south end of Front Street. The fare

102-532: A taxi to take them home or to their cars. Currently, on weekdays, there are six ferry crossings in the morning and eight in the afternoon. NY Waterway NY Waterway , or New York Waterway , is a private transportation company running ferry and bus service in the Port of New York and New Jersey and in the Hudson Valley . The company utilizes public-private partnership with agencies such as

153-1429: A 10-trip or a Monthly Joint Bus-Ferry pass take the bus to the Port Authority Bus Terminal during mornings and travel by ferry in the evening. In December 2014, it was announced that NJT will buy ten buses for NY Waterway's use on its Manhattan bus routes. In January 2016, NY Waterway and NJT introduced the Hudson GoPass, allowing for unlimited use on light rail, ferry and bus routes 156, 158, 159. NJ Transit has also provided funding for boat maintenance and bus purchases. Manhattan services originate across five localities in New Jersey: Edgewater in Bergen County , and Weehawken , Hoboken , and Jersey City in Hudson County , and South Amboy in Middlesex County . These localities are listed below from north to south. The Haverstraw–Ossining Ferry connects Haverstraw in Rockland County with Ossining in Westchester County . The Ossining terminal

204-605: A bridge, but it was not a serious possibility until federal money became available through the construction of Interstate 84 . The last Hudson crossing to be built on the river's estuarine section below Albany was completed and opened to traffic on November 2, 1963. By that time the New York State Bridge Authority had already had to take them over. The next day, the Orange and Dutchess saluted each other midriver on their 5 p.m. runs. The Orange and

255-585: A path to shore. If the ice was thick enough and solid enough, they simply walked — by the hundreds — back and forth. The impetus for a bridge began with the opening in 1916 of Bear Mountain State Park . To improve access to the popular attraction, in 1924, the Bear Mountain Bridge opened--the first vehicular/pedestrian (non-railroad) bridge over the Hudson between New York City and Albany--and

306-483: A similarly-wide portion of the river further south. However, plans never quite seemed to materialize despite considerable appropriations of money, and in the interim commuters had to be content with a shuttle bus across the bridge from the park and ride lot on NY 17K near its connection to the New York State Thruway . Meanwhile, MTA began for the first time to require parking permits at Beacon, and

357-576: Is $ 1.75 per person and the trip across the river takes approximately ten minutes. Tradition has it that Native Americans regularly crossed the Hudson River at the point between what is now Beacon and Newburgh, long before Europeans arrived in America. In 1743, a formal ferry was established when Alexander Colden received a royal charter from King George II to carry passengers and goods for profit. The right to operate ferries between Beacon and Newburgh

408-409: Is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( mooring locations), and may also include piers , warehouses , or other facilities necessary for handling the ships. Wharves are often considered to be a series of docks at which boats are stationed. A marginal wharf

459-613: Is also provided on the Haverstraw–Ossining Ferry , Newburgh–Beacon Ferry , and to the Raritan Bayshore . NY Waterway offers excursion and sightseeing trips to Yankee Stadium , Gateway National Recreation Area , and Governors Island . The Manhattan to Jersey City route is used as one of the alternatives to the George Washington Bridge for connecting the New York City and New Jersey segments of

510-476: Is connected to the shore along its full length. A wharf commonly comprises a fixed platform, often on pilings . Commercial ports may have warehouses that serve as interim storage: where it is sufficient a single wharf with a single berth constructed along the land adjacent to the water is normally used; where there is a need for more capacity multiple wharves, or perhaps a single large wharf with multiple berths, will instead be constructed, sometimes projecting over

561-750: Is located adjacent to Ossining station , which is served by Metro-North 's Hudson Line . The Newburgh–Beacon Ferry connects Newburgh in Orange County with Beacon in Dutchess County . The Beacon terminal is located adjacent to Beacon station , also served by the Hudson Line. Both ferries are operated under a contract from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority . NY Waterway operates connecting bus service for ferry passengers on different routes in Manhattan . At various points in

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612-437: The 1964 New York World's Fair . After only a few charter trips the boat fell victim to vandals, which led to it joining its sister vessels in oblivion later that year. In the next decade, when the new bridge was stretched to capacity, the bridge was widened and a second span built. The end of ferry service resulted in decreased activity on Newburgh's once-vibrant waterfront , and in the early 1970s urban renewal led to much of

663-506: The 2005 New York City transit strike it provided alternative transportation. In January 2009, the company was instrumental in the rescue of passengers of US Airways Flight 1549 , which made an emergency landing on the Hudson River after both of its engines failed. The firm gained media attention both for its efforts to rescue passengers from airplane and for its hiring of 19-year-old Brittany Catanzaro as captain. Thanks in part to

714-532: The East Coast Greenway hiking and biking trail. As of November 2019, NY Waterway has a total fleet of 32 vessels. In 1981, Arthur Edward Imperatore, Sr. , a trucking magnate , purchased a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) length of the Weehawken, New Jersey waterfront, where the company is based, from the bankrupt Penn Central for $ 7.5 million, with the plan to redevelop the brownfield site along

765-635: The Federal Transit Administration for ferries in the state. As a part of this grant, NY Waterway was given $ 7.298 million to convert four ferries from diesel to hybrid power. NY Waterway has played a role in a number of rescue and emergency operations. In the immediate aftermath of collapse of the World Trade Center , the company played a major role in the maritime response following the September 11 attacks and

816-590: The Hudson were added. NY Waterway briefly also operated a high-speed ferry from Staten Island to East 34th Street in 1998, but discontinued it due to low ridership. This marked the first time that NY Waterway discontinued a route. The September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center destroyed the PATH terminal located there , greatly reducing cross- Hudson River passenger capacity. The company

867-756: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey , New Jersey Transit , New York City Department of Transportation , and Metropolitan Transportation Authority to provide service and maintain docking facilities. NY Waterway uses ferry slips at three terminals in Manhattan and terminals and slips in Jersey City , Hoboken , Weehawken , and Edgewater , all located along the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway , as well as South Amboy in Middlesex County . Commuter peak service

918-597: The staith spelling as a distinction from simple wharves: for example, Dunston Staiths in Gateshead and Brancaster Staithe in Norfolk . However, the term staith may also be used to refer only to loading chutes or ramps used for bulk commodities like coal in loading ships and barges. Quay , on the other hand, has its origin in the Proto-Celtic language . Before it changed to its current form under influence of

969-466: The AM Rush only at Beacon or on board. The MTA, as is its practice, not only sells train tickets at the ferry terminals but encourages riders to buy them there. For regular riders, a UniTicket package combining train and ferry fare for a month is available for $ 321. UniTicket purchasers are also covered by MTA's Guaranteed Ride Home program, whereby if the ferry is unable to operate they will be able to get

1020-596: The Dutchess sailed from Newburgh for the last time on November 3, 1963, packed with people and cars. The bells on board and on shore tolled as the boats crossed the river in the early evening chill against the imposing silhouette of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, which had opened the day before. Ten minutes later, when the ferries docked in Beacon and disgorged their cargo, people got in their cars or hopped on

1071-664: The MTA decided to do as it had done with the downriver ferry the day before and suspend service until conditions improved, renting buses to take commuters across the bridge in the meantime. Service was finally restored at the end of the month when a warming trend melted enough ice. As of February 2023, the Captain Mark Summers has replaced the West New York on the route. A one-way ferry trip currently costs $ 1.75 per person. It can be paid at Newburgh and during

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1122-656: The Port Authority to gain reimbursement for charter boat expenses that NY waterway, in fact, did not incur. The " home port " for maintenance and refueling has long been located at Port Imperial. NY Waterway sold the upland property and in November 2017 purchased the former Union Dry Dock 8-acre (3.2 ha) site in Hoboken to build a new facility. The city and the company are embroiled in a dispute over its construction. The city has refused to grant permission to allow

1173-755: The Republic of Ireland, and may also refer to neighbourhoods and roadways running along the wayside (for example, Queen's Quay in Toronto and Belfast ). The term wharf is more common in the United States. In some contexts wharf and quay may be used to mean pier , berth , or jetty . In old ports such as London (which once had around 1700 wharves ) many old wharves have been converted to residential or office use. Certain early railways in England referred to goods loading points as "wharves". The term

1224-465: The city signed 5-year lease with NY Waterway to continue using the property. It has made applications to improve the site. On November 24, 2019, the U.S. Coast Guard pulled 23 ferries out of the company's 32-vessel fleet due to safety issues following a routine annual inspection. Customers experienced delays the following day, but all but one vessel had resumed service by the evening of November 25. Two former employees alleged in November 2020 that

1275-453: The city's projected ridership; in total, the ferry saw 350,000 riders in that period, over 250% of the initial ridership forecast of 134,000 riders. The route was merged into NYC Ferry on May 1, 2017, coming under the operation of Hornblower Cruises . In December 2016, the company announced it would reacquire Billybey Ferry and merge ownership back under a single roof. In 2023, the state of New Jersey received an $ 11.3 million grant from

1326-530: The company defrauded the federal government after the September 11 attacks. In July 2006 NY Waterway agreed to pay $ 1.2 million to settle civil fraud charges brought by the United States in connection with payments made by the government to NY Waterway for ferry service after the September 11, 2001 attacks . The Government alleged in its complaint that NY Waterway inflated its incremental costs, overstated its ferry service profit margin, and submitted false bills to

1377-664: The company ordered employees to dump untreated sewage into the Hudson. In June 2012, New Jersey Transit and NY Waterway began a fare-sharing program for riders transferring between the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and ferries at Port Imperial for ten-trip and monthly tickets. in a program called Surf and Turf In May 2013, NY Waterway initiated afternoon bus service along the NJT bus routes 158 and 159R , which travel north to Fort Lee , and 156R , with continuing service to Englewood Cliffs . Passengers who purchase

1428-400: The company, unable to reduce its fixed costs, to brink of bankruptcy. By December 2004, there was deep concern that there would be a total shutdown of ferry service, disrupting the commutes of 30,000 daily riders. The Port Authority, as well as city and state agencies had already contracted the construction of new ferry terminals to be leased to private operators. The shutdown was averted when

1479-535: The evacuation of passengers who otherwise would have been stranded because of the chaos in the regional transportation network . It is estimated that NY Waterway transported over 150,000 people. The Hudson Riverfront 9/11 Memorial is located near the NY Waterway terminal. The ferry service also brought people across the river during Northeast Blackout of 2003 when service on New Jersey Transit and Port Authority Trans-Hudson trains could not operate. During

1530-502: The ferry at Bear Mountain was discontinued. The ferries were seen as past their day, due to their mounting financial and operational problems, even before the construction of the Newburgh-Beacon bridge. Increasing traffic on 52 by mid-century, coupled with the building of the New York State Thruway in the Hudson corridor, was straining the ferry beyond its breaking point. The state's Department of Public Works began planning for

1581-410: The land being cleared in preparation for new construction projects that never came to fruition. Increasing regional growth in the 1990s led to frequent traffic jams on the bridge and swamped parking lots at the train station. Interest grew in reviving ferry service, especially after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)'s successful 2000 restoration of the Haverstraw–Ossining Ferry across

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1632-494: The municipality for about $ 18.5 million, but the sale as of November 2022 had not been finalized. It was then suggested the homeport in Weehawken would instead be expanded. In January 2022, the Weehawken municipal government passed a resolution opposing the expansion of what has long been a temporary facility. The property in Hoboken again become controversial with proposals to acquire it via eminent domain . In February 2023

1683-511: The new Billybey Ferry Company , which had never before operated ferry services, founded by Manhattan lawyer William B. Wachtel, agreed to take over almost half of NY Waterway's equipment and routes. The remaining service remained under control of the Port Imperial Ferry Corporation, the legal name of the original organization. Other ferry and sightseeing boat operators were displeased that the Port Authority approved

1734-793: The northeast and east of England the term staith or staithe (from the Norse for landing stage) is also used. The two terms have historically had a geographical distinction: those to the north in the Kingdom of Northumbria used the Old English spelling staith , southern sites of the Danelaw took the Danish spelling staithe . Both originally referred to jetties or wharves. In time, the northern coalfields of Northumbria developed coal staiths specifically for loading coal onto ships and these would adopt

1785-614: The past, NY Waterway has also provided ferry service to other destinations including LaGuardia Airport , Newport , Harborside , Liberty State Park , Belford , Sandy Hook , and Belmar, New Jersey . Ferry services for Belford , Sandy Hook , Atlantic Highlands , and Highlands along the Raritan Bayshore in Monmouth County , New Jersey were given to Seastreak . Wharf A wharf ( pl.   wharves or wharfs ), quay ( / k iː / kee , also / k eɪ , k w eɪ / k(w)ay ), staith , or staithe

1836-399: The project to proceed saying that it prevents completion of the a contiguous waterfront walkway . A plan for NJ Transit to purchase the property and lease it to NY Waterway was withdrawn after intervention by Governor Phil Murphy NY Waterway is suing the city to allow it to continue with construction. NY Waterway and city reached a deal in which the ferry company would sell the land to

1887-472: The remainder of that month. On May 10, 2024, the MTA announced that it would implement a pilot program on June 30, 2024 to lower the cost of the monthly UniTicket by 93 percent from $ 14.50 to $ 1. MTA moved the West New York , a boat which had been used to evacuate Lower Manhattan after the September 11, 2001 attacks , to Newburgh Bay to inaugurate its new service. It carries 149 passengers. One major problem MTA and NY Waterway had to overcome in planning

1938-512: The successful efforts of Captains Vincent Lombardi and Catanzaro, together with their crews, all aboard were rescued. On April 6, 2012, a NY Waterway ferry rescued the crew of the Katherine G , a tugboat that capsized near Liberty Island . The ferry's captain, Mohamed Gouda, had also commanded one of the ferries that participated in the flight 1549 rescue. In 2003, the U.S. federal government began investigating NY Waterways in allegations that

1989-839: The transfer without a transparent bidding process. In February 2011, NY Waterway was contracted to operate a route calling at slips in Brooklyn and Queens as well as the East River terminals, replacing an earlier peak-only service operated by New York Water Taxi . In June 2011, the NY Waterway-operated East River Ferry line started operations. The route was a 7-stop East River service that ran between East 34th Street and Pier 11 , making one intermediate stop in Queens and four in Brooklyn. The fare

2040-413: The waiting buses and went home, over the new bridge. The ferries, built in the early 1900s at the Newburgh shipyards, were sold. The Dutchess and Beacon , both in very decrepit condition, were sold as scrap. The Orange , in slightly better shape, was purchased and refurbished by Myles Rosenthal with the intent of turning it into a floating restaurant . It also was to carry visitors from Manhattan to

2091-438: The waiting list swelled to at least 600 more than capacity, even after the lots were enlarged in the early 2000s. Eventually, it was able, with the help of the region's congressional delegation, to secure a $ 1.1 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration to close the gap between fares and costs, along with other subsidies. Service resumed on October 17, 2005. To encourage use of the new ferry, no fares were charged for

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2142-517: The water. A pier, raised over the water rather than within it, is commonly used for cases where the weight or volume of cargos will be low. Smaller and more modern wharves are sometimes built on flotation devices ( pontoons ) to keep them at the same level as the ship, even during changing tides. In everyday parlance the term quay (pronounced 'key') is common in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and many other Commonwealth countries, and

2193-466: The west bank of the Hudson River waterfront and to restore ferry service to it. In 1986, Imperatore established New York Waterway, with a route across the river between Weehawken Port Imperial and Pier 78 on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan . Three years later, it began operation between Hoboken Terminal and Battery Park City . During the course of the next decade numerous routes across

2244-571: The winter, ice was sometimes a problem. In the 1950s, one of the ferries got stuck in the ice. In fact, the NYSBA opened the Kingston bridge ahead of schedule because river ice was keeping the ferry in dock and people couldn't get to work. Similarly, people stalled on the Newburgh-Beacon ferry, en route to work at Nabisco, Texaco or the state prisons, had difficulty getting to work whenever ice trapped their boat and they had to wait for another one to clear

2295-532: Was $ 4 per one-way ticket. Subsidized by the City of New York, the service was originally intended for commuters, but after a few months became popular with weekend users and tourists. It was used by two to six times the number of passengers that the city predicted would ride the ferries. From June to November 2011, the ferry accommodated 2,862 riders on an average weekday, as opposed to a projection of 1,488 riders, and it had 4,500 riders on an average weekend, six times

2346-540: Was bestowed upon the Ramsdell family by the heirs of Alexander Colden. They ran the ferry through the Steamboat Era until 1956, when NYSBA took over ferry services. By the early 20th century the fleet had grown to three 160-foot (49 m) coal-fired ferries, the Orange , Dutchess and Beacon , capable of carrying 30 vehicles each. It linked the two segments of NY 52 , the major east-west artery at that point. In

2397-719: Was carried over from marine usage. The person who was resident in charge of the wharf was referred to as a "wharfinger". The word wharf comes from the Old English hwearf , cognate to the Old Dutch word werf , which both evolved to mean "yard", an outdoor place where work is done, like a shipyard ( Dutch : scheepswerf ) or a lumberyard (Dutch: houtwerf ). Originally, werf or werva in Old Dutch ( werf , wer in Old Frisian ) simply referred to inhabited ground that

2448-461: Was not yet built on (similar to " yard " in modern English), or alternatively to a terp . This could explain the name Ministry Wharf located at Saunderton, just outside High Wycombe, which is nowhere near any body of water. In support of this explanation is the fact that many places in England with "wharf" in their names are in areas with a high Dutch influence, for example the Norfolk broads. In

2499-534: Was the ice floes that can sometimes clog the shallows near the riverbanks, particularly on the Newburgh side, in cold weather. This situation is not encountered by its ferries downriver as the salinity of the river below the Hudson Highlands is high enough to prevent ice from forming in all but the coldest temperatures. However, while Newburgh Bay is below the river's salt front, ice from the freshwater sections often accumulates in it. The West New York

2550-409: Was ultimately fitted with a strengthened hull and a closed cooling system to protect it. The vessel was also repainted with the "FerryRailLink" logo. The winter following the ferry's reintroduction was rather mild and the first ice-free winter on the Hudson in a long time, as was the first half of the following winter. On February 6, 2007, however, a cold snap had left enough ice at each bank that

2601-424: Was well-positioned to take advantage of government investment in ferry service, receiving subsidies and generous agreements to docking at public facilities. NY Waterway service quickly expanded by adding new routes and increasing the frequency of crossings, heavily borrowing to fund the acquisition of additional vessels. After PATH service was restored ridership significantly declined, the loss of passengers brought

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