Newsday (Suffolk Edition) from Melville, New York • 29

ft vVVMTCSrViYVVWrr t'tnrfrft' gtfftfrtlk Commute to City byFeny rfo Historic but Ride? J- a Ti i Cal vr M' Calvin CootidgB was president Babe RfatfrwuifcJ The war and it wuUe could noe the Long Island Rail Road to Afeny slip and then ride across to Manhattan! It has been almost 60 yeara since ferry service end- ed at Long Island jCity modern travel between Long Island and Manfiattanhaa meant either going under-- neath the river or crossing a bridge above it But not traveling on it At least not until two months ago when NY Waterway launched a new service taking us hark to the future using it this rail rider boarded a Port Jefferson branch train headed west the other dqy before dawn and began looking for any commuters planning to ride to the end of the railroad line and take the ferry most of the sleepy commuters asked Or: gonna take the Long Island Rail Road to the Staten Island Ferry No not the Staten Island fer- ry This LIRR train was one of five that go past the traditional end of this line Hunters Point to a passenger train lay-up yard in Long Island City where you can catch what is called the Street Ferry" Built in 1990 it has a capacity of nearly 400 passengers in the morning from 7 to 10 and in the afternoon between 4 and 8 And so on an overcast December weekday I am eventually sitting alone on the open promenade deck of a sleek new ferry watching one of the great skylines loom ever closer The ride is only about four minutes but for a couple of moments you have to pinch yourself to be reminded that the year is 1994 not 1894 not sure which is more bizarre: going by boat to Manhattan or being so far from the crowds the traffic the daily battle to commute to work Some have said that NY 2-month-old privately financed ferry service is one of the best-kept secrets It sure seemed that way this day But the lack of passengers confirms the ferry early projections: that weaning Manhattan-bound commuters will be slow difficult and frustrating know from said Arthur Impera-tore Jr whose father Arthur Sr is credited with sin-giehandedly giving impetus to the revival of ferry ser- fipp accDUtiteni'who said whei? he saw the ferry iff was fewe st nMTtlghL' BledsOe- 10-yCar veteran of URk ceOimtitihg-haa office near Grand Central 'TenninaPtonAnajg happily qpeads 'day (after shbtjiackag the subway tbkeh ha have to buy44o catch the ferry in the morning But he use the ferry at night because the LIRR which expanded its Long Island City pervice still have a train leaving for the eastbound evening trip after 6 pm That is one problem confronting the ferry operators Another may involve the three-block trek from the railroad dropoff to the ferry slip But Bledsoe says the walk is no problem avoid Penn Station I avoid the subways ami the ferry is not he said may be the understatement of the year Riding with him were only two other passengers workers at New York University Medical Center who live in Long Island City Their only form of mass transit is the ferry a dream come said Kris Frill man a secretary But on a Port Jefferson train bringing its load to the Hunters Point station all of whom that day would transfer to the subway most commuters were either unaware of the new sendee or seem to think it would make their lives easier One investment banker Michael Cipot of Green-lawn said he had worked out the calculations and decided it was just simpler to climb up the steps and take the subway to Grand Central rather than walk to the ferry get off and get on a shuttle bus So it's hard to tell how many railroad commuters will make the switch The ferry operators are really banking on car commuters to make the switch They have a nearly empty 450-space parking lot and by lowering the price to the equivalent toll at the Queens Midtown Tunnel they are competing head cm Sort of Maybe they haven't tested the full mettle of the Long Island driver who having driven as far as the tunnel is like a marathon runner who wants to keeping going to the bitter end the other side of the East River and to heck with the traffic the prices the parking And here is another weird little glitch: what to call the ferry stop? One brochure calls it Hunters Point Which is OK for drivers who are given explicit directions but not for train commuters who are not expected to get off at Hunters Point but rather ride to the end of the line the Long Island City storage yard which has been given a little sprucing up to accommodate commuters like the addition of a platform where they can get off are calling it Hunters Point Imperatore said The railroad calls it Long Island City Whatever the case few know there by any Newaday Alan JUim Commuters arrive for Queens ferry run The process of attracting more riders is expected to be difficult I i -1 i in late 1986 his ferry service between Weehawken and midtown Manhattan was called The elder plunge into the ferry business was a desperate gamble to give viability to a tract of waterfront New Jersey property he was trying to develop in a sinking market Ironically his Port Imperial land still remains stalled but in a world of unanticipated consequences the trucking magnate from New Jersey found himself with a ferry service that now transports nearly 20000 commuters a day The Impera newest venture went into service in Queens on Oct 17 with a gimmicky nickel fare for the first three weeks Once the fare jumped to $4 recently lowered to $3 business all but disappeared as the novelty wore off and commuters began comparing the costs of commuting by railroad and subway versus railroad and ferry It should be noted that on the Manhattan side travelers are offered with their ferry ticket a midtown shuttle service along 34th 42nd and 50th Streets While at last count the service may be averaging between 20 and 30 passengers a day Imperatore says his company is in the ferry business for the long hauL Which is good news to John Bledsoe an investment vice connecting New Jersey to New York Back then name tween Park Avenue and Sunrise Highway 7 am-5 pm Jeriche Turnpike Two lanes closed in both directions around the dock over the Route 106-107 bridge Only one lane open each way between Pond View Drive and Burke Lane around the dock One lane each way between Route 135 and Round Swamp Road eastbound 7 am -4 pm westbound 9 pm One lane in either direction at the intersection with Route 25A in Smithtown westbound 9 am-5 pm eastbound 8 am-4 pm Sagtikes Parkway Only one southbound lane open around the dock at the bridge over the Long Island Expressway Intermittent single-lane dosings either direction between Southern State Parkway and Route 25A northbound 9 am to 4 pm southbound 10 am to 4 pm Rsuts 25A One lane eastbound or westbound between Maple Street and Deep-dale Drive 9 am -4 pm Lane dowbrook Parkway (Exit 22) to Route 110 (Exit 32) Sunday night through Thursday night 10:30 pm-6 am Maadowbroofc Parkway One lane either way between Sunrise Highway and Loop Parkway northbound 9 am-6 pm southbound 7 am-4 pm Sanrise Highway One lane in either direction between the Long Island Rail Road bridge and Route 135 westbound 9 am-4 pm eastbound 8 am-3 pm One lane in either direction between Wellwood Avenue and Great Neck Road 8 am-4 pm One lane In either direction on the service road may be closed between Robert Moses Causeway and Deer Park Avenue 8 am-4 pm One lane in either direction between Veterans Highway and Lakeland Avenue eastbound dawn to 4 pm westbound 9 am to dusk Hempstead Turnpike Day dosings: One lane each way between Cross Island NEWSOAY SUNDAY DECEMBER 11 Parkway and Nassau Boulevard east-bound 7 am-4 pm westbound 9 am-4 pm One lane each way at Wantagh Parkway eastbound 7 pm and westbound 9 am to 4 pm Route 135 One lane between Jericho and Hempstead Turnpikes northbound 10 am-5 pm southbound 7 am-4 pm Veteran Highway Ramp from southbound Veterans Highway to westbound Sunrise Highway will be permanently closed Use Broadway south to Sunrise One lane may be closed between Route 111 and Route 27 westbound 9 am to dusk eastbound dawn to 4 pm Haute 101 One lane each each way be i.