(erielack) Hoboken Terminal - Rehabbed Ferry Slips!

[Blue Moon Network Administrator <root_@_net.bluemoon.net>]

Interesting news, but how much obliteration will occur?

http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/index.ssf?/news/jjournal/ferr17.html

Henry

J. Henry Priebe Jr.       Blue Moon President & Network Administrator
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Hoboken Terminal to rehab ferry slips 


05/17/02

By Jason Fink
Journal staff writer 

P.A. kicking in $8M to upgrade transit ties 


Commuter upgrades for Hoboken Terminal 




HOBOKEN - The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and NJ Transit agreed
Wednesday to restore six ferry slips at the hulking Erie-Lackawanna terminal,
a move that will likely double the volume of marine traffic and be another
step in the ongoing rehabilitation of the century-old building.

The Port Authority, the bi- state agency that runs the PATH system out of the
terminal building, committed to pay an initial $8 million of the $65 million
it is expected to cost to fully renovate the old slips and construct new
tickets booths.

It has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse the costs of
the project because it is primarily a response to the September attacks on the
World Trade Center, which knocked out PATH service to Lower Manhattan.

"Since Sept. 11 . . . other forms of transportation have been destroyed," Port
Authority spokesman Steve Coleman said. "We're paying for it and hoping to get
reimbursed."

The first $8 million will pay for design of the new slips, with the rest going
toward construction.

NJ Transit owns the terminal and operates commuter trains out of the station.

When the work is complete, NY Waterway, the Weehawken-based company that
operates most commuter ferries in the region, will provide service, according
to company spokesman Pat Smith.

"Restoration of the ferry slips at Hoboken Terminal is one of the long-range
strategic plans to increase trans-Hudson capacity and enhance New Jersey's
travel options while supporting the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan," Gov. James
E. McGreevey said in a written statement.

NY Waterway, which has added 20 boats to its fleet and carries twice as many
passengers daily as it did before Sept. 11, now runs two routes from temporary
slips near the terminal.

The company said it could carry double the roughly 13,000 passengers it now
takes during the morning peak period between Hoboken and Manhattan.

"The key is how many people who come in on bus and rail want to get on the
ferry," Smith said.

Just last week, it was reported that the city also is in discussions with a
major cruise line about using the terminal as its home base.

Under the plan announced Wednesday, a portion of the terminal would have to be
reconstructed to accommodate ticket offices and the building of exterior
walls. NJ Transit officials also list restoring the roof and Tiffany skylights
and copper on the building's facade as part of the plan, but it is unclear
whether those changes would merely be cosmetic.

The ground-floor waiting area of the 96-year old terminal has been restored
and officials are hoping the spacious second-floor, which is plagued by
peeling paint, crumbling interiors and decades of general neglect, is next on
the list for improvements.

One plan, advocated by Hoboken Mayor David Roberts, envisions retail shops and
restaurants in and around the building. In that scenario, businesses would pay
for large parts of the restoration. 

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