Glen Cove wins extension to 2020 for starting ferry service to Manhattan

Glen Cove has received a 16-month extension to start operating ferries to Manhattan after the city missed a New Year’s Day deadline to provide the service.

The city was required to start ferry service by Jan. 1 or risk an order to repay $16.6 million in federal grants it received to build the ferry terminal and bulkhead, and perform other related work.

The city now has until May 22, 2020, to launch the project, Federal Highway Administration spokeswoman Nancy Singer said. 

"The extension to implement the ferry service means that no repayment is required at this time," Singer said in a statement Wednesday. The agency reviewed the plan Glen Cove submitted to the state Department of Transportation and agreed "that the City laid out an acceptable strategy to implement ferry service" by May 22 next year, she wrote.

Mayor Timothy Tenke asked for an extension during a May 2018 meeting with the highway administration. He told federal officials that starting service in 2019 would pose safety hazards because barges using Glen Cove Creek for bulkhead installation, and construction on Garvies Point Road, which leads to the terminal, were continuing.

“This has given us a little bit of breathing room,” Tenke said of the extension. “We’re very pleased for our residents that this had not resulted in a call back of $16 million to the federal government.”

The city is seeking bids from ferry operators, and a provider should be secured by September, according to city spokeswoman Lisa Travatello. 

Glen Cove was unsuccessful in its 2016 attempt to attract a ferry operator. Two companies bid last year, but they wanted substantial subsidies, Tenke said. 

Uniondale-based RXR Realty has pledged a $1 million subsidy over two years for the ferry. The real estate company is majority partner with the Garvies Point developer, RXR Glen Isle Partners, which is building more than 1,000 condos and apartments next to the ferry terminal. 

RXR paid Port Chester-based consultant TMS Waterfront to create a ferry service plan, which was reviewed by the New York State Department of Transporation and submitted to the highway administration, Tenke said. 

"DOT worked with the City of Glen Cove to refine their request for an extension," DOT spokesman Joe Morrissey said in a statement. "We will continue to commence service to meet the agreed upon schedule."

Tenke said he’s working to secure more funding for the ferry service, and planning to meet with state officials to discuss the possibility of receiving a state subsidy.  

“It costs a lot of money to run the ferry,” Tenke said, adding that “there’s a need for subsidies to make this a viable transportation mode into Manhattan.”