Staten Island Ferry riders continue to face delays due to staffing shortage
NEW YORK -- Staten Island Ferry service was suspended for overnight hours Wednesday after riders had to deal with a third day of delays due to staffing shortages.
As CBS2's Lisa Rozner reports, the last ferry left the Whitehall Terminal in Lower Manhattan at 10:30 p.m. even though riders had been told they would be running hourly until 2 a.m. Remaining commuters were being told to take the NYC Ferry next door.
In the sweltering heat, people packed like sardines into the Whitehall Terminal waiting for a 5:30 p.m. ferry ride home to Staten Island.
"It's like an hour wait and they're not even saying when the ferry's coming, so it's wild," Stapleton Heights resident Addy Holder said.
"If I can't get on the boat, I may have to take an Uber," Staten Island resident Robert McKofkey said.
"I have to take a train when I get to Staten Island. This is not the end of my commute," Staten Island resident Robin Dipalma said.
The ferry can hold more than 4,000 people, but the city said a "significant share" of the ferry workforce didn't report to work, leading to fewer trips.
"The DOT should do a way to separate the tourists from regular citizens," Staten Island resident Peter Chung said.
Announcements did just that, recommending "all tourists reschedule riding the ferry for another day."
Mayor Eric Adams said his team re-adjusted the NYC Ferry, which carries 350 people, to offer free rides from a slip next door directly to Saint George Terminal on Staten Island every 15 minutes between 3:30-10 p.m. He said that would begin again at 6:30 Thursday morning.
"Is this coming at a time when the union is negotiating?" Rozner asked.
"From my understanding, which is surprising, the union has been negotiating for about 11 years, so this is something that I inherited," Adams said.
Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis urged the mayor to work with the union on a contract "that addresses retention, overtime and other staffing issues."
She said she wrote to the mayor outlining these concerns in January.
Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said worker shortages are becoming "systemic."
"It's chronic," he said. "We want folks to reach an agreement, but we can't allow ferry commuters to be used as pawns in this process."
By phone, a union leader told CBS2 the shortage was not organized, adding being a ferry captain is a highly technical job that requires years of training and employees have been working overtime, sometimes seven days a week.
"We're hopeful that this gets resolved. We want to make sure that there's full service for the people of Staten Island. We respect the people of Staten Island," said Roland Rexha, secretary treasurer of the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association.
Rexha said he does expect staffing levels to be back to normal Thursday morning, but in the meantime, the mayor has added extra express bus service, as well.
