page_title: Staten Island Ferry
section_title: End of Staten Island Railway era
hierarchical_section_title: Staten Island Ferry / History / End of Staten Island Railway era
caption_attribution_description: English: Southern Manhattan from Staten Island ferry
context_page_description: The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry route operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. The ferry's single route runs 5.2 miles through New York Harbor between the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island, with ferry boats making the trip in approximately 25 minutes. The ferry operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with boats leaving every 15 to 20 minutes during peak hours and every 30 minutes at other times. It is the only direct mass-transit connection between the two boroughs. Historically, the Staten Island Ferry has charged a relatively low fare compared to other modes of transit in the area; and since 1997 the route has been fare-free. The Staten Island Ferry is one of several ferry systems in the New York City area and is operated separately from systems such as NYC Ferry and NY Waterway.
  The Staten Island Ferry route terminates at Whitehall Terminal, on Whitehall Street in Lower Manhattan, and at St. George Terminal, in St. George, Staten Island. At Whitehall, connections are available to the New York City Subway and several local New York City Bus routes. At St. George, there are transfers to the Staten Island Railway and to the St.
context_section_description: By the 1900s, Staten Islanders were becoming dissatisfied with the railway-operated ferry service to Manhattan, which they felt was unsafe. The turning point came on June 14, 1901, when the CNJ ferry Mauch Chunk struck the B&O ferryboat Northfield II as the latter was leaving the ferry port at Whitehall, tearing a 10-by-20-foot (3.0 by 6.1 m) hole through the middle of Northfield. Damaged beyond repair, Northfield II sank within ten minutes, ending up near the modern South Street Seaport. Out of 995 passengers aboard, only four or five were killed. The dead were not recovered for several days, and one man's body drifted around the southern tip of Manhattan and across the Hudson River. An investigation into the crash found that Northfield II had sunk because of the extent of the damage rather than because of its 38-year age. Despite this, neither captain was criminally charged, although Mauch Chunk's captain was "censured" for speeding as well as for not helping the passengers aboard Northfield. In the meantime, the B&O borrowed the paddle-wheeler John Englis from the Williamsburg Ferry Company.
  On February 21, 1902, two hundred people held discussions with MacDougal Hawkes, the head of the New York City Department of Docks, to demand that the Whitehall-to-St. George ferry service be improved. In summer 1902, as the B&O fought to retain its ownership of the ferry, Henry Huttleston Rogers demonstrated that his steam-powered yacht was faster than the SIR's vessels, and argued that he should thus be allowed to operate the ferry route. Throughout the rest of the year, Rogers's Standard Oil-affiliated transit venture, which also operated streetcar routes on Staten Island, competed with the B&O for the rights to the ferry. The locations of the Staten Island terminal were also debated; and West Brighton, Tompkinsville, Stapleton, and Port Richmond were suggested as possible locations. The B&O wanted to offer service to St. George and at least one other terminal, while Rogers wanted to use only the Tompkinsville and West Brighton terminals. The two groups submitted their proposals in November 1902; and by February 1903, the Sinking Fund Commission announced their decision to give B&O the operating license. This decision proved controversial: Hawkes made a recommendation to Mayor Seth Low on February 21, and dissatisfied Staten Islanders showed up to the commission's meeting on February 25. These residents, voicing their dissent, helped cause the commissioners to reject Hawkes's proposal.
  Shortly after, the government of New York City announced its intent to acquire ownership of the ferry. Instead of offering the franchise to either the B&O or Rogers, the Sinking Fund Commission decided, in March 1903, that the city could run two ferry routes from Staten Island. One route would travel to Manhattan, terminating at any North River port between 23rd Street and Battery Park, while the other route would go from Staten Island to 39th Street, near Bush Terminal, in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The bill authorizing the city to acquire ferry operations was passed by the 126th New York State Legislature, and it was signed into law by Governor Benjamin B. Odell in May 1903. The city would pay $3.2 million to take over operations of the ferry, including $2 million for five new screw-propelled ships, one named for each of the five boroughs. The city began soliciting tenders for ferryboats, ultimately deciding to pay $1.7 million for four of the five boats from the Maryland Steel Company. The contract was signed on June 20, 1904. The fifth boat, Richmond, was built on Staten Island by the Burlee Dry Dock Company.
  From 1902 to 1903, there were debates on where to put the new Whitehall terminal; and Whitehall Street was decided on as the best location. In 1904, after the Staten Island Railway Company refused the city's offer of $500,000 for the two terminals, the city started a process to condemn the land around the terminals. Although the B&O had been set to give up the Staten Island Ferry franchise in early 1904, the new borough-class ferryboats were
caption: The South Street Seaport, where the damaged Northfield II sank
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