NY Waterway Ferry via Wikimedia

As 6sqft reported in April, NY Waterway launched an additional ferry route running from Hoboken to Midtown Manhattan in response to a train derailment and delays at Penn Station. And since Amtrak closed a few tracks for repairs, more commuters have opted to take the scenic ferry as an alternative. While the eight-minute ride was normally only available during transit crisis, it will become a permanent transit option on Sept. 5. And although the ferry is perhaps a quicker and more scenic alternative, it comes with a steep price of $274.50 per month, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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Following the recent Penn Station train derailment and subsequent delays during the busy weekday commute, NY Waterway launched an extra ferry route running from Hoboken to Midtown Manhattan. Now, NJ.com reports, that ferry service will become permanent starting in September of this year. The new ferry will run between between West 39th Street and Hoboken terminal according to NY Waterway president and founder Arthur Imperatore Sr.

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The new city-wide ferry system, scheduled to launch in summer 2017, has been lauded for creating 150 new jobs and spurring development in places like Astoria where it will shuttle the neighborhood’s transit-challenged residents to Manhattan for the cost of a MetroCard swipe. But will an unrealistic time frame and poor management choices and planning cause the Mayor’s ambitious ferry plan to run aground? Maritime industry insider Tom Fox explains his concerns in an op-ed for Crain’s.

What could possibly go wrong?

The new city-wide ferry system is on schedule to launch in summer 2017, and ahead of that launch, the ferry service, which will be run by the San Francisco-based Hornblower, has launched their new website. Visitors can find out about the ferry, and, more importantly, enter to win a free annual pass. Winners will be announced when the service launches next summer. The site features updates, public meeting info, maps and schedules, and postings for more than 150 jobs that will be created by the new service.

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• The city will receive $480 million in FEMA funds to repair the Rockaway boardwalk damaged during Hurricane Sandy. [NYDN]
• Ferry ridership along the East and Hudson rivers is up seven percent, and on the Staten Island ferry ridership is up by one million. [NYP]
• Now that Fashion Week won’t be welcomed back to Lincoln Center, here are five alternative spots where they might bring the event. [DNAinfo]
• Take a video tour of the pre-gentrified High Line in 2003. [Jeremiah’s Vanishing NY]
• Did you know there’s a piece of the Berlin Wall in Midtown? Learn about that and 12 other hidden NYC spots. [BI]
• Exploring the historical and contemporary challenges of bringing clean and adequate water to NYC. [Urban Omnibus]
• We knew that all the staff at Coffee Shop on Union Square were models, but we didn’t know they have a hidden “models-only lounge” in the back of the restaurant. [Mashable]

Images: Staten Island Ferry (L); High Line in 2003 via Highline Studios (R)

While there were plenty of highlights in Mayor de Blasio’s State of the City address yesterday–from affordable housing to raising the minimum wage–it was undoubtedly the announcement of a city-wide ferry system that really got New Yorkers talking.

De Blasio said that the ferry service will open in 2017, with pricing on par with the Metrocard, as a way to accommodate the growing population of New York. It will serve neighborhoods including the Lower East Side, Astoria, the Rockaways, Sunset Park, Brooklyn Army Terminal, Bay Ridge, Red Hook, and Soundview, among others. A new map released today shows the entirety of the system, breaking down existing ferry lines, those planned for 2017 and 2018, and those proposed.

More details and the full interactive map ahead