Mayor Adams says we can buy beers on the Staten Island Ferry again (eventually)

The abandoned snack bar area on the Newhouse pictured earlier this year / by Liam Quigley

Today on Staten Island, Mayor Eric Adams announced that Staten Island Ferry workers have a new contract after more than a decade. Everybody was pretty happy about that news (many workers will pocket boatloads of cash in back pay).

But I was there for another purpose: to ask the mayor when we can buy beers (and snacks) on the ferries again.

Some guys on the ferry who definitely would love to enjoy some snacks and beers from the onboard snackbar / by Liam Quigley

Some of my earliest memories of the Staten Island Ferry are pre-9/11, waiting in the family Honda to drive on the boat (yes, that used to be allowed, and it was nuts). Later I graduated to bicycling out to see my grandma before she passed away. Like many Staten Island residents she took the ferry daily, and one of my favorite stories of hers was when a cargo ship smashed into the ferry and sent shattered glass flying everywhere.

Enjoying a $5 tallboy and some peanuts or other odd snack on the boat was always a great way to pass the 25 minute-or-so ride. But then the pandemic happened and they closed.

The NYC Ferry, run by a seperate entity, barely skipped a beat and brought snacks and drinks back to their boats more than two years ago. Sources tell me the vendor that runs the concession stands at the Staten Island Ferry terminals isn’t excited about bringing their business back on the boats, citing lack of ridership.

The brand new Dorothy Day ferry boat delivered earlier this year is outfitted with an area for concessions. The snack bar areas on the older boats are roped off and wasting away.

Wouldn’t it be nice to buy nachos and a beer here? / by Liam Quigley

Whatever the case may be, I asked the mayor directly about the problem today. I don’t think he was aware of the snack bar’s existance, but he commited to bringing them back:

“What’s closing them?,” the mayor asked.

“We’re going to get them open. We can’t live in this perpetual COVID. I’m gonna dig down and find out what’s keeping them closed.”

“Let me find out what’s keeping it closed, let’s get it open.”

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