Politics & Government
City to Hold Groundbreaking for New Ferry Terminal
Glen Cove officials set to kickoff construction of project that will provide transportation from the city to Manhattan and Queens.
The day's schedule on June 1 is going to contain a monumental event for Glen Cove.
At 10 a.m., Mayor Ralph Suozzi and all six members of the City Council, along with other elected officials, are slated to gather at Garvie's Point to celebrate the official groundbreaking of the Glen Cove Ferry Terminal and Boat Basin.
When completed, the ferry will be used to transport commuters and travelers to ports around the Long Island Sound, principally Manhattan or LaGuardia Airport in Queens.
Find out what's happening in Glen Covewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The design, city officials said, will feature, among other things, a ferry terminal building, marine and waterside improvements and a parking facility. It is a civic project, with origins that date back to 2004 and a history that reaches even further, with earlier ferry-transit services.
The waterway transit system is now being reintroduced as a strategy to help ease impacts of mass transit around the city and larger metropolitan area as well as revitalize the waterfront economy, two concerns drawn out in the city's Master Plan, which was adopted last year.
Find out what's happening in Glen Covewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The project's long range goal, city officials said, is to attract more visitors and patrons to the city's waterfront and downtown area. The city expects it to be complete in 2012.
The majority of the construction costs, about $8 million, has been appropriated with federal funds set aside by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The bill is an economic stimulus initiative that aims to give funding for, among other things, projects that help to create jobs as well as promote investment and consumer spending during the recession, according to its Web site.
Additional grants, city officials explained, will also be used to advance the project, which is expected to cost an estimated $16 million.
The ceremony, which is taking place two months after the bid was approved by the City Council, will represent a milestone for city, because it will bring efforts to revamp its waterfront district around Glen Cove Creek and the Sound closer to fruition.
