This is not the time to plan a pleasure cruise on the East River.
NYC Ferry, the publicly subsidized service with stops in all five boroughs, has been shut down since Jan. 27 and is likely to remain so until at least the middle of next week because of icy conditions, according to the city’s Economic Development Corporation, which oversees the service.
This is the first time the entire ferry system has been suspended for multiple days since it launched in 2017, the agency said. The fleet is operated by the private company Hornblower Group.
About 7.4 million riders used the service last year, with a winter weekday average of 13,000 riders, and it has been popular in parts of the city with few other public transit options. A one-way fare costs $4.50, while a 10-trip pass is $29; the subway and bus fare is $3.
The ferry service has been hobbled since New York received about a foot of snow almost two weeks ago. Bitter cold came after the storm, leading to the deaths of 17 New Yorkers, and the city is bracing for another wave of frigid temperatures this weekend, with wind chills of between minus 5 and minus 15 degrees expected on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Around one to two inches of snow could also fall this weekend.
The Weather Service has warned of dangerous conditions in the coming days, noting that the freezing temperatures could cause frostbite to develop on exposed skin in as little as 15 to 30 minutes.
“The safety and reliability of NYC Ferry service is our highest priority,” Seth Schuster, a spokesman for the Economic Development Corporation, said in a statement on Friday. He added that riders could expect “a gradual return to service sometime next week as temperatures rise and harbor conditions improve.”
Since the snowstorm, large sheets of ice have formed in the Hudson River north of the city and drifted south, making navigation along the service’s routes difficult, Mr. Schuster said. The East River’s tides change four times a day, and a shifting accumulation of ice near the ferry docks could block routes, he said, so the fleet is exercising caution.
The waterways around the city offer more than a joyride for many New Yorkers.
Stephanie Ebeyer-Verdirame, 50, an interior designer in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, has relied on NYC Ferry for years to get to work in Lower Manhattan, and she prefers the ride to any other commute. Her journey to Wall Street is just 21 minutes, she said, about half the time of a subway trip.
“It’s a major inconvenience,” Ms. Ebeyer-Verdirame said of the suspension. She wonders when she will be able to use the remaining trips on her 10-ride pass, which expires after 90 days.
The Economic Development Corporation said riders whose tickets expired during the suspension could request new passes.
Other city transportation services have been disrupted in recent days. Shortly after the storm, NY Waterway, a private ferry company, suspended its Edgewater route between Manhattan and Bergen County, N.J., and it remains shut down. Buses are now serving those customers.
The city’s other major boat service, the Staten Island Ferry, did not shut down after the storm and continued to operate as usual. The service, which is free and runs 24 hours a day, has larger boats with deeper propellers that allow it to operate even in icy conditions, said Vincent Barone, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Transportation, which controls the fleet.
The disruptions have been disappointing for a number of visitors, who may miss their chance to ride across the city’s waterways.
Rachel Manus, 37, who was visiting from Belfast, Northern Ireland, had already braved the cold on Friday and walked to a ferry stop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, when she heard that the service was suspended. But she took the news in stride.
“If it’s a safety issue, I’d rather we don’t go than go under,” she said. “I can’t swim.”
Nate Schweber contributed reporting.
Stefanos Chen is a Times reporter covering New York City’s transit system.
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