Staten Island Ferry

A few years ago I threw a wine and cheese party on the Staten Island ferry. A handful of us got all dressed up and brought wine, cheese, olives, sushi, shrimp, chocolate, etc. on board. I had one of those bamboo trays on a stand that we set up, plastic wine glasses, and then, just to be funny, a rose in a vase and classical music playing on a tape recorder. It was so fun and cost so little. Everyone on the boat wanted to know what the occasion was. Just, living!

Also right near the ferry on the Staten Island side, Everything Goes clothing, furniture and variety stores; Funky and cheap thrift stores:

www.etgstores.com

And a Fishs Eddy Outlet store right across the street from the clothing store.

Numerous ethnic restaurants in the neighborhood, including a couple of Sri Lankan, French, a Cajun/New Orleans joint, Polish Deli, and a Taqueria, and a French restaurant, all of which have gotten high marks for their food. Cargo Cafe, a decent bar/restaurant is just a few blocks from the ferry.

Snug Harbor Cultural Center, with the Chinese Scholar's Garden is nearby also.

www.snug-harbor.org

I've had this long-running fantasy of getting married on the S.I. ferry. Ceremony on the way there conducted by Ed Koch, cocktail "half-hour" on the way back, then the reception in Battery City Park. I just need to find the girl who'll agree to this...

i caught the ferry my first night in NY, pretty much as soon as i got in from Sydney at around midnight. there was a harvest moon. beautiful.

Got engaged on the ferry. At sunset. Coolest boat ride I ever took. And you can't beat the price. :>)

The ferrys that take you from my town of Bremerton to Seattle are slow and expensive thanks to the gutting of their funding. It cost me 18.50 for a half hour one way trip with my car and girlfriend yesterday.

Dude: That's some cheap freakin' beer on the ferry, too. It's like $2.75 or $3 a bottle for Bud and Heineken.

And, for the runners among Gothamist's readership, taking the ferry on a sunny Saturday morning to participate in the Staten Island half-marathon (one of the training events leading up to the NYC Marathon) is one of life's memorable pleasures.

The ferry is a New York treasure. People should get off and explore. Just 10-15 minutes away are two of the prettiest parks in New York. Clove Lakes Park and Silver Lake Park. The much maligned forgotten borough is a place I miss dearly now living on the west coast. Unfortunately the people knocking it are the ones who don't really know it.

I was wondering if you were going to work in the "Working Girl" reference. It happened to be on cable yesterday afternoon...I've always loved the aerial tracking shot over the river into lower Manhattan, accompanied by Carly Simon's "Let the River Run". That title credit sequence captured some of the energy and optimism that's been lost post-9/11.

lived on SI for six years and commuted to Regis HS for four of them. The SI ferry was the highlight of the 2hr trip but the crash of the barberi and the closing off of the car level after 9/11 were buzz kills. i hope the new terminal will infuse some new life into them. they also need some new life jackets.

I don't think you can smoke on the boat.

The smokers in the group were able to hang on through two round-trips to S.I., and by then we were ready to get off the boat and head to a local bar (check out Ulysses on Stone Street, with its open air patio on the cobblestone streets).

That's a pretty cool idea. Can you smoke on the boat too?

Also, I hear stories of engagements on the boat. While some might think the ferry is ghetto, that view of NY is anything but - it strikes of me as being romantic.

I once threw a surprise party on the Ferry on Saturday night. On a warm summer night, you can't beat being on the water.. in addition to being free, you can openly drink beer (they sell it on board).

Golly who is this BlueJake guy! Gothamist should hire him ASAP!