After Delays, New Ferry Terminal Opens at Battery Park City

After two decades spent shuffling passengers on and off the island of Manhattan via an undignified "temporary" tent terminal in Battery Park City, the Port Authority is poised to open a new terminal tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. The $91.5 million floating terminal boasts five ferry slips, a 22,000-square-foot waiting area and separate gangways for arriving and departing passengers traveling between New Jersey, Westchester, and Rockland counties. According to City Room, the original construction award in 2004 was $35.7 million, and the terminal was supposed to open in 2006, but there were "unanticipated construction complications." The BillyBey Ferry Company, which operates in partnership with New York Waterway, maintains the contract to operate the terminal, which is opening amidst speculation that New York Waterway may go bankrupt. Oh well, at least it includes a place for the general public to hang out, on the outermost deck of the 160-by-176-foot hull.