The closure of the Newburgh-Beacon Ferry this summer has triggered a wave of community outcry and protest calling for the restoration of ferry service, and the Save The Ferry Campaign has helped organize much of it. The campaign is made up of community volunteers from both sides of the river who want ferry service restored.

 

Volunteers for the group have a variety of reasons for wanting the ferry back. Many volunteers are commuters from Newburgh who used to rely on the ferry service to access the train in Beacon. Some believe the ferry would be good for the economic growth of the region, some like it for the environmental impact, and some simply appreciate the beauty of the crossing. But they all agree that the ferry, when it was active, was the best way to cross the river.

 

But they don’t just want the ferry to return to its old schedule, as many believe that the ferry’s previous schedule contributed to the low ridership. They’re hoping to model the new schedule for the ferry off of programs like the Ossinging-Haverstraw ferry connection. The Ossinging-Haverstraw ferry runs from 5:45 a.m. to 9:42 p.m. on weekdays all year, and from 10:17 a.m. to 7:43 p.m. on weekends in the summer.

 

The campaign has been circulating a petition at events throughout Newburgh and Beacon calling for the restoration of the ferry. The goal for the petition is 2,000 signatures, and as of Monday, September 15, the petition had roughly 275 total signatures. The campaign plans to send the petition to Governor Kathy Hochul, in an attempt to convince her of the community support for the restoration of the ferry, and its importance to the people of Newburgh and Beacon.

 

Naomi Hersson-Ringskog says they’re targeting the Governor because she has funding and appointment power over the MTA board. She said “Hochul has appointed the MTA Chair Janno Lieber, as well as several members of the MTA Board, giving her significant influence over leadership and decision-making. The governor also plays a key role in determining the MTA’s annual budget through the state budgeting process, which directly affects the agency’s operations and capital projects like the Newburgh-Beacon Ferry.” Five voting members of the MTA board, including the chairman, are directly nominated by the governor.

 

The group also contends the ridership numbers that were reported by the MTA justifying the shutdown of the ferry were inaccurate. Hersson-Ringskog says “Many team members heard directly from the captain of the ferry that numbers averaged higher than those reported in the press. Furthermore, MTA has not released ridership data for the past seven years which we have requested multiple times.” She says that the ridership data is important, not only because of the potential mismatch between the actual and reported numbers, but also because of the impact of the pandemic on public transport. “Numbers on the Metro North Train line just recovered from COVID in June. Why didn’t the Newburgh-Beacon ferry, which was poorly advertised and promoted, get the same help in recovery?”

 

The campaign has a link to a “Ferry Fact Sheet” on their instagram, outlining what they’d like the MTA to do. The list includes restoring the ferry to weekday service, integrating the ferry into MTA’s TrainTime app and system signage, releasing the ridership numbers from the past five years and establishing a Ferry Task Force.

 

The Save the Ferry Campaign plans to participate in Spirit of Beacon Day on Sunday, September 28.