Pete Davidson and Colin Jost buy old Staten Island ferry

[sl8]

https://www.workboat.com/passenger-vessels/-king-of-staten-island-and-comedy-partner-buy-old-ferry

‘King of Staten Island’ and comedy partner buy old ferry

January 21, 2022
Kirk Moore
Passenger Vessels News

The Staten Island ferry John F. Kennedy, commissioned in 1965 and sidelined by aging mechanicals in summer 2021, was purchased at auction for $280,100 by ‘Saturday Night Live’ cast members Pete Davidson and Colin Jost.

“It’s sick,” Davidson told the New York Post Friday. Davidson, Jost, and third partner Paul Italia, a real estate agent and co-founder of the Stand comedy club in the city, plan to convert the 277’ x 69’ vessel into a floating entertainment venue and bar, the Post reported.

Replaced by the new 320’ x 70’, 4,500-passenger ferries Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis – WorkBoat's 2021 Boat of the Year – and sister ship Sandy Ground, the Kennedy was put up for auction by the city Department of Citywide Administrative Services.

[...]

[underpants]

1. Sounds like a good deal but I really don't know

The article says repairs are needed. I have no idea about docking fees.

[PJMcK]

2. The Staten Island Ferry is fantastic!

It's one of NYC's greatest attractions. You get a half-hour boat ride across New Yor harbor with vistas that people travel from around the world to see. You pass Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty and Governor's Island. You get a panoramic view of the NYC skyline and the Verrazzano Bridge. When you get to Staten Island, there are many fine restaurants and a few gorgeous beaches. The return trip is just as beautiful.

AND IT'S FREE!

The Ferry is definitely one of NYC's treasures and best wishes to Jost, Davidson and their other partner.

Several years ago, my wife and I got married by a judge in lower Manhattan. We went to Chinatown for dinner with a few friends then we bought a bottle of Prosecco and rode the Ferry round trip. It was a beautiful afternoon and the views were spectacular.

There are a couple of other high-speed ferries in the city. One boat goes from the Upper East Side all the way to Brighton Beach. I think that one costs a swipe of a MetroCard, (about $2.75, I think).

New York City is surrounded by water and too often, this is forgotten. If you go to New York, try it, you'll love it!

[mopinko]

4. can confirm.

i wouldnt want to live there, but i do love nyc. have been several times, and did the ferry. statue wasnt open at the time, but she looked great from the boat.
lovely way to spend the day.

[TreasonousBastard]

3. I agree that the ferry ride is a supreme NYC gimme. I even had a girlfriend in SI as an excuse...

to use the thing.

A used Ferry, though. I used to get a marine salvage memo and there were always ferries and old barges on it. No one who hasn't experienced the joys of inspecting poisonous bilges and paper thin rusted steel can truly appreciate the joys of a marine surveyor's job.

Marine diesel engines and their diddly bitts are always cause for amusement and extraordinary expense and often old ferries, like the one half buried in New Jersey, off the Parkway, seem like good deals, if only for the steel salvage in them, but the expenses turn overwhelming.

Floating bar? A good idea if you've got the whatever behind you, but you soon find the expenses and financial risk a bit of a gamble. And, unless things have greatly changed, there are, ummm.., "forces" that must be dealt with. We ran like hell when they were proposed, no matter what the prospectus promised.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. I suspect that this will be on SNL tonight

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. SNL had fun with this story

Last edited Sun Jan 23, 2022, 10:11 PM - Edit history (1)

[ificandream]

7. I rode on the ferry back in the '60s.

As I recall the fare was only 5 cents, I believe. Was cool to see the Statue of Liberty that close.