The Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance’s 2014 Waterfront Conference is being held on Thursday, April 24, 2014. The conference will be held on the Hornblower Infinity, docked at Hudson River Park in New York.
SDG's Pierre Vilain will be appearing on a panel at the conference to discuss 'Getting to Transit Equity via Ferries: Transportation to and from the most transit-poor sections of New York City.'
The East River Ferry has proven to be an overwhelmingly successful model of water mass transit, bringing new populations and economic development to burgeoning waterfront neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens. But much of the City’s waterfront—from southwest Brooklyn to southeast Bronx—remains home to working-class communities who still lack adequate access to fast, reliable, and affordable public transit. In addition, new housing, commerce, and parks have breathed fresh life into waterfront neighborhoods, bringing to light glaring gaps in the City’s transportation network.
This panel explores how ferries can help to equalize some of the inequities in New York City’s transportation network, as well as how grassroots transit advocacy can deliver tangible results to transit-starved communities.