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Activists have a plan for weekend service
A year after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority discontinued a commuter ferry on the Hudson River between Beacon and Newburgh, activists are hoping to raise $200,000 to launch their own weekend service.
The Save the Ferry coalition, whose members live on both sides of the river, envisions a free boat running 10 hours on each Friday, Saturday and Sunday from mid-June through October. They hope to demonstrate that demand still exists for the route, which the MTA has replaced with shuttle buses.
The service would rely on the Nellie Bly, a 40-person vessel supplied by the New York Boat Co., which runs charter cruises from Peekskill. The coalition said it is in talks to use the Sloop Club dock in Beacon and the Riverfront Marina in Newburgh.
The MTA suspended ferry service in January 2025 due to river ice. During the hiatus, the agency said it discovered damage to the floating dock it used in Beacon. Because ridership had also been declining — from an average of nearly 250 people per day in 2008 to 62 in 2024, according to the MTA — the agency officially canceled the service in June, before it ever restarted.
If the coalition can secure funding, weekend service "would be one incremental step in the whole restoration of that regional transportation link," said Victoria Manning, a Newburgh resident.
Organizers wouldn't say what they have raised so far, but they are asking Hudson Valley legislators to push for funding for their ferry pilot in the 2026-27 state budget. They estimate the $200,000 will cover marketing, insurance, permitting, docking fees and a crew for the season. If funding doesn't materialize, the coalition says it will try again in 2027-28.
While the MTA ferry ran only during commuting hours, bringing Newburgh residents to Beacon's Metro-North station to catch trains toward Poughkeepsie or Grand Central Station, the coalition believes a weekend boat would attract casual riders as well as people who work on Saturday and Sunday. "Businesses and individuals have been clamoring for this," Manning said.
An MTA spokesperson said on Wednesday (May 6) that the agency has no plans to restart a ferry between Beacon and Newburgh. The bus shuttles are free through 2026; an express route to New York Stewart International Airport has been added. For the third year, the agency will also operate a seasonal weekend ferry between Haverstraw in Rockland County and Ossining in Westchester County beginning this month.
Members of the coalition don't understand why that can't happen farther north. Amanda Brown, a Beacon resident and professional mediator, said the MTA told her it shut down the Newburgh crossing because of low ridership. But she believes the agency didn't do enough to examine the reasons behind it.
In January, Brown began surveying Main Street business owners in Beacon. Some told her, she writes in a report she hopes to share with the Beacon and Newburgh city councils, that they are certain some customers come from Newburgh. Others said that "anything that could draw people to the area in general would be good for them," said Brown, who plans more interviews.
Based on 2024 state tourism statistics, the coalition says its conservative estimate is that 60 passengers on a weekend ferry would generate $187,000 in retail revenue in the two cities over the season. At the high end, they said, with more passengers spending more money, it could reach $750,000.
"Newburgh does not have the same level of weekend tourism as Beacon, so our small business community needs this connection," said Manning, a museum registrar who rides the train into New York City three or four times a week.
According to the state Department of Transportation, usage of the Newburgh-Beacon bus shuttle more than doubled in the past year. But the numbers don't reflect an important difference between the bus and the ferry, said Manning, who takes a 6 a.m. shuttle to Beacon. On the return trip over the Newburgh-Be...
A year after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority discontinued a commuter ferry on the Hudson River between Beacon and Newburgh, activists are hoping to raise $200,000 to launch their own weekend service.
The Save the Ferry coalition, whose members live on both sides of the river, envisions a free boat running 10 hours on each Friday, Saturday and Sunday from mid-June through October. They hope to demonstrate that demand still exists for the route, which the MTA has replaced with shuttle buses.
The service would rely on the Nellie Bly, a 40-person vessel supplied by the New York Boat Co., which runs charter cruises from Peekskill. The coalition said it is in talks to use the Sloop Club dock in Beacon and the Riverfront Marina in Newburgh.
The MTA suspended ferry service in January 2025 due to river ice. During the hiatus, the agency said it discovered damage to the floating dock it used in Beacon. Because ridership had also been declining — from an average of nearly 250 people per day in 2008 to 62 in 2024, according to the MTA — the agency officially canceled the service in June, before it ever restarted.
If the coalition can secure funding, weekend service "would be one incremental step in the whole restoration of that regional transportation link," said Victoria Manning, a Newburgh resident.
Organizers wouldn't say what they have raised so far, but they are asking Hudson Valley legislators to push for funding for their ferry pilot in the 2026-27 state budget. They estimate the $200,000 will cover marketing, insurance, permitting, docking fees and a crew for the season. If funding doesn't materialize, the coalition says it will try again in 2027-28.
While the MTA ferry ran only during commuting hours, bringing Newburgh residents to Beacon's Metro-North station to catch trains toward Poughkeepsie or Grand Central Station, the coalition believes a weekend boat would attract casual riders as well as people who work on Saturday and Sunday. "Businesses and individuals have been clamoring for this," Manning said.
An MTA spokesperson said on Wednesday (May 6) that the agency has no plans to restart a ferry between Beacon and Newburgh. The bus shuttles are free through 2026; an express route to New York Stewart International Airport has been added. For the third year, the agency will also operate a seasonal weekend ferry between Haverstraw in Rockland County and Ossining in Westchester County beginning this month.
Members of the coalition don't understand why that can't happen farther north. Amanda Brown, a Beacon resident and professional mediator, said the MTA told her it shut down the Newburgh crossing because of low ridership. But she believes the agency didn't do enough to examine the reasons behind it.
In January, Brown began surveying Main Street business owners in Beacon. Some told her, she writes in a report she hopes to share with the Beacon and Newburgh city councils, that they are certain some customers come from Newburgh. Others said that "anything that could draw people to the area in general would be good for them," said Brown, who plans more interviews.
Based on 2024 state tourism statistics, the coalition says its conservative estimate is that 60 passengers on a weekend ferry would generate $187,000 in retail revenue in the two cities over the season. At the high end, they said, with more passengers spending more money, it could reach $750,000.
"Newburgh does not have the same level of weekend tourism as Beacon, so our small business community needs this connection," said Manning, a museum registrar who rides the train into New York City three or four times a week.
According to the state Department of Transportation, usage of the Newburgh-Beacon bus shuttle more than doubled in the past year. But the numbers don't reflect an important difference between the bus and the ferry, said Manning, who takes a 6 a.m. shuttle to Beacon. On the return trip over the Newburgh-Be...