NYC Ferry names its first vessel: Lunchbox

First vessel is readied for naming ceremony

APRIL 17, 2017 — Mayor Bill de Blasio today welcomed the first three NYC Ferry vessels into New York Harbor. The boats departed from Liberty Landing in New Jersey this morning before docking at Pier 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

The docking included the christening of the first NYC Ferry vessel. Named “Lunchbox” by Bay Ridge’s P.S. 170 second graders, the ferry was christened by Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen, who will serve as “godmother” to the ferry boat. The dedication ceremony also included a reading of Sailor’s Paraphrase of the 23rd Psalm, by FDNY Chaplain Ann Kansfield.

Additional boats will be christened in the coming weeks.

“I’m so honored to christen this first ferry. In just two weeks, this service will start transforming the way thousands of New Yorkers travel. The docks are ready. The boats are ready. The riders are ready. NYC Ferry is about to become a reality!” Deputy Mayor Alicia Mayor Glen said.

“After months of construction and weeks of travel, the new NYC Ferry boats are officially here in the five boroughs. And in just two weeks’ time, New Yorkers will be able to ride these brand new boats themselves – to work, to school, or to explore all the incredible things our waterfront has to offer,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation President and CEO James Patchett.

In addition to welcoming the new boats, the City announced the construction of new infrastructure at Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park and Atlantic Basin in Red Hook that will serve New Yorkers when the South Brooklyn route launches in June.

Mayor Bill de Blasio today also released a new 2017 NYC Ferry map, highlighting the routes that will be activated this year, and announced schedules for the Rockaway Route and East River Route, both of which will be operating May 1.