Glen Cove Ferry Summer Service Ends, Deemed 'Tremendous Success'

Long Island Rail Road's "Summer Of Hell" will come to a close on Tuesday, Sept. 5, but the Glen Cove's ferry's last Manhattan-bound train has set sail on Friday.

The Glen Cove Ferry service ran from July 10 to Sept. 1 to help aid Long Island Rail Road commuters as Amtrak conducts construction work at Penn Station over the summer.

• Would you want the ferry service to become a permanent option for commuters? Take our poll below.

"It's going to be like that movie 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' and we're preparing for what we call a 'Summer of Hell,'" Cuomo said in May, referencing the 1980s comedy in which Steve Martin’s character is subjected to a torturous trip home.

According to many LIRR commuters, they'd take the "Summer of Hell" over a regular day.

“It hasn’t been the ‘Summer of Hell’ that everyone was making it out to be,” said Sarah Mitchell, 22, who was at Penn Station waiting to take a Long Island Rail Road train to Merrick last week. “I haven’t had any horrible experiences yet.”

Some who have been taking the Glen Cove Ferry the past few months don't want the "Summer of Hell" to end, either.

The Glen Cove Ferry's website declared the summer of service a "tremendous success" among commuters. Ferry commuters told Newsday they wish they took the ferry more often and are sad to see the service end.

The Glen Cove Ferry posted on Tuesday that ferry operators are interested in permanent ferry commuter service in an upcoming request for proposal (RFP) that will be released in the fall. Glen Cove's key requirements in the RFP are:

• Three Manhattan-bound ferries in the morning. Two would stop at midtown and one would stop at Wall Street.
• Three Glen Cove-bound ferries in the evening.
• A proposal of an off-peak schedule and recreational services.

Permanent ferry service has been a long time coming. In September 2016, the City postponed their ferry service schedule to not impede the accelerated construction at Garvies Point. The service was postponed for 12 months and looked to be running no later than early 2019, but instead returned in July to accommodate the needs of the LIRR.

However, not everyone is happy about the ferry service. Earlier in the summer, the Village of Sea Cliff warned the MTA the ferry could pollute the waterways and suggested the service be moved to a docking area at North Hempstead Beach Park, Newsday reports.

Sound off your opinions on the Glen Cove Ferry in the comments below!

Image via City of Glen Cove