Muslim Families Denied NYC Ferry Rides For 'Security': Complaint

NEW YORK — NYC Ferry workers refused to let three Muslim families set sail because they posed a dubious security risk, according to a new religious discrimination complaint against the city-run service.

Three Muslim mothers and their eight children were denied a boat ride from Wall Street to Brooklyn's Pier 6 last month when ferry staffers told them there was a "security issue," says the Wednesday complaint to the city's Commission on Human Rights.

The ordeal turned what should have been a fun-filled family outing into "one of the worst days of (their) lives," says the complaint, which demands punitive damages from the city.

"These families were humiliated and traumatized in public view and treated as suspect because they happen to be Muslim," Ahmed Mohamed, the Council on American-Islamic Relations lawyer representing the families, said in a statement. "That is unacceptable."

The families started their Sept. 21 journey with a seamless mid-afternoon ferry ride from Bay Ridge to Wall Street on which they took photos, bought snacks and chatted with employees, the complaint says.

They planned to take another ferry to Governor's Island from the Lower Manhattan port, but decided to go to Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 6 instead because of time constraints, according to the filing.

The group — which included two mothers wearing religious head coverings — asked to board the ferry after all the other passengers because they had several children and a double stroller, the complaint says.

A ferry worker granted the request, but when the families tried to board, she and a male worker blocked them from getting on the boat at the behest of "security," the complaint says.

After the group watched the ferry leave without them, they spoke to a security officer who "was confused and did not know why" the other workers were "blaming security," the complaint says.

A different ferry staffer said the families were barred from the boat because the kids had stood on the seats, a claim NYC Ferry later admitted was false, the complaint says. The service called the incident a "misunderstanding" and offered to reimburse the families for their fares, according to the filing.

In the end, the families had to wait about two hours for a boat back to Bay Ridge while the children cried and became confused about why they could not sail to Pier 6, according to the complaint. Even a crew member they spoke with on the return trip was "shocked" the families had been treated so poorly, the filing alleges.

"We hope the City will live up to its commitment of nondiscrimination and swiftly correct this injustice," Mohamed said.

The city's Economic Development Corporation, which runs the NYC Ferry service, is aware of the complaint and investigating the incident, an agency spokesperson said.

"NYCEDC takes these matters seriously, and is committed to ensuring that no person is denied services based on race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, gender identity or disability," the spokesperson said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Commission on Human Rights did not comment on the substance of the complaint, but said the agency investigates all discrimination complaints.