NYC Second Graders Name New City Ferry 'Lunchbox'

NEW YORK, NY — "Lunchbox" will be among the ships setting sail later this year as part of the city's vast new ferry network, thanks to a group of genius second-graders in charge of naming the boats.

The NYC Ferry is set to launch the first of its new routes in May. And, in anticipation of the big debut, city officials have been reaching out to classes of second graders across NYC and giving them the important task of naming the boats that will transport New Yorkers from shore to shore for the price of a subway ride.

Along with Lunchbox, students chose the names The Friendship Express, Sunset Crossing, Urban Journey and Waves of Wonder for other vessels in the city's new fleet.

Watch the winning second graders announce their boat names here:

The name Lunchbox, in particular, was selected by a class at P.S. 170 in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The student who came up with the idea told WNYC that he thought of it while staring at the lunchbox-filled cubbies in the classroom.

"I was looking at the lunchboxes," he said. "Then I just came up with the name lunchbox."

Another student elaborated on the deeper meaning of the winning name.

"You can put different foods in a lunchbox, and there’s different people from different countries in New York," the P.S. 170 student told WNYC. With all the different people on one boat, he explained, "you make a lunch box."

Five of the fleet's 20 boats have been named so far. A spokeswoman for the city's Economic Development Corporation said the city has specifically been reaching out to second graders who live and study in neighborhoods near the new ferry stops.

This story has been updated. Lead image via NYC Ferry