SNL stars and Staten Island natives Pete Davidson and Colin Jost are proving there may be more than one King of Staten Island with their recent purchase of a decommissioned Staten Island Ferry.
The two bought the boat in partnership with real estate agent Paul Italia, as Italia told the New York Post that the “idea is to turn the space into a live entertainment event space, with comedy, music, art, et cetera.”
The nearly 60-year old John F. Kennedy had recently been put up for auction by the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services after being decommissioned due to mechanical complications. According to the Post, the 277 foot vessel has a 5,200 person capacity and weighs 4.2 million pounds!
The NYC DCAS even joked about it on Twitter:
I hope it’s an oversized sweepstakes winner check https://t.co/UgQ7QR45rR
— NYC DCAS (@NYCDCAS) January 21, 2022
The soon to be ferry-turned-entertainment venue is currently stationed at the St. George Ferry Terminal. Auction winner Paul Italia told the Post that the trio plans on keeping the ferry at a local shipyard until they find a long-term location for it, since the terms of the auction require the boat to be retrieved within 10 days following the purchase.
Though the vessel was up for auction and listed in “poor” condition, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services claims it’s structurally sound.
According to Staten Island Live, the John F. Kennedy was the first Staten Island Ferry with with diesel-electric propulsion machinery and was loved for its “outdoor promenades” and “extended foredecks” that were new ferry features at the time is was first commissioned in 1965.
For now we will have to wait on more concrete details about their future plans for the space, but who knows, maybe by this time next year we could all be laughing away on a Staten Island Ferry with Pete Davidson and Colin Jost themselves.