There are two places in Queens that getting to are an absolute nightmare: LaGuardia Airport and Citi Field. Between standstill traffic, crowded public transit, and through the roof rideshare prices, making your way to both of these places is certainly not for the weak. But there may soon be a light at the end of the tunnel as murmurs of both LaGuardia Airport and Citi Field getting their own NYC ferry stops are now floating around!
According to Bloomberg, hedge fund billionaire and owner of the New York Mets Steve Cohen is calling for the NYC Ferry system to add two new NY taxpayer-backed ferry stops at LaGuardia airport and Citi Field. In a letter Cohen wrote to Mayor Eric Adams and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr, he stated how the new ferry stops are a “key part of mitigating parking and traffic issues.”
Officials from the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, LaGuardia Gateway Partners, and New York City’s soccer team (NYCFC), who plays some of their home games at Citi Field, also signed off on the fact that the new stops would help alleviate congestion.
Cohen’s letter also mentioned that now is an ideal time to begin this new ferry service as Queens’ Willets Point neighborhood will soon welcome NYCFC’s new soccer stadium, which is expected to open in 2027, and Flushing’s Arthur Ashe Stadium is getting an $800 million facelift. Thus, Cohen’s thoughts are that with this increased foot traffic it would be more convenient to offer an alternative way of getting to the area than just by car.
Though the NYC Ferry is overseen by the city’s Economic Development Corporation, it’s operated by a private company, currently Hornblower Group. Thus, the ferries are heavily subsidized by taxpayers, and if the new ferry stops do come to fruition they’d be New York taxpayer-backed.
Beyond the potential ferry stops, there are other ways to get to LaGuardia Airport and Citi Field without driving, taking public transport (because lugging your bags on the train isn’t for the weak either), and spending thousands on rideshare. As for LaGuardia, Uber launched $18 flat rate rides from Manhattan to LGA back in October, and back in April a new private ferry service was launched to sail Mets fans in Staten Island and New Jersey directly to Citi Field, so at least you do have other options in the meantime!