They say the only assured things in life are death and taxes.
Add another to that list — that property management group Lendlease will announce yet another delay to the return of the Greenpoint ferry stop.
This morning, Council Member Lincoln Restler tweeted that Lendlease just informed his office that ferry service will not return until roughly late October/November.
Greenpointers has been closely following this story since ferry service was suspended in 2021. Just a few weeks ago, Lendlease granted us an exclusive interview and tour to update us on the project’s progress. Though they refrained from confirming an exact date, they made assurances that the ferry’s return was “imminent,” to quote Isaac Henderson, Development Director at Lendlease.
We reached out to get a comment from Lendlease concerning this delay, and here’s what we heard:
Unforeseen conditions in the bedrock will unfortunately increase the drilling time beyond what was initially projected.
The larger piles and drilling into the bedrock are part of an enhanced design that will help prevent another failure and extended shut-down in the future.
Upon commencement of the drilling of rockets sockets, the marine contractor encountered bedrock that is thicker and denser than what is normally encountered in similar locations in the river, that will unfortunately increase the drilling time beyond what was initially projected.
Email from Tom Reller, Head of Communications, Lendlease Americas
Assemblymember Emily Gallagher and City Council Member Lincoln Restler teamed up for a joint letter to the NYC Economic Development Corporation, expressing their frustration with the repeated delays.
“As representatives of the Greenpoint community we are deeply disappointed in the mismanagement displayed in repairing the India Pier Ferry infrastructure. The extended and repeated delays in construction by the private owner of the pier are unacceptable. We have lost confidence that this or any pier should be privately-owned for purposes of our already heavily city-subsidized ferry service. Therefore, we are asking that a city-owned pier, such as the WNYC transmitter pier, be reconsidered for immediate restoration of service moving forward and that a long term City asset be identified for Greenpoint ferry service.”
Excerpt from a letter to the EDC from AM Gallagher and CM Restler.
The two elected officials highlighted the “succession of feet-dragging, finger-pointing, and poor communication of unrealistic and unreliable timelines surrounding the planned completion date for this project.”
Greenpointers will keep you updated as we learn more.