The West Midtown Ferry Terminal is a passenger bus and

ferry terminal A passenger terminal is a structure in a port which services passengers boarding and leaving water vessels such as ferry, ferries, cruise ships and ocean liners. Depending on the types of vessels serviced by the terminal, it may be named (for e ...

serving

ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

along the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and northeastern New Jersey. It is located at Pier 79 in Hudson River Park adjacent to the West Side Highway at West 39th Street in

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...

. The facility first opened on December 3, 1986 with the start of

NY Waterway NY Waterway, or New York Waterway, is a private transportation company running ferry and bus service in the Port of New York and New Jersey and in the Hudson Valley. The company utilizes public-private partnership with agencies such as the Por ...

commuter ferry service. Built largely with public funds, the West Midtown terminal is owned by the city and leased to

, which operates ferries to

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

, Hoboken,

Weehawken Weehawken is a Township (New Jersey), township in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Hudson Waterfront and Hudson Palisades overlooking ...

, Edgewater, and South Amboy in New Jersey. The ferry service refers to the terminal as Midtown / West 39th Street in scheduling. As a public terminal, the facility is open to any ferry company.

NYC Ferry NYC Ferry is a public network of ferry routes in New York City operated by Hornblower Cruises. , there are six routes, as well as one seasonal route, connecting 25 ferry piers across all five boroughs. NYC Ferry has the largest passenger fleet ...

also uses the terminal for its St. George route, referring to it as West Midtown/W 39th St/Pier 79, while Seastreak uses it for service to the Raritan Bayshore. The terminal is located on a narrow strip of land west of Hudson River Park and the West Side Highway (also known as Twelfth Avenue). Its construction required the incorporation of the ventilation towers of the Lincoln Tunnel built in the 1930s. Clad in glass, it contains six ferry slips as well as a passenger ticketing area and waiting room.

History

The ''Weehawken'' was the last ferry to the West Shore Railroad's Weehawken Terminal on March 25, 1959 at 1:10 am., ending a century of continuous service from 42nd Street. In 1981 Arthur Edward Imperatore, Sr., trucking magnate, purchased a length of the Weehawken waterfront from the bankrupt

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals, the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...

for $7.5 million and in 1986 established New York Waterway, with a route across the river that roughly paralleled the older one. Initially, the ferry slip at Pier 78 was a makeshift affair with limited, yet increasing ridership. After the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

on the World Trade Center destroyed the

PATH A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail. Path or PATH may also refer to: Physical paths of different types * Bicycle path * Bridle path, used by people on horseback * Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle * Desir ...

terminal located there cross-Hudson passenger capacity was greatly reduced, and ferry service was expanded to compensate.

borrowed heavily to acquire new vessels to add new routes and add more runs to schedules. City and state agencies contracted the construction of new

s to be leased to private operators, of which the West Midtown is one. With the restoration of

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

service, ridership numbers dropped significantly. The

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, (PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ) is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate c ...

brokered a deal to avoid bankruptcy and disruption of service. In 2005, the facility was overhauled to accommodate an increasing demand for ferry service in the

Port of New York and New Jersey The Port of New York and New Jersey is the port district of the New York metropolitan area, New York-Newark metropolitan area, encompassing the region within approximately a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. It includes the sy ...

and to provide ferry slips for short haul crossings,

water taxi A water taxi or a water bus is a boat used to provide public transport, public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an Urban area, urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a simil ...

s, and high-speed long-distance service. The 2005 renovation was built by the

New York City Economic Development Corporation New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is a public-benefit corporation that serves as the official economic development organization for New York City. NYCEDC gives its mission as strengthening business confidence in New York C ...

Services

Ferry

NY Waterway commuter ferries connect to several New Jersey terminals, reaching , Weehawken Port Imperial, and Hoboken 14th Street 7 days a week. Hoboken Terminal, Paulus Hook Ferry Terminal, Edgewater Landing, and South Amboy are also served weekday peak hours. Service on the St. George route of the

system began in August 2021. Ferries make an intermediate stop at Brookfield Place Terminal in

Battery Park City Battery Park City is a mainly residential planned community and neighborhood on the west side of the southern tip of the island of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by the Hudson River on the west, the Hudson River shoreline on the nor ...

before terminating at a dock nearby the St. George Terminal and Empire Outlets on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

. Seastreak service to Belford began in October 2022 on a route that was previously operated by NY Waterway. Ferries make intermediate stops at Brookfield Place, Paulus Hook, and Pier 11/Wall Street before continuing on to Belford. At Pier 11/Wall Street, passengers can connect with Seastreak's East Side service to Atlantic Highlands and Highlands on the Raritan Bayshore.

Routes

Bus

NY Waterway maintains a fleet of buses which provide free connecting service to the ferry that run on peak and off peak routes in Manhattan below 59th Street. New York City transit buses M42 and M50 stop in the vicinity of the terminal at 42nd Street.

Slips

The terminal has seven slips, of which six are usually used: *Slip 1: Big City Tourism *Slip 2: NYC Ferry, Seastreak *Slip 3: NY Waterway Edgewater, IKEA Shuttle *Slip 4: NY Waterway Paulus Hook/Hoboken South *Slip 5: NY Waterway Lincoln Harbor/Hoboken North *Slip 6: NY Waterway Port Imperial *Slip 7: Unused

Gallery

File:Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, West Midtown.jpg, A ferry docked at the terminal File:West Midtown Ferry Term snow jeh.jpg, The terminal's exterior File:Waiting for Departure to Port Imperial Weehawken, West Midtown Ferry Terminal (7237738386).jpg, The departure boards inside the terminal File:W39th St ferry terminal jeh.JPG, The terminal from the water File:International RE (NY Waterway) 2.jpg, A shuttle bus pulling into the terminal File:NYWW bow loading WMFT jeh.jpg, A boat boarding at the terminal File:Hoboken, New Jersey from West Midtown Ferry Terminal, Manhattan (7237739674).jpg, A view of the river from the terminal

References

{{reflist 1986 establishments in New York City Ferry terminals in Manhattan Ferry transportation in New York City Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan Port of New York and New Jersey Transit hubs serving New Jersey West Side Highway