The booze cruise is back.
Alcoholic drinks will be served on the Staten Island Ferry again starting this week — after seven years where the New York Bay became a dry estuary, city officials announced Monday.
Beer, hard seltzers and canned cocktails will be available from concession stands on the fleet’s MV SSG Michael H. Ollis beginning Friday, and will expand to two more vessels — the the Sandy Ground and Dorothy Day — in the next few weeks, the Department of Transportation said.
“The Staten Island Ferry is already one of the best—and most scenic—rides in the world, and now it’s even better,” NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn said in a statement.
“Whether you’re commuting or just taking in the skyline, riders of the original fast and free transit service can once again enjoy their choice of a piping hot coffee or an iced cold brew.”
The sale of booze stopped in 2019 when contracts with existing vendors expired — but the COVID-19 lockdown delayed new contracts.
Concessions returned to the ferry a little over a year ago, but the vendors had to wait to secure permits to sell alcohol, a DOT spokesperson said.
Coffee and snack concessions finally resumed on some vessels in the fleet in 2024 with a booze-free deal struck with Dunkin’ to sell coffee and snacks.
But starting Friday, the ferry service’s estimated 45,000 daily commuters will finally be able to toast to the weekend again.
“After a long week, there’s nothing that tastes quite as good as that first Friday night beer on the way home. It doesn’t just taste like beer, it tastes like the weekend,” Council Member Frank Morano said.
“I’ve always tried to stay focused on the business of governing,” he added, “but I’d be lying if I said this won’t factor into my decision the next time I’m choosing between the ferry and the express bus.”
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