A Long Way Home
Reporting to you from the River Styx
Our Town downtown
October 6, 2006
It seems a strange and distant land, Staten Island. Like those big ferries disappearing across the dark river into the night might be captained by Charon and headed for Hades. The Hudson, after all, bears some similarity to the mythical River Styx, which was so foul that gods forced to drink the river’s water would lose their voice for nine years.
But with a notable exception in 2003 when the ferry operator crashed into the dock, the five ferry boats that take people away from the South Ferry Terminal in Manhattan always bring them back – 70,000 every day.
We talked to four.
5:23 p.m.
Bridget, a young woman who grew up on S.I. and got a job at the MetroTech Center in Brooklyn five months ago, is sitting on a low window ledge at the Whitehall Terminal in Manhattan near the big glass doors that will open when the ferry arrives.
Q: How long does your commute take, including the subway ride?
A: An hour and a half.
Q: So do you get up obscenely early?
A: Pretty much. Five forty-five. It sucks. I’m moving to Long Island soon. That commute’s going to suck, too.
Q: What’s annoying about the ferry?
A: Getting on and off is bad. The crowd, pushing through.
Q: Has the ferry improved since you were a kid?
A: Yeah, it’s gotten better in the last two years. [Whitehall terminal] is brighter, more supervised. I don’t feel nervous here. Before, it just wasn’t well lit or clean. Plus it just looks nicer.
Q: Do you sit inside or stand outside on the deck?
A: I sit inside. The tourist are outside, getting their photos. It’s an event for them. It’s a commute for us.
Q: Do you ever worry it’ll crash again?
A: When you hear it docking, it always makes that noise, and you never really know what’s going on.
5:36 p.m.
Anthony, wearing a leather jacket and reading the Daily News, usually takes the express bus from midtown. He’s lived on S.I. for 16 years.
Q: How come you’re taking the ferry today?
A: To avoid getting stuck in traffic. When I want to play it safe, I take this and then the train.
Q: You’re feeling safe today?
A: Well I knew I needed to get home at a certain time. This is usually pretty consistent, although on a good [traffic] day, the bus and the ferry are about the same.
Q: How long does your commute take?
A: An hour and twenty minutes.
Q: Do you find people on the ferry more willing to strike up a conversation than commuters on the subway or bus?
A: Maybe the ferry has more of a crowd of people being sociable. More tourists.
Q: When is your favorite time of year to ride the ferry?
A: In between seasons, like this, when it’s nice out.
5:40
Robert, a student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, sits by the exit so he can get off the ferry quickly and onto the Staten Island Railroad. His commute takes him two hours each way.
Q: What do you do during your two-hour commute?
A: Enjoy the scenery, listen to my CD player, read the newspaper.
Q: Do you ever talk to people?
A: I usually keep to myself. I sit toward the end, as you can see, so I can get a good spot on the train.
Q: Have you lived anywhere else in the city?
A: Brooklyn, yeah, but then my father moved to Staten Island.
Q: How does Staten Island compare?
A: I like Brooklyn better, but I guess it’s adjustable.
Q: Compared to the subway, how efficient is the ferry?
A: Well it’s direct transportation, going from one place to the next. With the subway, you have all these stops.
6:06
Mike is going from Staten Island to Manhattan to party with his friends. He’ll take the ferry back later tonight.
Q: You’re one of the few local people out on the deck.
A: I get claustrophobic. I’m inside for two minutes, I gotta come out. I’m outside, I go back in. That’s how I always was in school, too.
Q: Do you ever worry about the ferry crashing again?
A: Yeah, ever since that incident, when the ferry hit an iceberg or something… I’m thinking of the Titanic, I think. If something happened I’d probably swim about 30 yards, then I’d sink. I’d take one of those parachutes with me. Those, you know, life jackets.
