Mayor de Blasio became Captain Bill Sunday when he took the helm of the pre-inaugural launch of city ferry service from Rockaway Park to Lower Manhattan.
“It was cool, smooth, super-responsive,” he said after steering the Urban Journey ferry, which was named by 2nd graders from the PS 69 Journey Prep School in Soundview.
“It was like driving a Fiat,” he said.
Councilman Donovan Richards, who represents the Rockaways, also piloted the ferry.
“I was going a more cautious 20.4 knots,” Hizzoner said. “Donovan took (the ferry) up to a more reckless 21.7 knots.”
The service will officially launch Monday morning at 5:30 am and will include a shuttle bus service to take commuters to and from the Rockaway pier. The commute takes about one hour and is aimed at reducing travel times for public transit commuters who now face commutes of well over an hour.
De Blasio declined to comment on who advised his Corrections Department Commissioner Joe Ponte, who was scolded by the city’s Department of Investigation last week for his use of a city vehicle.