Despite the efforts of Bay Ridge transportation activist Heather McCown, and her Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance, Heather’s mission to turn the 69th street Veteran’s Pier into our own commuter ferry port suffered a major setback when New York Water Tax announced they’d be suspending service from Sunset Park, last January. NYWT’s President then citing: dwindling ridership, subsidies, and prohibitively rising costs.

Now, Monday, State Senator Marty Golden and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz were on hand to pass the bouquets as it were, to herald the return of commuter ferry service to Sunset Park – via Breezy Point, Rockaway.

While not the 69th street launch McCown had lobbied so tirelessly, for over a year, the Water Taxi officially resumed service to the southwest corner of Brooklyn, making it the second stop after the Rockaways to Pier 11 in Downtown Manhattan – reports this week’s Brooklyn Eagle.

Last year, Heather started a petition drive garnering over 2000 signatures, and became a driving force behind bringing low-impact, sustainable transportation to Bay Ridge by way of her Sunset Ridge Waterfront Alliance, which evolved into a highly visible non-profit advocacy organization