Glen Cove starts talks with ferry operators as project continues to stall

Glen Cove officials have relaunched talks with boat operators to run commuter ferry service from the city's multimillion dollar terminal into Manhattan, Mayor Pamela Panzenbeck said in an interview.

The city used $16.6 million in federal grants to build the terminal in 2015 as part of an ambitious effort to offer ferry service between Glen Cove and the East Side of Manhattan. Service was only operational for eight weeks in 2017 during the "Summer of Hell," a period when LIRR track repairs limited commuter service into Penn Station. In early 2020, the city approved a two-year program to relaunch ferry service in May of that year. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted that plan. 

In 2024, Panzenbeck tabled a resolution to launch a two-month pilot program that would've started last fall. She said the delay was over differences with Uniondale-based developer RXR over the timing of their planned $1 million subsidy for the service.

Panzenbeck, a Republican running for reelection in November, told Newsday she is exploring options "without the subsidy" and hopes to "have something running by the fall."

"I don’t want to depend on anyone else," Panzenbeck said. She declined to provide details, citing ongoing negotiations with ferry operators. RXR representatives declined to comment. 

RXR, which is building a $1 billion development of more than 1,000 condos and apartments next to the ferry terminal, had pledged $1 million to subsidize the service. The company has said it wants to give the subsidy after losses are sustained, rather than before a pilot program is launched. 

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), a former Glen Cove mayor and Nassau County executive who has been involved in the effort, said the city should continue to explore using the RXR subsidy.

"I still believe that a ferry from Glen Cove to Manhattan would be a massive game changer for Glen Cove," Suozzi told Newsday in an interview. 

Suozzi said there needs to be "some creative ways to generate revenues," such as advertising on the boat. 

"There are different ways to generate money to help subsidize the operations so that people could get a faster, more convenient — and when the weather is good — very pleasant ride into Manhattan," Suozzi said. 

As a stipulation for receiving the federal grants, Glen Cove is required to run commuter service for at least two years. The boats that ran in 2017 were mostly empty, Newsday previously reported.

Joseph Graziose Sr., RXR’s executive vice president of residential development and construction, told Newsday in 2024 that city officials had sought $250,000 for the two-month pilot program. He said the company was not part of discussions about implementing it.

He said RXR had committed to providing the subsidy, but only after the city sustained its first losses. Panzenbeck said last year she couldn’t accept that caveat and decided to shelve the pilot.

Panzenbeck said she wants to advance a commuter service "that isn’t going to go on the back of the taxpayers," but admitted, "that’s very challenging."

Marsha Silverman, a Democratic councilwoman challenging Panzenbeck in the fall, said in an interview the city is "looking for financially viable solutions to provide ferry service to our community." 

The federal government could claw back the grants, Newsday reported last year, but state officials have given the city an "indefinite extension" to launch ferry service, according to city emails obtained by Newsday through a Freedom of Information Law request.

Panzenbeck said she hasn't given too much thought to the prospect of a federal clawback.

"I can’t imagine they would totally break a beautiful little city like ours," she said.

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ