Rockaway ferry to help R train riders

R train riders whose commutes to Manhattan will be scrambled by repairs to fix a tunnel damaged by Superstorm Sandy will have a month to ride the sea to work.

Ferry service that has been aiding Rockaway residents will stop in Sunset Park on Monday through Labor Day to give train riders an alternate way to get to Manhattan. The Montague tunnel that carries the R train between Manhattan and Brooklyn will be shut down this week for 14 months so the MTA can repair the storm-battered tube.

"I encourage people to skip the train crowds and use the ferry, which will get you to Wall Street in 15 minutes and then to midtown thereafter," Councilman Vincent Gentile of Bay Ridge said in a statement.

Gentile said he wants the temporary $2 ride to be popular with Brooklynites so that the ferry can continue after the summer, when the city plans to end the service. The city, however, will review the service to determine whether it should continue.