Staten Island Ferry: New Ferry Design

Recommendations
New vessels for a major urban transportation link and a worldrenowned tourist excursion
July 9, 2015
Staten Island Ferry Riders Committee
http://www.statenislandferryriders.com/
telephone +1-718-816-5522
email ferryriders@sgca.org
facebook.com/StatenIslandFerryRiders
New York City is in the design phase of the procurement of up to
three new Staten Island Ferries.
The Ferry Riders Committee submits these design recommendations
based on members more than 100,000 roundtrips on current and
former Staten Island ferries.

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Introduction
The Staten Island Ferry is a major transportation link (22,000,000
passenger trips per year) and a world-renowned tourist excursion.
It runs 365 days per year 24 hours per day, very frequently in
commuting rush hours, every half hour during the day and evening,
and every hour in the small hours of the night. It is owned and
operated by the City of New York.
The current ferry fleet has four classes. In order of oldest to
newest: The Kennedy class, the Barberi class, the Noble class, and
the Molinari class. The Noble class are small 2-deck ferries; the
Kennedy and the Barberi class are large 3-deck ferries; and the
Molinari class are large 4-deck ferries.
The City is in the design phase of a procurement, established by
the Preliminary Design Investigation for Staten Island Ferry
Fleet: Engineers Analysis and Recommendations Report, January 10,
2012, for up to three approximately 4500-passenger large ferries
for pedestrians, non-motorized bicycles, and disability vehicles,
with passenger areas on three decks (Main, Saloon, Bridge), to
follow the pattern set almost from the first motorized ferry in
1817 a double-ended (no turning around) ferry with wide bow /
stern area for quick boarding and disembarking.
These design recommendations are submitted by the Ferry Riders
Committee (FRC), a civic group whose mission is to be a voice for
Staten Island Ferry Riders and to bring about changes for their
benefit (http://www.statenislandferryriders.com/). The members of
the FRC pooled their perceptions of the good and bad features of
the ferries, and solicited ideas from other riders, and these
design notes arise from more than 100,000 round trips on the above
ferries and some on predecessor classes now decommissioned.

F/B Manhattan, the first ferry procured by the City after

taking over the ferry service

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Architecture
The Preliminary Design Investigation calls for the new ferry to
serve pedestrians, non-motorized bicycles, and disability vehicles
with three decks (Main, Saloon, Bridge), with the Main and Saloon
decks at the level of the existing embarkation ramps. This makes
for a level embarkation / disembarkation (though tides cause some
level mismatch), and provides a headroom on the Main Deck of
approximately 15'.

Outside promenades (weather decks)

The most contentious issue in the Preliminary Design Investigation
was to propose to replace the traditional open promenade / weather
decks with a convertible outboard gallery area on both sides of
the Upper Deck with fold-down windows to create an outside area
during pleasant weather.
The open promenades, featured for at least 125 years, are popular
with commuters and tourists alike, and are used winter and summer,
night and day.
The indoor promenade had
been introduced in 1981 with
the Barberi class, and is
widely disliked for bringing
the outdoors inside and vice
versa, for difficult manual
opens and closes of the
windows, and for ruining the
tranquil atmosphere of the
promenade area.
F/B Barberi without promenades (from
siferry.com)

F/B Kennedy with promenades (from siferry.com)

The FRC raised this issue in

2013.
After widespread protest the
City Department of
Transportation (DOT)
Commissioner Janette SadikKhan said outdoor seating
will be part of any new
ferry design. (New boats
for Staten Island Ferry will
include outdoor seating,
city says, by Tom Wrobleski
in the Staten Island
Advance, January 29, 2013.)

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Foredecks
The foredecks of the ferry have a special role to play as a
embarkation / disembarkation area (on the Main and Saloon Decks)
and an observation area (on all three decks).
The F/B Kennedy has the best foredeck area on the Saloon Deck a
full 24' from the line at which the shore ramp touches the deck to
the Saloon Deck doors.

Foredeck on the

F/B Kennedy (Nicholas Zvegintzov)

This deep lintel makes a popular sitting and observation area,

and makes for quick embarkation as passengers can sort out the
options of doors ahead of them.
The FRC supports a deep open foredeck on the Main and Saloon
decks.
There is also an open air foredeck
on the Molinari class ferries, but
it is locked in the forward
direction (unlocked in the aft
direction). What is the reason for
this? The FRC supports an open air
foredeck on the Bridge Deck that can
be used in both directions.

Foredeck barriers on the F/B

Barberi (Nicholas Zvegintzov)

The foredecks in the present ferries

show a peculiar improvisation of
barriers. For example the foredeck
of the F/B Barberi is protected by a
tie-back rope, a closed door,
another rope, a chain, and a lazy
tongs gate. The FRC urges naval
architects to come up with a simpler
barrier, acceptable to the Staten
Island Ferry, to prevent passengers
from falling off the front of the
boat.

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Center exit lower level

The ground-level terminal ramps have
left and right pedestrian walkways
flanking a wide ramp formerly for
vehicles.
The new ferry should be designed for
convenient embarking / disembarking
via the center ramp.
Obstructed boarding on the F/B
Kennedy (Mike Cagno)

Stairs
On board a ship, all "stairs" are called ladders, except for
literal staircases aboard passenger ships. Most "stairs" on a
ship are narrow and nearly vertical, hence the name.
Wiktionary, Appendix: Glossary of nautical terms
The pitch of the staircases on the three classes of big ferries
are:
Kennedy: Riser 7", Tread 10"
Barberi: Riser 6-1/4", Tread 11-1/4"
Molinari: Riser 7-3/4", Tread 10"
The stairs on the newest class, the Molinari, are the narrowest
and steepest.
The Staten island ferries are not cruise ships, but their stairs
(not ladders) should be scaled to land people, not mariners.

Doors and windows:

Since the ferries operate in a marine environment subject to
storms, they should have marine pocket doors and marine casement
windows, as in the Kennedy class.
The heavy swinging doors on the Barberi and Molinari class ferries
are accidents waiting to happen, since they can swing unexpectedly
and mangle passengers. They also have to be locked shut in
inclement weather.

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Zones
Participant observation shows that usage of the ferries falls,
formally and informally, into zones quiet, napping,
conversation, snacking, tourists, bicyclists...
Tourists prefer the exterior, and the Statue of Liberty side and
the Manhattan end.
Bicyclists have to be on the Main Deck.
Groups of commuters seize their favorite locations.
And so on...
The FRC has no specific recommendations, but urges that a design
consultant specializing in interior spaces and in circulation be
used, as well as naval architects.

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Fittings
Seats
The traditional configuration of the seats in the ferries has been
benches set crossways, in back-to-back pairs, not divided
lengthways down the middle. In the words of the Preliminary
Design: Bench seating is a good choice for SIF, with benches
arranged athwartships [i.e., crosswise in the vessel, not
lengthwise] to improve circulation.
This configuration was preferred in the FRC survey.
The seating material has changed from wood (Kennedy) to plastic
(Barberi) to metal (Molinari). The wood was preferred.
Though wood is not now permitted due to marine fire regulations,
it is worth considering what its advantages are. Apparently they
are:
1. Not heat-conductive, i.e., not cold in winter and hot in
summer.
2. Solid, i.e., the seats do not flex or buffet as passengers sit
or stand.
Some material with these characteristics should be found.
In addition the angle of the seats in the Kennedy class was
universally preferred to that in the Molinari class. The latter
seats cause slumping and sliding.

Angle of seats on F/B Kennedy

preferred (Nicholas Zvegintzov)

Angle of seats on F/B Molinari not

preferred (Nicholas Zvegintzov)

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Bicycle zones
The only vehicles allowed on the ferries are non-motorized
bicycles and disability vehicles.
These all load / unload on the lower (Main Deck) level.
The ferry design needs to make an appropriate space for bicycle
parking with enough capacity. The bicycle parking on the present
ferries is an ad hoc add-on.

Official bicycle parking on F/B

Molinari (acid-stars.com)

Overflow bicycle parking on F/B Molinari

(Nicholas Zvegintzov)

Life jackets
A Staten Island ferry has not sunk in
114 years (the FB Westfield on June
14, 1901), but if there are life
jackets they must be known and
accessible to the passengers. (One
can, regrettably, imagine a terrorist
situation that makes life jackets
necessary.)
In the old boats life jackets were
either under seats or in the ceiling
of the promenades, very close to all
passengers. On newer boats they are
hidden away in cabinets and secured
with plastic restraints.

Inaccessible lifejackets on the

Molinari class (Bob Zion)

Future boats should have lifebelts under the seats and on the
promenades.

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Signage
Besides the location of emergency equipment, the ferries need a
variety of signs:

Location of emergency equipment

Location of exits and emergency exits

Rules (NO SMOKING, NO LOUD MUSIC, ...)

Pointers to toilets, snack bar, elevators...

Pointers to emergency telephones

Plans of the vessel and its facilities.

Beside these, the following were also suggested:

An indication of the direction of disembarkation (since

the ferries are two-ended)

A declaration that ALL PASSENGERS MUST LEAVE THE BOAT

(mandatory prior to reloading)

A pointer to the Statue of Liberty side (tourists

constantly confused).

The media of the signs should not

be too architecturally designed,
e.g., they should be on media that
the Ferry organization can maintain
and update with in-house resources.

Signs on the F/B Barberi (Natalia

Morales)

Announcements must be designed in both auditory and visual form.

Current loudspeaker announcements are sporadic, hard to hear
because of ambient noise, and possibly in a language or an accent
that is a hindrance to the listener. Visual / audible
announcements are mandatory under the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA): (Where public address systems convey audible
information to the public, the same or equivalent information
shall be provided in a visual format.).

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Amenities
Snack bars
The snack (and drink) bars are a traditional and well-loved
feature of the ferries. (And a revenue source.)
The snack bar area on the F/B Kennedy is well appreciated, being a
square island amidships on the Saloon Deck, well-lighted and
easily accessible, with serving counters on the aisles and standup eating and drinking counters on the transverses.
It has no tables, however.

Snack bar on the F/B Kennedy (Nicholas Zvegintzov)

The snack area on the newest

Molinari class is cramped
and claustrophobic.

Snack area on the (newest) Molinari class

cramped (Natalia Morales)

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The snack bar area on the F/B Barberi is well proportioned and
open, with a single serving counter and a snacking compound with
chairs and seating counters (though drably institutional).

Snack area on the F/B Barberi large but institutional (Nicholas Zvegintzov)

This model seems to the FRC to be the best.

However it has one drawback: the single serving line backs up into
the aisles during busy hours.
The FRC feels that the available foods and drinks need to be
elevated from basic ballpark fare (hot dogs, beer, French fries,
doughnuts) to improve health, smells, and choice. This is not a
matter that can be achieved by ferry design alone, but it is
important that the snack areas be equipped with cooking, cooling,
cleaning, storage, and serving equipment suitable to a Class A
food establishment.

Electrical outlets and Wi-fi

The FRC is informed that all the current ferries are in process of
being upgraded to provide wi-fi (some already completed).
Therefore this is now the norm.
The new ferries should be equipped with electrical outlets to
accommodate the passengers in the mobile phone / tablet era.
Presently it is common to see passengers clustering around floorlevel utility outlets, with electrical cords snaking around the
floors. The tables in the snack area should also have electrical
outlets, as is now common in airports and other waiting rooms.
(With the ferries generating some 9,000 hp, we assume there is no
lack of power.)

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Utilities
Toilets
There is one thing a passenger vessel needs that a freight vessel
does not toilets.
Unaccountably, the Preliminary Design Investigation alleged:
Restrooms across vessel classes are generally underutilized. As
such, it is not unreasonable to consider allocating less space for
restrooms in new designs...
Anyone who has traveled the ferries, especially if female or a
parent, knows that this is not true.
The numbers bear this out: with 25-minute trips on 4,000+
passenger capacity ferries that regularly reach 30+% capacity on
some trips every day of the week, there are often lines at the
toilets.
The actual capacities for the Womens are:
Kennedy: 10 stalls
Barberi: 13 stalls
Molinari: 7 stalls
The shocking under-capacity of
the Molinari class is
theoretically balanced by the
fact that on the Bridge Deck
there are additional toilets, of
unknown capacity.
However the Ferry organization
has never unlocked them.
(The inability of the Ferry
organization to manage multiple
toilets is of course not to be
overcome by ship design.)

Molinari class ferry, closed toilets on

Bridge Deck (Nicholas Zvegintzov)

The FRC feels it is better to design toilets on multiple decks for

future convenience, since it is easier to change the Ferry
organizations incapacity than to change a design incapacity.
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The toilet utensils on the

newest Molinari class ferries
have been chosen from
correctional facility
plumbing and equipment in
stainless steel. (Surprising
enough to be featured in
http://toiletguru.com/ship.php.)
The institutional plumbing
gives an oppressive and
hostile impression.

The Molinari class

bathrooms are also
entered through a
unisex door wide
enough for only one
person, opening into a
lobby from which users
can see into both
restrooms
simultaneously.

Molinari bathroom entrances (Nicholas Zvegintzov

The Barberi class entrances

offer the best models.
They are symmetrical in the
mid deck, each entered by a
separate transverse open to
both port and starboard
passengers, with the bathrooms
off the transverse offering
both easy accessibility and
total privacy.

Barberi bathroom entrances (Nicholas

Zvegintzov

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The lighting in the ceiling fixtures of the toilets should be

coordinated with the placement of the stall walls. In the
Barberi class ferries some stalls are exceedingly dark because the
central light does not shine into them.
The Staten Island ferries are also notable for the vanities in
the Womens seats, counters, and mirrors much used during
morning and evening commutes.
(These vanities are famous enough to be the subject of the
documentary Ferry Tales,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZZ6j0JzpLQ.)
The FRC recommends:

Adequate toilet capacity for a 4,000+ vessel on a 25

minute run (sometimes more)

Provision for babies and children

Vanities

Wide entrances from port and starboard (as on Barberi)

Porcelain and tile plumbing.

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Lighting
The new ferries should have
tranquil, life-like light, not
green fluorescents.
These color samples show the
incident light on the F/B
Barberi left and the F/B
Molinari right.
The light should not have to be
corrected photographically to
make people look human.
Incident light temperatures, Barberi
L, Molinari R (Nicholas Zvegintzov)

On the F/B Barberi (Natalia Morales)

On the F/B Barberi, corrected

photographically

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Conclusion
The Staten island Ferry is appreciated by 74,000+ travelers per
day as an urbane and serene travel, appreciated by commuters and
known around the world.
The design recommendations in this report aim for the best
environment for travelers:

Architecture: Open air promenade decks fore and aft and

left and right, wide and deep boarding decks, forward
weather decks, marine casement windows and marine pocket
doors, stairs not ladders.

Circulation: Zones for passenger activities.

Fittings: Comfortable seats (firm, insulated, good

angle), accommodation for bicycles, harmonious lighting,
electrical outlets and wi-fi.

Safety: Life jackets plainly accessible, signage

auditory and visible.

Amenities: Open snack and souvenir area, with tables,

kitchen with adequate food service.

Utilities: Toilets scaled to a half-hour run, 4,000+

passenger load, dignified plumbing, good access,
privacy, lighting, vanities, water fountains.

The Ferry is both a major urban transportation link and a worldrenowned tourist excursion. It is the only way for thousands of
Staten Islanders to get to the City for work or school or
recreation. Commuting is exhausting and many feel that the ferry
offers half an hour of calm. Besides its engineering, the human
design of the ferry plays a large part.
These recommendations will cement the reputation and the mission
of the Staten Island Ferry.

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