Community Corner

Yankee Ferry Finds Refuge in Red Hook

Yankee Ferry, the 106-year-old ferry-turned-houseboat that was booted from Hoboken last Tuesday, has resurfaced at the Henry Street Pier in Red Hook, Brooklyn, according to a report in The Brooklyn Paper.

Yankee Ferry, the 106-year-old "museum on the water" that was forced to vacate its post-Sandy home on Pier 12 last week, has docked at the Henry Street pier in the Gowanus Bay Terminal in Red Hook, Brooklyn, The Brooklyn Paper reported.

Yankee, a Navy-commissioned transport ship during both world wars and the only Ellis Island immigrant ferry still floating, was evicted from its dock in Hoboken this April after owners Victoria and Richard Mackenzie-Childs were unable to work out a docking arrangement with the city.

Mayor Dawn Zimmer said she would welcome the ship back to Hoboken, its home since 2006, provided its owners bring the aging ship back to code — recent inspections have found multiple serious violations — and devise and present the city council with a plan to operate as a non-profit enterprise.

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According to published reports, however, Victoria Mackenzie-Childs, who lives aboard the ship with a small crew, is pleased with her new digs and wants to make it work in Brooklyn.

“After we got here, we knew it was meant to be,” she told The Brooklyn Paper, adding that she expects the ferry-turned-houseboat to become a permanent fixture at the Gowanus Bay Terminal. “I want Red Hook to be as grateful to Yankee as Yankee is to Red Hook.”

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John Quadrozzi Jr., the Brooklyn developer who owns the Gowanus Bay Terminal,  said he plans to have the boat docked permanently at the Columbia Street pier, where the public can board it from the street. 


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