Maybe it’s too early to start celebrating, but City Council’s endorsement of the mayor’s ferry plan was mighty good news. I’m grateful for the scrutiny and skepticism of Councilmember Brian Curran, who cast the sole vote against the rescue plan. Curran’s worried about the risk to city taxpayers, and there is indeed a risk. But […]
Spirit of Ontario
Posted inNews & Opinion
Restoring The Spirit
We may learn, soon, whether The Spirit of Ontario will be back in operation, and if so, whether it’ll be in service this fall. Critics and the media are still speculating on the causes of the ferry fiasco — and, despite its terrific start-up bookings, on whether Spirit is viable. Sellouts in August aren’t a […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Ferry tales
It struck a pier in New York City and survived. It faced early delays and scheduling snafus. But it overcame those problems and was able to thumb its nose at skeptics, serving 73,000 riders in the month of August and making fans of many Torontonians. And then last week, The Breeze suspended service. Its […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Interview regarding the Fast Ferry
City: CATS CEO Cornel Martin has listed the issues that have to be resolved before ferry service can resume. And on a couple of them, at least, we seem to be fairly close to a resolution. Are we close to resolving all these issues? What stands in the way? Johnson: I don’t know. It […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Interview regarding the Fast Ferry
City: You’ve mentioned that one of the major issues that must be resolved before resuming ferry service is the construction of a permanent Toronto terminal. The mayor says that still stands as the largest hurdle. What’s going on with that? Martin: When we closed on the vessel, this was an outstanding issue. And at […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Interview regarding the Fast Ferry
City: A year ago, a representative from the Port Authority was here in Rochester… Lundy: That would be Henry Pankratz [chairman] and Lisa Raitt [CEO]. City: And we understand they signed a memorandum of understanding to start construction on the Toronto terminal. Lundy: This goes back to adequate funding from the north […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Cool ship!
The Spirit of Ontario, Rochester’s zippy new link to Toronto, pulled into the Genesee right on schedule Tuesday morning, and this is one big babe. Towering over everything in sight, Spirit is now docked on the river’s west side in Charlotte, waiting for final inspections. Ignoring naysayers and showers, thousands of area residents lined both […]
