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A high-speed ferry could carry passengers from Lower Manhattan to Atlantic City’s marina district by Memorial Day 2027, but the service remains only a proposal.
Promoters of a proposed $4 billion luxury development at Bader Field say the trip would take about 2½ hours and cost $145 round trip, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Seastreak, the New Jersey ferry operator that would run the route, says it is still exploring the idea.
“We are in the very early stages of this,” Seastreak President James D. Barker told NJ.com, according to VINnews. “This isn’t a sure thing. We’re really just exploring the idea.”
NYC-AC ferry could launch by Memorial Day
The ferry would dock at Farley State Marina, next to Golden Nugget Atlantic City. Passengers would be a short walk from that casino, and a shuttle ride from other Boardwalk casinos has been discussed, VINnews reported. The report also put the trip at roughly 2 hours, 45 minutes from the Battery in Lower Manhattan, compared with a typical three-hour drive.
Tommy Carr, a partner in Deem Development, which is behind the Bader Field project, provided the fare and travel-time estimates. He said service could begin as soon as Memorial Day weekend, years before the development is finished. Carr said the project is at least five years from completion.
“We’re trying to help develop Atlantic City,” Carr said. “We need tourists. We need families to start coming down and buying properties.”
The push comes as Atlantic City’s casinos won $294.9 million in August, down 5.5% from a year earlier, while online casinos in New Jersey kept growing.
Carr has convened several stakeholder meetings, including one Sept. 21 that Mayor Marty Small Sr. and other city officials attended. A working group that includes Seastreak has met about every other week, Barker said.
Seastreak weighs boats, schedule and demand
Seastreak runs ferries between New York City and Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, and between New York City and Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.
For Atlantic City, it is considering its two 600-passenger ferries, the Commodore and the Courageous, Barker told the Inquirer. If the route succeeds, faster vessels could cut the trip to about two hours.
Barker said the decision hinges on practical questions. “It’s a feasibility question,” he said. “Do we have boats that will be available in peak season?” He said the boats offer Wi-Fi and a bar.
The schedule is also unsettled. VINnews reported that weekend and midweek service have both been discussed.
Bader Field plan still needs state approval
Deem has an agreement with Atlantic City to buy the former municipal airfield on Albany Avenue for $100 million and to contribute $15 million toward a community center. Carr said the company has secured the financing it needs.
The plan calls for 1,237 residences, from market-rate townhouses to luxury waterfront condominiums. It also includes a 2.44-mile, members-only driving circuit, public bike paths and a boardwalk, a car museum and retail space. The developers say the circuit will not host Formula One races.
Carr and Small said approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection is all that stands between the project and groundbreaking. Gov. Mikie Sherrill recently told the Press of Atlantic City that Bader Field was a “huge opportunity” but that she still had questions about the proposal, the Inquirer reported.
Air service and housing add to the pitch
Carr said Connecticut-based Tradewind Aviation, which operates about 40 small jets from regional airports such as Teterboro, is looking at expanding charter service to Atlantic City. Atlantic City International Airport has had limited commercial service since Spirit Airlines shut down in May. Breeze Airways and Allegiant Air fly to Florida and Myrtle Beach.
Developers of higher-end housing, including the Kushner Co., Brian Zoubek and K. Hovnanian, have recently shown interest in the city. As prices rise elsewhere on the Jersey Shore, Atlantic City is increasingly seen as one of the last affordable oceanfront markets, the Inquirer reported. Carr acknowledged headwinds from planned New York City casinos but said the city is poised to change.
“In five years, you’re not even going to know Atlantic City,” he said.
For now, the ferry has no approval, schedule or confirmed vessel. Seastreak has not committed to the route.
