Welcome To Brooklyn's New Cruise Terminal
By PW Mooney
Greater New York now has a brand new cruise facility. Located in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, across from Governor’s Island on Buttermilk Channel, and ten miles from midtown Manhattan, the $52 million Brooklyn Cruise Terminal opened on April 15 when Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 arrived for the start of her transatlantic season of 20 crossings.
Queen Mary 2 docked at the new Brooklyn Cruise Terminal
The New York Passenger Terminal on Manhattan’s Westside— now renamed the New York Cruise Terminal—had long been the site for all the great ocean liners of the past and today’s modern cruise ships. Its history dates back to the 1930s, when New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia built long, modern finger piers out into the Hudson from 46th to 56th streets to accommodate the great ocean liners during the heyday of transatlantic travel. With the onset of the jet age in the 1960s, ocean liners fell into decline as a means of travel and the piers were largely unused until cruise ships began making their mark in the 1990s.
Today, there are many cruise vessels coming into New York and they are getting bigger. Some are so big that they overlap the length of the piers into the Hudson. Each time the 1,132-foot-long Queen Mary 2 was berthed there, her bow jutted out in the Hudson by several hundred feet. So to better accommodate these megaships as well as ease the gridlock from increased cruise traffic as New York becomes a major home port, it was decided to develop a new terminal facility in a little known area of Brooklyn called Red Hook.
Now the third largest cruise market in the US, New York City has experienced tremendous growth in the cruise industry in recent years. The economic impact of this growth—$600 million and 3200 jobs in 2004 and growing. Those numbers are expected to reach $900 million and 5,000 jobs by 2012, according to New York City Economic Development Corporation estimates. With an eye to the future, the Bloomberg Administration in April 2004 signed an agreement with Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line in which the companies would support NYCs investments in cruise facilities in both Brooklyn and Manhattan through port charges in exchange for berthing rights. Carnival and NCL had to commit to placing a set number of its ships at the Brooklyn and NYC piers through 2017.In addition the City would commit an additional $150 million to the venture.
The Brooklyn Cruise Terminal is the first in the New York area to be designed specifically to accommodate today's larger cruise ships. In addition to deepening the channel, reinforcing moorings and upgrading the gangway, the new $52million facility includes traveler-friendly improvements such as improved signage, landscaping, a tourist kiosk and more attractive glass exteriors and canopy.
In its first year of operation, the 182,000-square-foot Brooklyn Cruise Terminal is expected to welcome approximately 40 ships, including the new Crown Princess launching in June 2006. The Terminal adds 330 new permanent jobs to the Brooklyn waterfront. "Investing in industries poised for growth and job creation is one of the best ways for us to diversify the economy, and the investments we're making in New York City's booming cruise sector is the latest example," said Mayor Bloomberg. "The completion of the spectacular Brooklyn Cruise Terminal and arrival of the QM2 will be major milestones not only in the expansion of New York City's cruise industry, but also in the growth of Brooklyn's working waterfront."
So what’s the cruise facility like?
I had a sneak preview of the new Red Hook facility in late March, which is about a 10-mile taxi ride from midtown Manhattan. Red Hook is not a place that New Yorkers know or care much about as the area has been in decline for years. The Dutch established the village of Red Hook (Roode Hoek) in 1636—one of the earliest areas in Brooklyn to be settled. The area was so named for its red clay soil and the hook shape of its peninsular corner of Brooklyn that projects into the East River. A map from the 1760s shows a developed village at a time when there was little else in Brooklyn. In the 1850s the Atlantic Basin opened and Red Hook became one of the busiest ports in the country. Unfortunately economic decline in the shipping industry in the past decades led to the area becoming derelict.
Now with the new ship terminal, the area is poised to reverse its downward slide from the once bustling port it was. Already former warehouses are being renovated for condos and other upscale commercial enterprises are being developed not too far from Pier 12.
It was hard to be positive about the area as I passed dozens of dilapidated buildings and empty lots on the way to the new ocean terminal still in the throes of construction. But to my surprise, upon arriving at Pier 12, I found the views from the pier wonderful. I also liked the feeling of open space in contrast to the tightness of space at the Manhattan piers which can become quite congested with street traffic, and masses of passengers disembarking and embarking.
But it was the views that sold me on my first and then on a subsequent visit for the terminal’s dedication. Look north and one sees the stunning Manhattan vista; look west and there is the grand lady, Ms Liberty. Another important asset is that Buttermilk Channel, where Pier 12 is located, is a natural waterway and does not require the annual dredging that must be done at the Manhattan Westside piers as the natural pull of the lower Hudson removes much of the sediment there.
Looking north at Manhattan with Governors Island (foreground)
Pier 12 which more recently was used a city depot for rock salt, is part of the 16-acre site that includes five other piers. The pier itself is some 800 feet long and for now, a vessel the size of the QM2 will overlap the pier’s length by over 200 feet. When a ship comes in, she is first spun around in the Buttermilk Channel and then backed into the berth with her stern facing south.
For the present time, only one ship can be accommodated at one time but the NYEDC hopes to expand the berthing space by developing the other five piers in the future. The Brooklyn Terminal’s piers are currently operated by Port Authority of NY & NJ but the NYEDC is in negotiations to own them and develop them further. Already plans are on the drawing board for a second pier to handle ship traffic.
I also was very impressed with the finished facility when I visited the second time. The white with blue trim ship terminal has ample space to accommodate 4000 passengers embarking or disembarking from the ship. For embarkation, baggage is left in front of the terminal with a stevedore and then screened through four separate baggage X-rays to then be taking to a baggage holding area before boarding. After passing through the screening stations placed at the terminal entrance, passengers proceed on carpeted floors to one of 40 check-in counters.
Terminal’s Check-in Area
There is an 800-passenger waiting room with restrooms as well as a small VIP waiting area off to the side. No food will be sold but there will be soda vending machines. Passengers boarding the ship proceed from the waiting areas up an escalator or stairway to one of two glass-enclosed gangways into the ship.
Visitors to the terminal will remain outside the building although there is a small area just inside the entrance doors before the security apparatus.
For disembarking passengers, there are 16 customs stations to facilitate the exit.
Outside the facility, there is a car service leave-off area as well as one for private cars discharging passengers. A parking lot for 596 cars is about 300 yards south of the terminal entrance. Next to it, there are 20 bus lots set aside for charter buses.
For those taking public transportation, there is marginal bus or subway service that then involves a long walk to the terminal. In the future, water taxis may be used to ferry visitors and passengers to and from Manhattan, but because security is tight that may not happen.
The new cruise terminal provides a new way to depart on a cruise from New York. Shuttle buses will be provided ship passengers who wish to sightsee or shop in Manhattan or Brooklyn. And New York’s tourist board—NYC & Company—provides a VIP pass with discounts and offers for cruise visitors. An expanded VIP pass is in the works for 2007 according to a spokesperson for NYC & Company.
From the overall picture I got during my visits, the process of embarking or disembarking from a ship will be smoother than at the Manhattan terminals. Let’s just hope that getting to and from the Red Hook cruise terminal will be just as smooth.
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Directions to Brooklyn Cruise Terminal Via Auto
From Manhattan via Battery Tunnel:
From Manhattan, take the Battery Tunnel (I-478-E) into Brooklyn. Continue onto the westbound Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (I-278-W) and immediately take the first exit on the right: Exit 26- Hamilton Avenue onto the service road. Stay to the left and make a left-U-turn at the intersection of Hamilton Avenue with Clinton Street/9th Street, then continue west along the westbound Hamilton Avenue service road. Continue on the service road to its end at Van Brunt Street. Turn left at Man Brunt Street, travel 2 blocks and then turn right onto Bowne Street to enter the terminal.
From Manhattan via the Brooklyn or Manhattan Bridges and from La Guardia Airport (LGA):
From the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, or LaGuardia Airport, get onto the westbound Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (I-278-W) and take Exit 26 - Hamilton Avenue onto the service road. Stay to the left and make a left-U-turn at the intersection of Hamilton Avenue with Clinton Street/9th Street, then continue west along the westbound Hamilton Avenue service road. Continue on the service road to its end at Van Brunt Street. Turn left at Van Brunt Street, travel 2 blocks and then turn right onto Bowne Street to enter the terminal.
From John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport:
From John F. Kennedy Airport, get onto the eastbound Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (I-278-E) to Exit 26-Hamilton Avenue. After exit, continue along westbound Hamilton Avenue service road. Continue on the service road to its end at Van Brunt Street. Turn left at Van Brunt Street, travel 2 blocks and then turn right onto Bowne Street.
More information available at
Exiting From The Brooklyn Terminal:
To Manhattan via the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges and to LaGuardia Airport:
From terminal exit, continue east along Bowne Street and merge with Hamilton Avenue service road. Stay left and merge left onto underpass at Columbia Street, follow road and merge onto the eastbound Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (I-278-E) and continue to exits 28B (Brooklyn Bridge), 29A (Manhattan Bridge), or continue on I-278-E as it turns into the Grand Central Parkway into Queens. Take Exit 5 to the LaGuardia Marine Air Terminal or Exit 7 to the main terminal.
To Manhattan via the Battery Tunnel:
From Terminal exit, continue east along Bowne Street and merge with the eastbound Hamilton Avenue service road. Stay left and make the left-U-turn at 9th Street/Clinton Street, continuing westbound along the Hamilton Avenue Service Road. Stay left and merge onto the Battery Tunnel access toll road.
To John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport:
From Terminal exit, continue east along Bowne Street and merge with the eastbound Hamilton Avenue service road. Stay left and make the immediate left merge onto the westbound Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (I-278-W) at Columbia Street. Continue on I-278-W to Exit 16-Belt Parkway. Continue on Belt Parkway to Exit 19-John F. Kennedy Airport.
Parking Rates
Daily Rate (10 Hours)
$19.00
Overnight Rate (24 Hours)
$20.00
Day Rate (multi days)
$18.00
Monthly rate
$180.00
Short Term 20 minute Parking
$6.00
To download a road map, visit http://www.nycruiseterminal.com/