Berth of a Scheme

Jason · February 10, 2004

By DAVID SEIFMAN

February 4, 2004 -- The city is ready to spend $250 million to keep the cruise-line industry from jumping ship.

Stung by the defection of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines to New Jersey, the city is fighting back with plans to upgrade the existing terminal and build a new one in Brooklyn.

Kate Ascher, executive vice president of the Economic Development Corp., told the City Council the Bloomberg administration plans to spend $50 million to upgrade the West Side Passenger Ship Terminal.

The city is also willing to shell out tens of millions more over 10 years to build a Brooklyn waterfront terminal that could accommodate two megaships, she said.

But there's a catch: The major cruise lines must agree to "volume commitments" to offset the cost.

The city was stunned last May when Royal Caribbean, complaining it could no longer wait for new spaces in the Big Apple, opted for temporary berths for two of its ships in Bayonne, N.J.

Councilman Oliver Koppell (D-Bronx), who has a background in the travel industry, accused the EDC of devoting more money to capturing the 2012 Olympics than to keeping the cruise industry .

"There's been enormous attention paid to the Olympics, which is a two-week event," he said. "There has been virtually no attention paid to the cruise-ship industry, which provides economic development for 50 to 100 years. It's a scandal."

DaCruzNut · February 10, 2004

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We used to have a port in Brooklyn, but that was a while ago, as you can tell from the ship :grin: :grin: :grin:

sailingrose · February 10, 2004

They shouldn't have promised RCI new berths unless they were going to deliver. They had been talking about it for a long time. Sorry that RCI moved as I really wanted to sail out of NY.