Are you a little weird but also have a few hundred thousand dollars laying around? Well, have we got the purchasing opportunity for you — the Staten Island Ferry!
That’s right. Now is your chance to purchase a retired Staten Island Ferry, christened the John F. Kennedy. It was built in 1965 and transported commuters between Staten Island and Manhattan for over five decades.
This orange monument to New York City commuters is now being auctioned off by the city, and bidding started at $125,000. It’s set to close Wednesday evening.
Despite the hull being in good shape, the ferry is listed in “poor condition” because of some unfortunate mechanical issues with its engine. As per the listing:
“This double ended, passenger and vehicle ferry up for auction is in poor condition and had to be decommissioned due to mechanical issues, the mechanical issues are on the propulsion end. On this vessel are numerous spare parts which are obsolete and not needed by our agency,: The NYC DCAS website reads.
Apart from being sold “as is,” the ship is also listed as “where is.” That means a lucky winner will have to pick the ferry up from the St. George Ferry Terminal on Staten Island.
The vessel was originally built in Texas in 1965, and she’s quite a sturdy girl. The John F. Kennedy comes with an overall length of 277 feet and a width of 69 feet. It also weighs over 2,100 tons — before you factor in the weight of any added passengers.
If the engines were working properly, they would produce 4,110 horsepower — which is nothing to sneeze at. It was more than enough to shepherd hundreds of thousands of Staten Islanders to the city.
The boat also comes with enough seating for you and all of your passengers/friends as well as a probably-not-working cafeteria.
The DCAS has auctioned off ships in the past, but this is the first Staten Island Ferry to hit the auction block. All proceeds from the auction will end up going to the city’s general fund.
There is no real telling what the eventual winner will do with the iconic boat, but it should be very easy to track the ship’s future endeavors considering the fact that it is very big… and very orange.