Heavy ice in the East River shut down ferry service Tuesday morning — stopping the popular boats from traveling among Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn.
The service was suspended for the first time on a weekday yesterday — and Saturday was the first day in its four-year history that it shut down.
It’s unclear yet if service will resume Tuesday afternoon, and the company urged riders to sign up for text alerts.
NY Waterway, which operates the ferry, said this is the worst winter they’ve seen in their 28-year history.
The East River ferry, unlike boats on the Hudson River and the Staten Island Ferry, uses a jet engine. They have a harder time with ice than engines with propellers.
Its boats are also smaller than other ferry services, which makes it difficult to push through ice.
“The funny thing about the East River … is that the tide changes multiple times per day, enabling ice to enter from different major bodies of water, making it nearly impossible to predict what it’s going to do, or where it’s going to be,” the company said in a statement, adding that it hopes its passengers won’t hate it.
“Not only is this really frustrating because we don’t know which stops will be operational at what time, but also because it disrupts our schedule.”
NY Waterway has been using tugboats to clear ice for service on the Hudson River, but it has suspended service to Edgewater, New Jersey, and there are delays on its routes to Midtown.