No joke! Pete Davidson’s big bucks party boat plan still afloat: report
Saturday Night Live buds Pete Davidson and Colin Jost are working with a high-powered architect to keep afloat their dream of transforming a decommissioned Staten Island ferry into an entertainment destination, according to a report.
Just when it seems the nearly 60-year-old John F. Kennedy ferry, which the pair bought two years ago for more than $280,000, was going to be left to rot, Curbed reported Davidson and Jost have hired Ron Castellano to help rehabilitate the vessel.
“It’s going to have a lot of things. I think right now, we have six bars and two venues, operated separately or combined. We have outdoor event space, we have two restaurants”— in addition to 24 hotel rooms, said Castellano, who developed the Garfield at 142 Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights and the Nine Orchard Hotel, which occupies a former bank off Canal Street.
The big bucks venture for a floating nightclub appeared to have turned into an unfunny eyesore with pieces falling off it just last month, The Post reported.
The JFK Ferry is listed on the website for Castellano’s firm, Studio Castellano, as a project he’s working on for “JFK Partners.”
There is no mention of Davidson or Jost.
The project has a budget of $34 million and a floor plan of 65,000 square feet, according to the website.
The venue’s aesthetics will harken back to 1965, when the vessel was built, Castellano told Curbed.
The architect shared he, Davidson, Jost, and their partner, comedy club owner Paul Italia, regularly meet to discuss the ferry.
“They [Davidson and Jost] have input. They see everything,” said Castellano.
A brief video shown on the website last month revealed his renderings for each floor: a top deck furnished with patio tables set with umbrellas, another floor with two rows of hotel rooms that open onto sundecks, and a lower level with two clubs, the outlet reported.
The plan is for the boat to go between Miami and New York City, Castellano said.
Castellano, Davidson and Jost did not immediately return messages Saturday.
When the ship was auctioned off in Jan. 2022, it was listed in “poor condition” because of mechanical issues, but the hull was in good shape.
The ferry used to commute up to 5,200 passengers daily before it was taken off duty in 2021.
Davidson, 30, warned last year on Seth Meyers’ “Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers” podcast the overhaul of the boat could take about five years.
He said the plan is to completely gut the inside, which had bench style-seating.
The outside is intended to remain as true to its current form as possible, “The King of Staten Island” actor also said.
