by Ronald Drenger

For years, boat owners, marina operators and managers of waterfront facilities on both sides of the Hudson River—including the owner of the historic ferry Yankee at Pier 25 and the directors of the Downtown Boathouse and the River Project on Pier 26 in Tribeca—have complained about damage and disruption caused by wakes from NY Waterway ferries. Their concerns, they say, which have mounted as ferry service in New York Harbor has expanded, particularly since Sept. 11, have gone unheeded.

But now a new organization is stepping up the pressure on NY Waterway, the dominant ferry operator in the harbor, to do something about the problem. The group, called the Safe Wakes Coalition, hopes that a coordinated effort, the participation of major waterfront businesses and political pressure will bring results.

Headed by Mark Davidoff, vice president of Circle Line Cruises and World Yacht charters, the coalition wants NY Waterway to take steps like slowing down boats, keeping them far from shore until they turn inland to dock, and using low-wake hulls to minimize the impact of wakes.

The group is cataloguing what it says is millions of dollars of damage to boats, docks and other waterfront facilities, as well as personal injuries, caused by ferry wakes. And it is calling on the city to study the issue and establish wake regulations.

Last month, the coalition pressed its case at a meeting with NY Waterway officials on one of World Yacht’s boats at Pier 81, at West 41st street.

“We have to find a means of enforcement,” said Cathy Drew, director of the River Project, a marine biology station.

Julie Nadel, a member of the Hudson River Park Trust board of directors, said that water recreation activities and historic ship moorings planned for the park would be unworkable if the wakes continue.

Robert Reichenberg, senior director of marine operations at NY Waterway, said the company was training ferry captains to stay in the middle of the river, reprimanding or firing those who don’t, and building lower-wake boats. The company is also installing a Ground Positioning System to monitor its operations, which Reichenberg said will help identify boats that cause wake complaints. And he said that it is the responsibility of waterfront operators to install wake attenuators.

Drew said she was optimistic the new group would spur improvements. But Jimmy Gallagher, owner of the Yankee at Pier 25, was skeptical. “A lot of what we’re hearing from NY Waterway is just a variation on what we’ve heard for 10 years,” he said.