[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Pages 24812-24813]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    THE STATEN ISLAND FERRY DISASTER

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I appreciate the thoughtful words of my 
colleague from Illinois. Many sports fans across my home state have 
known both joy and anguish from our sports teams, and I assure the 
Senator that I sympathize with the sorrow that Chicago Cubs fans are 
feeling today over last night's loss.
  And now, Mr. President, I rise to speak on a matter that has caused 
much sadness in my home state of New York. It is with a heavy heart 
that I come to the floor today to speak about the tragedy on Staten 
Island that took 10 New Yorkers from us too soon, and changed the lives 
of dozens who were injured. As you know, the ferry in New York crashed 
into a pier adjacent to its terminal, with tragic and unforeseen and 
unprecedented results. We mourn for the families of those who were 
lost.
  Staten Island has had a very difficult time in the last several 
years. We know, for instance, 286 Staten Islanders were lost on 9/11. 
Staten Island is 5.5 percent of New York City's population, but on that 
terrible day sustained nearly 20 percent of New York City's September 
11 deaths. Many of those were police officers and firefighters. We had 
the refinery fire on Staten Island not too long ago, and now this 
terrible incident.
  One thing I can tell you is the people of Staten Island are strong, 
they are resilient, they are self-reliant. Many of them come from my 
home borough of Brooklyn and have moved to pastures across the narrows. 
But they retain the same feistiness and the same ability to bounce back 
from tragedy their forebearers did, across the narrows in Brooklyn. So 
Staten Island will bounce back and be stronger and better than ever. 
But, right now, we mourn them.
  The Staten Island ferry's history is so important to our city. It is 
as long as our Nation's history. It has existed in some form since 
1713, and 70,000 New Yorkers, mostly from Staten Island, ride it every 
day. That would be enough people to fill a medium-sized city almost 
anywhere else in the United States.
  It is one of the great symbols of New York City, up there with the 
Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge, Yankee Stadium. It is one of 
the best ways to see the great symbols of opportunity in New York, the 
Statue of Liberty--Ellis Island, and, sadly, until 2 years ago, the 
World Trade Center.
  The view of lower Manhattan coming into the terminal at Whitehall or 
landing at St. George has been nothing short of breathtaking, although 
I must admit, having taken the ferry since 9/11, it now has some 
sadness to it as we see the empty space on the skyline where the towers 
once existed.
  It is a necessity for many on Staten Island. It is also a great 
opportunity for tourists to see New York. I might say, also, it is a 
very good first date, particularly at its price. The Staten Island 
ferry is free.
  I am proud to say this morning, due to the resilience of New Yorkers 
and their transportation commissioner, ferry service resumed at the St. 
George terminal at 5 a.m., the site of yesterday's tragedy, befitting 
the spirit of New York and the spirit of Staten Island, where we bounce 
back quickly. The terminal was packed, the boats were crowded, and the 
people to a one, it seemed, were determined not to shy away but to go 
on with their lives as best as possible, while remembering those 
families who were suffering in the wake of this terrible tragedy.
  We remember the lives lost, but not to stop living. This attitude is 
at the heart of what it means to be a Staten Islander: grit, 
determination to survive and move on, but to never forget what has 
happened and to never stop trying to make a better world for our 
children.

[[Page 24813]]

  I would like to mention the names of those who passed away, and send 
my condolences to each of their families: Joseph Bagarozza, Pio Canini, 
John T. Healy, Vincent Ferrante, Darios Marshall, Guillermo Pagvay, 
Louis Robinson, Frank Sullivan, John Valinski, and the woman--our 
condolences to her family, too, even though her name has not yet been 
released.
  Today Congressman Fossella of Staten Island and I are asking the 
United States Department of Transportation to pay for the repairs of 
this ferry. The Federal Government has been actively involved in the 
ferries. We have received money for them in the past and will ask once 
again that Washington rise to the occasion of another tragedy in New 
York. Our budget, as you know, is tight as a drum and these funds will 
not bring back a single loss of life and, in fact, pale before the loss 
of life.
  We will move forward, hopefully, in whatever way, and make our city 
and Staten Island even greater than ever.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I also make a note of the fact that 
we, too, in New Jersey had two of our citizens perish in that terrible 
accident that took place yesterday, a Mr. John Healy from Middletown, 
NJ, and Frank Sullivan, from Red Bank, NJ. We send our sympathies to 
these families, but we are reminded at the same time that ferries play 
an important role in our region; that while the Staten Island ferry 
carries about 70,000 passengers a day, we have 60,000 people going from 
New Jersey to New York for their business requirements or their jobs on 
the New York waterway ferries. It continues to remind us how much of a 
need we have to make certain that the ferries operate safely, as well 
as efficiently.
  I ask, along with the distinguished Senator from New York who made 
his remarks a few minutes ago, that the Federal Government do whatever 
they can to understand what took place, and we understand and know the 
facts; that we take all the steps we can to make certain it should not 
happen again.
  One of the questions I asked in the committee in which I serve, the 
Commerce Committee, is take a look and see what the Coast Guard 
requires by way of licensing for captains of these boats. The ferry 
that had the accident yesterday can carry as many as 6,000 people. We 
have to make certain in that travel they are not careless.

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