by Benjamin Harris Shaw
NARRATION
When the Queen Mary 2 sails into New York Harbor on April 21st she will dock alongside her sister ship the Queen Elizabeth. It will be the first time in 50 years that two Cunard queens have been docked in New York.
But at 1,150 feet the Queen Mary 2 will extend well beyond the west side passenger terminal pier, says Giora Israel, Carnival Corporation's vice president for strategic planning.
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Giora Israel: We got exemptions for various regulatory agencies to make it possible for us to berth there. But it's really not an adequate facility for that vessel.
NARRATION
Gary Lewie, a spokesman for the New York Cruise Alliance, a group composed of cruise ship operators, says while cruise companies would like to stay in New York it is becoming problematic.
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Gary Lewie: Because there is not enough capacity in NY to be able to welcome those ships many of them are being forced to home port in Boston
and Philadelphia and as far away as Baltimore. That's obviously not something the New York Cruise Alliance would like to see continue. We want to be able to welcome every passenger who wants to route through New York.
NARRATION
Late last year Royal Caribbean announced they that they were moving
two of their larger ships to Bayonne, New Jersey. This, says Councilman David Yassky should be a wake up call.
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David Yassky: We should see those ships back in NYC but the bigger fear is that that five percent of the industry is just the beginning and we're going to loose more. We absolutely have got to stop that from happening, this is an $800 million a year industry and we cannot see it leave for New Jersey and other parts.
NARRATION
Last week, councilmember Oliver Koppell admonished the city administration for spending enormous amounts of energy and money on other projects, such as the Olympics, while neglecting the cruise industry.
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Oliver Koppell: It is a scandal, it is a scandal and a disgrace that the City of New York is not putting millions of dollars into making sure we remain the principal home port in at least the North eastern part of the United States.
NARRATION
On February 2nd, Kate Ascher, executive vice president of the Economic Development Corporation, announced the EDC plans to invest $50 million on interim upgrades to the west side passenger terminal and hopes to allocate $230 million over the next ten years to continue upgrades and build a new terminal at Pier 7 in Brooklyn.
The Carnival Corporation proposed a new terminal at Pier 7 over a year ago, but the EDC has been slow to commit to the project. Lewie says the Cruise Alliance is taking a wait and see attitude toward the announcement.
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Gary Lewie: The industry has to take a good, long, hard look and see whether or not that is going to meet the bill but the fact of the matter is it is progress, and we applaud progress.
NARRATION
Both the city and the cruise industry are hopeful that they can work together to keep New York a major port of call for cruise ships of all sizes. For Columbia Radio News this is Ben Shaw.