Community Corner

Video: Park City Ferry Launches in 1986

A news video on YouTube from 1986 shows the Park City ferry entering the water for the first time.

In 1986 a news report from Palatka, Florida showed the Park City ferry entering the water for the first time amid cheers from boat builders and guests. The giant boat plops into the water making a big splash (pun intended, thank you). It tilts from side to side before finally coming to rest.

The decades old footage was shot by a videographer from Buffalo for a news report and uploaded to YouTube. The station that the original video ran on is not identified. The person who uploaded the video goes by the username of buffalophotogrpaher7 and says he’s been a "videojournalist for over 25 years. Most of the videos on my channel are story's [sic] I shot and edited over the years."

According to the Bridgeport and Port Jefferson Steamboat Company’s website, the Park City is the second ferry to bear the name. It entered service in 1986 and is 280 feet long with a 47-foot beam. 

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"She possesses excellent sea-keeping qualities and carries up to 95 vehicles and 1,000 passengers," reads the website.

The Park City is also a “green” ferry. The company replaced the engines and generators with new engines that meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s "most stringent existing emission limits."

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"This project has resulted in a 40 – 55 percent reduction in diesel emissions and has also achieved substantial fuel consumption savings," the company says on its website.


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