NYC Ferry to use vessels as marine science classrooms in the off-season

Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News on Nov 9, 2026

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NEW YORK — Starting this off season, a portion of New York City’s ferry fleet will be temporarily reinvented as science classrooms on the waterways.

On Monday, NYC Ferry, the Economic Development Corporation, and an educational oyster-reef restoration nonprofit plan to announce the launch of the “Floating Classroom,” a 90-minute, twice per day voyage focused on marine biology, climate change, and future careers on the New York Harbor.

The new program aims to serve 10,000 K-12 public school students each year, with a capacity of 300 each day, according to a news release shared with the Daily News. Voyages will be led by educators from the nonprofit, Billion Oyster Project, which provides curriculum, teacher training and hands-on science programs across 109 schools so far.

“One of the things that still surprises me is how many New Yorkers have never had the chance to experience their own Harbor,” said Ann Fraioli, the education director at Billion Oyster Project.

“You can teach a student about oysters, marine life, or water quality in a classroom,” she added, “but there’s something different about being out there and seeing it for yourself.”

The Floating Classroom will run weekdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. between Labor Day and Memorial Day, when demand for the ferry system typically decreases.

The highest ridership times of the year at NYC Ferry, managed by the private operator Hornblower Group, are July and August. Ridership tends to dip over the winter, when NYC Ferry operates fewer off-peak and weekend trips but maintains peak service for commuters.

Monday’s launch comes as the public schools look to curb excessive screen time after the COVID-19 pandemic, and a surge in the use of personal electronic devices while schools were closed. This school year, Mayor Mamdani and his chancellor, Kamar Samuels, announced a new ban on solo screen time through 2nd grade, and guidance of 30-to-45-minute limits in 3rd through 5th and 6th through 8th grades.

In lieu of screens, a local parent movement has pushed to promote play and learning through projects that get students out of traditional classrooms and into the city.

The heads of the city agencies and nonprofits are set to announce the Floating Classroom during a news conference at the DUMBO Ferry Terminal in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The ferry will then head to Governor’s Island, where the Billion Oyster Project partners with a public high school, Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, that prepares students for maritime careers.

More than 50 Harbor School graduates now work at NYC Ferry as captains and deckhands, according to the press release.

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