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NYC Attributes Long Wait Times For Ferries To Warm Weather, High Volume Of Riders

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Some New Yorkers out enjoying the warm weather on Sunday had some trouble getting on city ferries.

Many waited in long lines for over an hour for a ferry boat. John Kim waited more than 90 minutes.

When asked by CBS2's Hazel Sanchez if he expected the wait to be that long, Kim said, "Oh definitely not. I thought it was going to be 1, 2, 3, really. And after this I was saying never again."

City Councilman Ben Kallos took to Twitter saying he and his family had to wait for about 40 minutes at the Upper East Side dock for a ferry.

Once the ferry came, the councilman said there wasn't enough room for everyone in line to get on the boat. That means those people had to wait another 30 minutes for the next ferry.

"This isn't the first time this has happened," Kallos said. "Any time the weather is nice out there, people will tell me about the fact that they've been left behind. This time it happened to me and my family and I'll tell you that with a small child, that's not easy and I really wish I knew ahead of time."

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A spokesperson for the New York City Economic Development Corporation said the increased wait times are due to very high ridership on a warm day, adding the maximum amount of service possible is being run to clear wait times.

It even chartered four additional ferries to deal with the holiday overflow. Some people anticipated big crowds and had no issues.

"We had an idea to get here early, so we didn't have to wait in line. But it was pretty impressive how quick it went," Evan Fernandez said.

Others went for Plan B.

"I came out here at about 12 o'clock to take the ferry to Rockaway to go to the beach. The line was like five blocks down down, so I figure forget this, I will take the A train," Lower East Side resident Chris Loubou said.

The Economic Development Corporation said the maximum number of agents contractually allowed were dispatched to help at the busiest landings.

Riders told Sanchez the ferry may be a victim of its own success, and should respond by increasing its fleet.

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