Sudden Prosperity for Boatman

New York, 1895

Improvised ferries were run Sunday across Newtown Creek, between Manhattan avenue, in Greenpoint, and Vernon avenue, in Long Island City. A series of collisions with passing vessels had wrecked the old drawbridge that spans the muddy stream, and it was open, undergoing repairs. A small fleet of rowboats carried passengers at five cents a head. Several young men got a naphtha launch and did a good business. Other young men peddled ferry ticket that were not honored by any of the boatmen.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, N.Y., Jan. 18, 1895, p. 1.