Two Saturday Night Live stars were among a group that just bought a decommissioned 1965 Staten Island ferry for $$280,100 at a New York City auction. The group wants to turn it into an event space or comedy club.
But first they must move the orange ferry, named the John F. Kennedy, from the St. George Ferry Terminal on Staten Island, where it is inoperable, in two weeks to – anywhere else. It will take at least two tug boats to move the ferry, which is 277 feet long with 69-foot beam and a 2,100 ton displacement. It was the oldest ferry in the city’s fleet when it was retired last August.
The two SNL stars are Pete Davidson and Colin Jost, who both grew up on Staten Island. Jost commuted on a Staten Island ferry every day when he went to high school in Manhattan. He subsequently moved away, and lives with his wife, the actress Scarlett Johansson; they have homes in Manhattan, the Hamptons, and Los Angeles. Davidson still lives on Staten Island, and often entertains his girlfriend, Kim Kardashian, there.
The two stars were part of a group led by Paul Italia, a New York real estate broker who founded The Stand comedy club in Manhattan, and who did the bidding at the auction. The city put the boat up for auction, “where is,” and “as is,” hoping for an initial bid of $250,000.
The actual bidding started at $125,000, but each time Italia bid, another bidder raised the ante. The other bidder stopped at $280,000, and Italia’s group bought the Kennedy for $280,100. Read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/21/nyregion/pete-davidson-colin-jost-ferry.html
