STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — First there was the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. Now there’s the Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, the Sandy Ground and, finally, the Dorothy Day.
On Thursday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the third new Staten Island Ferry boat being constructed in Florida will be named for Dorothy Day, a Staten Island journalist and social activist who spent decades aiding the hungry and needy on the borough’s South Shore.
“Dorothy Day lived a life of tremendous selflessness and service. I can think of no greater way to honor her beloved legacy than by having her name on this new ferryboat connecting Manhattan and Staten Island,” de Blasio said.
The mayor announced that the new boat will be launched into the water for the first time on Friday, though much additional work remains to be done before the ferry is expected to arrive in New York sometime in 2022.
The Dorothy Day will be just the third Staten Island Ferry boat ever to be named after a woman, in addition to the now-decommissioned Mary Murray and the Alice Austen, which continues to provide overnight service.
“We had so many deserving honorees to choose among in naming the third and final boat in the Ollis class,” said DOT Commissioner Hank Gutman. “I hope those who petitioned for other names — and who thus may be feeling somewhat disappointed today — will take the time to learn more about Dorothy Day, whose history, example and influence are just so inspiring.”
Day, who was been bestowed the title of “Servant of God” and is being considered by the Vatican for sainthood, was baptized at Our Lady Help of Christians Church in Tottenville in 1927.
In 2015, Pope Francis, in his address to a joint session of Congress, invoked the name of Day as a model for social activism and for her treatment of the poor and oppressed.
“How providential that the ferry from lower Manhattan to Staten Island should be named after a brave, loving woman who cherished both those areas of our city and the people who live there,” said Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York.
“How appropriate that a ferry transporting people would honor a believing apostle of peace, justice and charity who devoted her life to moving people from war to peace, from emptiness to fullness, from isolation to belonging,” Dolan added.
During the Depression, Day met Peter Maurin, a French peasant-philosopher who would inspire her future work to aid the needy.
Between them, they established the Catholic Worker newspaper and founded the Catholic Worker Movement, which offered food and shelter to the destitute during the Depression.
Day began a cooperative farm on Bloomingdale Road in Pleasant Plains in 1950, operating it for the needy and followers of her philosophy until 1964, when it was sold.
Her outspokenness against U.S. involvement in Vietnam earned her new respect among the youth movement of the 1960s, and in 1973, she was jailed for the last time for picketing on behalf of striking farm workers.
She died in 1980 at age 83 and is buried in Resurrection Cemetery, Pleasant Plains.
“My grandmother loved Staten Island and treasured her trips on the Staten Island Ferry, the rare time when she could relax and be free of her many responsibilities,” said Kate Hennessy, who recently authored Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved by Beauty. “While we in her family may find it difficult to line up her selfless work with honors such as this, we nevertheless thank Mayor de Blasio and Staten Islanders for this generous consideration.”
The Dorothy Day is the third of three new Staten Island Ferry boats being constructed by Eastern Shipbuilding Group.
The first boat, the Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, is named after the late Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, a New Dorp native who died at age 24 while saving a Polish soldier in Afghanistan.
The second boat, the Sandy Ground, is named for the historic community settled by freed slaves in Rossville.
The new storm-resilient vessels, which will replace the Kennedy, Andrew J. Barberi and the Samuel I. Newhouse boats, will be more capable of operating in a wide range of weather conditions and locations — and can also be used in emergency evacuations.
The ships were modeled after the John F. Kennedy boat, popular for its outdoor promenades and extended foredecks.
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