Legislation to Electrify the Manhattan Cruise Terminal Passes out of Senate Energy Committee

NEW YORK - Yesterday, legislation sponsored by  State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D, WFP-Manhattan) and Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal (D/WF-Manhattan) to electrify the Manhattan Cruise Terminal passed out of the Senate Committee on Energy and Telecommunications (S.3663A), a significant step in the legislative process. If adopted, the bill would direct the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) to begin the process of updating the Manhattan Cruise Terminal to allow cruise ships docked there to connect to our shore based power grid, a process commonly referred to as electrification. The legislation directs NYCEDC to complete the electrification process by the end of 2029.

Presently, there is no infrastructure to allow large ships to connect to the grid and turn off their engines. Instead they are forced to idle their engines endlessly while at port. Unfortunately, this lack of infrastructure at  the terminal, located at 711 12th Avenue, has resulted in significant emissions into the air and Hudson River. Studies have found that a single cruise ship docked at port and burning heavy fuel oil can emit as much pollution in a single day as 34,400 idling long-haul trucks. When burned, the oil used to power these ships can have significant negative impacts on our environment and our public health. Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, two byproducts of heavy fuel oil combustion, have been found to damage the respiratory system and cause and worsen asthma, especially in children and elderly adults. These chemicals have also been found to pollute the air and lead to the formation of acid rain. When a ship is connected to shore power this pollution is essentially eliminated. 

The Brooklyn Cruise Terminal began the process of electrification in 2011, and finished the process in 2016. In 2024, the New York City Council passed legislation requiring cruise ships to connect to shore power, if it is available. On Tuesday, May 27, Community Board 4’s Executive Committee approved a letter in support of this legislation, which will be sent to their Full Board for formal approval when they next meet. Community Board 4 has long advocated for shore power’s urgent implementation at the site.

Senator Hoylman-Sigal said: “It is absolutely essential that we electrify the Manhattan cruise terminal to allow cruise ships to connect to our power grid when they are docked at our shore so that they will no longer burn fossil fuels while idling at our piers. I’m thrilled that today, the Senate Committee on Energy and Telecommunications took the important step of passing our legislation direct the New York City Economic Development Corporation to begin the process of electrifying the Manhattan cruise terminal immediately and finish the process by the end of 2029 (S.3663A). Doing so will ensure that as Manhattan’s cruise terminal continues to grow, the negative environmental impact brought about by these large cruise ships will be mitigated.” 

Assemblymember Rosenthal, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Housing, said: “Electrifying Manhattan’s cruise terminal is an environmental imperative. Yet, the city continues to employ delay tactic after delay tactic, ultimately frustrating the community’s efforts to get this critical project over the finish line. That’s why Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and I are doing everything possible to pass our legislation that would require the city to electrify the port by the end of 2029. As Donald Trump and congressional Republicans take an ax to green federal policies, the city must step up to protect future generations from climate change.”