At a bustling Staten Island shipyard, amidst the repairs of a Mexican Navy sailing ship recently involved in a Brooklyn Bridge collision, sat another vessel with its own set of troubles: the famed Staten Island Ferry, the John F. Kennedy, jointly owned by comedians Colin Jost and Pete Davidson.
This impressive 277-foot ferryboat, once a workhorse carrying over 3,000 passengers daily between Staten Island and Manhattan, now languishes on the Kill Van Kull. Its future appears as uncertain as the murky waters that cradle it.
Four years ago, proud Staten Island natives and former “Saturday Night Live” co-stars Colin Jost and Pete Davidson acquired the decommissioned ferry for $280,100. They saw more than a 2,100-ton metal behemoth; they envisioned a vibrant floating event space, complete with two restaurants, six bars, a concert venue, and even hotel rooms featuring private sundecks. However, as their ambitious $35 million dream remains firmly grounded, it’s increasingly clear that the initial purchase price might have been $280,000 too high.
Jost, 43, has candidly admitted this venture might be “the dumbest and least thought-through purchase I’ve ever made in my life.” Davidson, 31, echoed the sentiment, calling it “a lifelong problem for me and Colin.” Adding to their considerable headaches, their LLC, Titanic 2, is now embroiled in a lawsuit for unpaid fees to the law firm that handled their dockage and towing contracts.
A lawsuit filed in June at the Supreme Court of the State of New York by Nicoletti, Hornig, Namazi, Eckert & Sheehan alleges that Titanic 2 has “failed and refused to pay its outstanding obligations,” totaling $13,500. A lawyer for the firm, Val Wamser, confirmed that as of the filing date, no payment or response to the lawsuit has been received.
From Heritage Park on Staten Island’s north shore, the bright orange John F. Kennedy is a conspicuous sight, bobbing aimlessly on the murky waters. Rendered immobile by a fire that damaged its engine long before its sale, the ferry now sits like a massive, forgotten bathtub toy, accumulating substantial docking fees. Steve Kalil, president of Caddell Dry Dock & Repair, the shipyard housing the vessel, hinted that a reporter’s estimate of $10,000 per month was “on the low side,” and found the prolonged lack of repairs highly unusual. As for when the John F. Kennedy might finally depart, Kalil could only offer a shrug: “I’d like to say soon, but who knows. The hope is that they will eventually succeed in their dream. And we would be part of that.”
It’s easy to empathize with Jost and Davidson; their impulse purchase at an online auction is a relatable tale for anyone who’s ever dived headfirst into a fixer-upper. However, seasoned mariners understand that a boat, especially a 60-year-old vessel larger than a superyacht and requiring extensive refurbishment and prime dock space in one of the world’s most regulated harbors, isn’t just a project—it’s a colossal money pit.
The Auction
The Department of Citywide Administrative Services, responsible for liquidating New York City’s obsolete inventory – from Nortel office phones to face masks – routinely conducts public auctions. These often include larger assets like decommissioned ferry boats, typically destined for scrap metal companies.
This was the expectation when the John F. Kennedy went up for sale on January 12, 2022. Larry Siegel, the city employee overseeing the auction, initially estimated the ferry’s scrap value between $60,000 and $100,000, but set the opening bid at $250,000, factoring in its unique history. When interest was low, he employed an age-old sales tactic: he slashed the price in half.
An upward view of the John F. Kennedy, with its orange structure and white bridge. Before it was sold at auction, the John F. Kennedy was the oldest boat in the Staten Island Ferry fleet.
Retired now, Siegel’s goal was to maximize city revenue. He recalled agency employees drumming up social media buzz, leading to a few viral posts by city government standards. One user even tagged NBC, suggesting they alert Davidson and Jost – perhaps the very catalyst for Staten Island’s famous sons discovering this unconventional opportunity. (Jost’s representatives did not respond to interview requests, while Davidson’s publicist stated he would prefer to “speak on it closer to completion.”)
Launched in 1965, the John F. Kennedy was the oldest vessel in the Staten Island Ferry fleet. The auction listing made no attempt to sugarcoat its condition, describing it as in “poor condition” and “decommissioned due to mechanical issues on the propulsion end.” In short, it didn’t move.
Yet, amidst the weeklong auction, Jost sent a text to Davidson: “Split it?”
Both men shared a deep affection for the Staten Island Ferry. Jost often rode it to and from Regis High School, a private Catholic school on the Upper East Side. In his 2020 memoir, “A Very Punchable Face,” he affectionately, if mockingly, described it: “Riding the ferry was not a ‘yacht life style.’ The ferry is known for its amazing views of the Statue of Liberty, but it’s also a great place to watch a raccoon eat a passenger’s leftover meth.”
Davidson’s sentiment for the ferry shone through in “The King of Staten Island,” his 2020 semi-autobiographical comedy. In the film’s moving climax, the protagonist shares a heartfelt kiss with his love interest aboard a Manhattan-bound Staten Island Ferry, underscored by stirring music and a dramatic aerial shot of the iconic orange vessel.
As the 2022 auction approached its final hours, former city employee Siegel observed a flurry of bids from new accounts. “I was, like, ‘Oh, this is different,’” he recalled. “‘We have breached the scrap metal industry!’” He worried the top bid, placed by Paul Italia, co-owner of a Manhattan comedy club, might be a prank. A photo shows Mr. Jost and Paul Italia aboard the ferryboat in 2022.
However, the purchase was neither a prank nor entirely practical: Italia was indeed part of the ownership group, alongside Jost, Davidson, and New York architect Ron Castellano, who was tasked with overseeing the transformation of the dilapidated vessel into a spectacular hospitality complex.
“Everyone who came together on this has a sincere motive to see the right thing happen, to restore a piece of New York,” Italia reportedly stated after securing the winning bid.
Shortly after the auction, on a chilly day, Davidson visited the St. George Ferry Terminal where the inoperable boat was housed. Dressed in a puffy brown coat, wool cap, and sunglasses, he spoke to a reporter about his early days as a comic, riding the ferry to perform in Manhattan. Surveying his new acquisition, he appeared slightly stunned, declaring it “sick,” seemingly with approval.
The following day, during a “Weekend Update” segment on “Saturday Night Live,” both Jost and Davidson publicly acknowledged their much-discussed purchase. “We bought a ferry — the windowless van of the sea,” Davidson quipped. To which Jost deadpanned, “Yes, it’s very exciting. We thought the whole thing through.”
Rough Sailing
New York City, holding no responsibility for the delivery of its surplus property, whether a filing cabinet or a massive ferryboat, gave Jost and Davidson a mere 10 days to retrieve their acquisition. With a non-functional engine, towing was the only option, an easy task given the 30 tugboat companies in New York Harbor charging approximately $1,700 an hour. The real challenge, however, was finding a docking spot in a city where even parking spaces are a rarity.
A worker in a yellow hard hat manages a thick rope while standing on the ferryboat. In the background, a white and black tugboat moves on the water on a blue-sky day. The tugboat took the decommissioned ferry to a Staten Island shipyard in 2022.
With only a handful of private shipyards operational along the city’s waterfront, space is a premium. Securing a berth at a public pier on the Hudson or East rivers would necessitate navigating a maze of city and state agency approvals. Italia meticulously studied satellite images of New York Harbor, contacting every waterfront property owner he could find. The initial 10-day deadline passed without a resolution.
In February, Mayor Eric Adams’s administration extended the deadline, but the vessel remained at St. George Terminal until April. Finally, on April 11, 2022, Jost was able to undertake a “victory cruise” of sorts, overseeing the John F. Kennedy’s three-mile tow to the Staten Island shipyard, accompanied by his father, Daniel, a retired schoolteacher.
Five months later, during an appearance on “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” Jost expressed the mounting burden of his impulse buy. “This is why idiots should not be allowed to do things,” he lamented. “Pete and I bought this boat and then, like, there’s so many immediate decisions you have to make.”
One such immediate decision involved their LLC’s corporate name. They quickly learned that “Titanic 2” did not inspire confidence in the business world. “Suddenly, we’re looking for insurance, which we have to buy, because it’s a giant deathtrap boat,” Jost explained to Meyers. “And then every insurance company is like: ‘It’s called Titanic 2?’”
Months continued to tick by, but the world didn’t forget Jost and Davidson’s expensive whim. Talk show hosts and red carpet interviewers repeatedly pressed them for updates.
Even Jost’s wife, actress Scarlett Johansson, couldn’t escape the topic. During a June 2023 appearance on “Live With Kelly and Mark,” host Mark Consuelos began: “I heard that your husband, Colin Jost, and Pete Davidson bought a — ” Johansson, eyes closed and head lowered, finished the sentence: “The Staten Island Ferry! Yeah.” She recalled her husband’s “secretive phone calls” before he texted her about the purchase. Her reaction? “I guess surprised. I was like: ‘What are we doing with this?’”
On June 5, 2023, at the New York premiere of “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” Davidson was asked by “Entertainment Tonight” if he would host an after-party on his boat. “Yeah, if it’s not sunk!” he retorted. “I have no idea what’s going on with that thing,” he added, explaining, “Me and Colin were very stoned a year ago and bought a ferry. And we’re figuring it out.”
Nine days later, Jost took to Instagram to clarify, posting: “Is it worse that I was actually stone-cold sober when we bought the ferry?”
Soon after, Davidson offered a more optimistic outlook, describing plans for a restaurant, concert venue, and movie theater, adding that the party barge would even be towed 1,100 miles to spend winters in Miami.
Amidst the owners’ fluctuating sentiments, from initial elation to growing despair, costs have soared. It’s estimated that storage fees alone for the John F. Kennedy have surpassed $600,000—more than double its purchase price. This is in addition to insurance, towing, and legal fees; in one month alone, the law firm Nicoletti, Hornig billed the owners $27,335.
Images show various glimpses of the John F. Kennedy ferryboat.
Further expenses stem from Castellano’s design work with Persak & Wurmfeld, a New York naval architecture firm. The vessel’s renovation presents significant challenges, as the John F. Kennedy, typical of its age, contains asbestos. This hazardous material must be meticulously removed before the ferry can pass state or city inspections.
“The thing about asbestos is, it’s not an issue until you go to take it out,” noted Patrick Quincannon, president of Quincannon Associates, a New York-based ship broker. “It has to be done in hazmat gear. You’re looking at salty numbers to do asbestos remediation.”
A prime location for a floating entertainment venue, such as a pier along Manhattan or Brooklyn’s East River, is a dream far harder to realize than imagined, according to Quincannon. He pointed out practical hurdles a group of well-meaning novices might have overlooked. “Those ferries are big, so you would need dolphin heads to secure it,” he explained, referring to a multipoint mooring system. “On the East River, the current rips along there.”
Christopher O. Ward, interim head of the Waterfront Alliance, a New York advocacy group, highlighted another significant obstacle: underwater shadows. He elaborated that large boats obstruct sunlight, which over time can harm marine ecosystems and destroy aquatic life. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has been “strident in its administration and regulation of shadow on waterfront locations.”
The large orange ferryboat is seen next to wooden pilings, with the Manhattan skyline in the distance. While its owners try to realize their plans for it, the John F. Kennedy has been docked at a Staten Island shipyard.
At this juncture, even scrapping the boat, should Jost and Davidson opt for that, offers no immediate financial relief. Scrap markets are currently weak, advised Tommy O’Toole, a partner at Compass Maritime, a New Jersey-based brokerage firm specializing in ship sales. Ferries, being lighter than ocean-going vessels, hold less value for recyclers. Furthermore, the highest-paying ship recyclers in the U.S. are located in the Gulf Coast states, requiring an expensive tow spanning thousands of miles. “Let’s say something weighed 2,000 tons,” O’Toole mused, performing quick mental calculations. “If it’s worth $150 a ton to scrap, that’s 300 grand. If the tow cost you $350,000, you’d have to pay someone $50,000.”
Kevin Hennessey, the John F. Kennedy’s former captain, extended his best wishes to Jost and Davidson, though he candidly revealed to The Daily News in 2022 that the boat had a severe cockroach infestation. “This was an impulse buy by two guys with a lot of money who don’t know anything about maritime vessels,” Hennessey remarked.
A split image features members of the Wu-Tang Clan, at left, on board for a Tommy Hilfiger fashion show. In May 2025, “Saturday Night Live” aired a sketch set aboard a ferry, where a character, played by Mikey Day, expresses his love for ferries. Colin Jost then makes a surprise cameo, shouting, “If you love ferries, would you like to buy one? Please buy it!”
To date, the John F. Kennedy has left its Staten Island slip only once: in September 2024, when it was towed to Pier 17 in Manhattan to host a Tommy Hilfiger presentation during New York Fashion Week. Dressed in a crisp suit, Jost welcomed guests, including Brooke Shields and members of Staten Island’s own Wu-Tang Clan. This event offered a tantalizing glimpse of the vessel’s potential. “I always had faith that it will be something really fun,” Jost said that day.
Jost and his partners are not the first to envision new life for an old ferryboat. In 1966, entrepreneur Herbert R. Axelrod purchased four decommissioned Staten Island Ferries with aspirations of transforming them into floating restaurants, a plan that never materialized.
A rusted yellow and orange ferryboat is grounded in shallow water, surrounded by dry reeds. The marina owner George Searle bought this ferryboat with the idea of turning it into a restaurant. It rusted for three decades before it was scrapped.
George Searle, a marina owner, harbored the same ambition in 1976, buying an out-of-service Staten Island Ferry. It remained docked at his New Jersey marina along the Raritan River for over three decades before finally being dismantled for scrap.
Whatever the ultimate fate of Jost and Davidson’s dream boat, one truth remains stark. As Quincannon plainly put it: “They’re paying out a lot to have this thing just sitting there while they figure out what to do.”
Davidson, for his part, refuses to abandon the dream. “We have a really good plan,” he declared in a recent appearance on the YouTube talk show “Hot Ones.” “It’s fun to have a dream.”