On a recent morning at a Staten Island shipyard, the air buzzed with activity as workers toiled on the Cuauhtémoc, a Mexican Navy sailing ship undergoing repairs after its dramatic collision with the Brooklyn Bridge in May, which tragically claimed two lives.
Yet, amidst this work, another vessel sat nearby, embodying a different kind of trouble: the Staten Island Ferry, jointly owned by comedy duo Colin Jost and Pete Davidson.
Once a proud workhorse, the 277-foot ferryboat, named the John F. Kennedy, routinely transported over 3,000 passengers between Staten Island and Manhattan. Today, it languishes on the murky waters of the Kill Van Kull, its grand future plans as uncertain as the currents it once navigated.
Both proud Staten Island natives and long-time collaborators on “Saturday Night Live,” Jost and Davidson acquired this decommissioned ferry almost four years ago for a sum of $280,100.
Gazing upon this 2,100-ton behemoth of metal, they envisioned a spectacular floating events space, complete with two restaurants, six bars, a lively concert venue, and luxurious hotel rooms featuring private sundecks. However, as the years tick by with their ambitious $35 million dream no closer to fruition, it appears they might have overpaid significantly for their aquatic white elephant.
Jost, 43, candidly admitted the purchase was “the dumbest and least thought-through” of his life, while Davidson, 31, wryly characterized it as “a lifelong problem for me and Colin.”
Their troubles compounded with legal challenges. Titanic 2, the limited liability company formed by Jost, Davidson, and their associates, is now facing a lawsuit from the law firm responsible for its dockage and towing contracts, citing nonpayment.
A still from “Saturday Night Live” captured Pete Davidson and Colin Jost at the Weekend Update desk, where they famously discussed their ambitious ferry purchase in a 2022 episode.
Filed in June at the Supreme Court of New York, the lawsuit by Nicoletti, Hornig, Namazi, Eckert & Sheehan alleges that “Titanic 2 has failed and refused to pay its outstanding obligations” amounting to $13,500. Val Wamser, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, confirmed via email that “we have not received payment yet or any response to our lawsuit as of this date,” declining further specifics.
From the tranquil expanse of Heritage Park along Staten Island’s north shore, one can spot the vibrant orange John F. Kennedy afloat on the brackish waters. Rendered immobile by a fire that crippled its engine long before its sale, the massive vessel now drifts in the harbor like an oversized bathtub toy, accumulating hefty docking fees.
Steve Kalil, president of Caddell Dry Dock & Repair, the shipyard where the ferry is moored, remained tight-lipped about the exact monthly dockage fees. However, he hinted that a reporter’s estimate of $10,000 was “on the low side.” Kalil noted the unusual length of time the boat has remained unrepaired and admitted he had no indication of when the John F. Kennedy might finally leave its berth.
“I’d like to say soon, but who knows,” Kalil mused. “The hope is that they will eventually succeed in their dream. And we would be part of that.”
Anyone who has ever embarked on an overly ambitious fixer-upper project can surely relate to Jost and Davidson’s predicament. After all, who hasn’t been swept up in the excitement of an impulse purchase at an online auction?
However, seasoned mariners understand that a boat, especially a 60-year-old vessel larger than a superyacht, is a unique kind of money pit, requiring immense repairs and prime dockage in one of the world’s most bustling and regulated harbors.
The Auction: How It All Began
New York City’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services is tasked with offloading the city’s obsolete inventory. This can range from a handful of old Nortel phones and cases of face masks to a few dusty copies of Webster’s New World Dictionary. This often-overlooked agency routinely hosts public auctions to clear out such items.
Among its more substantial offerings are decommissioned ferry boats, usually snapped up by scrap metal companies. This was precisely the expectation when the John F. Kennedy was put on the auction block on January 12, 2022.
Larry Siegel, the city employee who managed the auction, initially valued the ferry for scrap at $60,000 to $100,000. However, recognizing its unique history, he decided to set the opening bid at a much loftier $250,000.
The John F. Kennedy, pictured here, held the distinction of being the oldest vessel in the Staten Island Ferry fleet before its eventual sale at auction.
Siegel, now retired, was dedicated to maximizing city revenue. When the ferry initially garnered no interest, he employed a classic sales tactic: he halved the asking price.
Simultaneously, agency staff took to social media to generate buzz. A few posts, by city government standards, even went viral. One user notably tweeted at NBC, the broadcaster of “Saturday Night Live,” suggesting they alert Davidson and Jost. It’s plausible this is how the famous Staten Island natives first caught wind of this unique opportunity. (Jost’s representatives did not respond to interview requests, while a publicist for Davidson indicated he would prefer to “speak on it closer to completion.”)
Built in 1965, the John F. Kennedy was the most senior vessel in the Staten Island Ferry fleet. The auction listing made no attempt to disguise its condition, frankly stating the boat was in “poor condition” and had been “decommissioned due to mechanical issues on the propulsion end.” In simple terms, it couldn’t move.
Despite these caveats, during the week-long auction, Jost impulsively texted Davidson: “Split it?”
Both comedians shared a deep, if sometimes humorously expressed, affection for the Staten Island Ferry. Jost, who commuted on it to Regis High School on the Upper East Side, wrote in his 2020 memoir, “A Very Punchable Face,” with characteristic wit: “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 affection for the ferry was also evident in his 2020 semi-autobiographical comedy, “The King of Staten Island.” The film’s moving finale features the protagonist sharing a heartfelt kiss with his love interest aboard a Manhattan-bound Staten Island Ferry, with an aerial shot capturing the iconic orange vessel against a backdrop of inspiring music.
As the 2022 auction approached its conclusion, Siegel observed a sudden surge of bids from unfamiliar accounts. “I was, like, ‘Oh, this is different,’” he remembered. “‘We have breached the scrap metal industry!’”
The winning bid came from Paul Italia. Upon learning Italia was a co-owner of The Stand, a Manhattan comedy club, Siegel initially feared the entire auction might be an elaborate prank.
Colin Jost is seen here with his business partner, Paul Italia, aboard the ferryboat in 2022.
However, the purchase was far from a joke. Italia, alongside Jost, Davidson, and New York architect Ron Castellano, formed a group with serious intentions to transform the dilapidated vessel into a stunning 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 proudly stated to a reporter after their winning bid.
Soon after the auction, on a chilly day, Davidson visited the St. George Ferry Terminal on Staten Island, where the Department of Transportation kept the inoperable boat.
Clad in a puffy brown coat, wool cap, and sunglasses, Davidson recounted to a reporter his early days as a comic, riding the ferry to Manhattan for stand-up gigs. Upon seeing his acquisition, he appeared somewhat awestruck, exclaiming, “It’s sick,” with what seemed to be genuine admiration.
The following day, during a “Weekend Update” segment on “Saturday Night Live,” both Jost and Davidson addressed the widely reported news of their purchase.
“We bought a ferry — the windowless van of the sea,” Davidson quipped with a smirk.
“Yes, it’s very exciting,” Jost deadpanned. “We thought the whole thing through.”
Rough Sailing: The Post-Purchase Hurdles
New York City policy dictates that it bears no responsibility for delivering its disposed property, be it a mere filing cabinet or a colossal ferryboat. This left Jost and Davidson with a tight ten-day window to retrieve their new acquisition.
Since the ferry lacked a functional engine, towing was essential. This seemed a straightforward task, with about 30 tugboat companies in New York Harbor offering services at roughly $1,700 an hour. The true challenge, however, was locating a suitable docking spot in a city where even a simple parking space is a luxury.
With only a handful of private shipyards remaining on the city’s bustling waterfront, space is a premium. Securing a public pier on either the Hudson or East River would necessitate navigating a labyrinth of approvals from numerous city and state agencies.
In 2022, a tugboat was employed to move the decommissioned ferry to a shipyard on Staten Island.
Italia diligently scoured satellite images of New York Harbor and reached out to every waterfront property owner he could identify. Inevitably, the ten-day retrieval deadline passed without the ferry being moved.
In February, Mayor Eric Adams’ administration granted an extension. Still, the massive vessel remained stubbornly docked at St. George Terminal until April.
On April 11, 2022, Jost finally celebrated a small victory, overseeing the three-mile tow of the John F. Kennedy to the Staten Island shipyard. His father, Daniel, a retired schoolteacher, accompanied him on this momentous, albeit slow, journey.
Five months later, during a “Late Night With Seth Meyers” appearance, Jost openly expressed the weight of his impulsive purchase. “This is why idiots should not be allowed to do things,” he confessed. “Pete and I bought this boat and then, like, there’s so many immediate decisions you have to make.”
Among these decisions was choosing a suitable name for their new limited liability company. They soon discovered that their initial choice, Titanic 2, was not well-received in the professional business world, perhaps for obvious reasons.
“Suddenly, we’re looking for insurance, which we have to buy, because it’s a giant deathtrap boat,” Jost humorously explained to Meyers. “And then every insurance company is like: ‘It’s called Titanic 2?’”
As months turned into a year, the world didn’t forget Jost and Davidson’s costly escapade. They were frequently pressed for updates during talk show interviews and red carpet events.
Even Colin Jost’s wife, actress Scarlett Johansson, found herself fielding questions. During a June 2023 appearance on “Live With Kelly and Mark,” host Mark Consuelos initiated a query: “I heard that your husband, Colin Jost, and Pete Davidson bought a — ”
“The Staten Island Ferry!” Johansson interjected, closing her eyes and lowering her head in a gesture of playful exasperation. “Yeah.”
She reminisced about her husband’s “secretive phone calls” leading up to his text announcing their new ferryboat ownership. When asked for her reaction, Johansson admitted, “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 playfully asked by a reporter if he would host an after-party on his new boat.
“Yeah, if it’s not sunk!” he retorted with a grin.
“I have no idea what’s going on with that thing,” he further explained. “Me and Colin were very stoned a year ago and bought a ferry. And we’re figuring it out.”
Just nine days later, Jost took to Instagram to offer a humorous clarification: “Is it worse that I was actually stone-cold sober when we bought the ferry?”
Shortly thereafter, Davidson adopted a more upbeat tone. During an appearance on the podcast “Family Trips With the Meyers Brothers,” he envisioned a future with “a restaurant, a concert venue, a movie theater,” adding that the party barge would be towed 1,100 miles to winter in Miami.
As the owners’ sentiments swung from initial excitement to growing despondency, the financial burden steadily mounted. It is estimated that storage fees alone for the John F. Kennedy have surpassed $600,000 – more than double its original purchase price. This is in addition to substantial insurance, towing, and legal fees; the lawsuit reveals that the law firm Nicoletti, Hornig once charged a staggering $27,335 in a single month.
Here are several glimpses of the John F. Kennedy ferryboat, revealing its current state.
Further expenses stemmed from Castellano’s design work with Persak & Wurmfeld, a New York naval architecture firm. Renovating the vessel proved to be a complex undertaking, especially since the John F. Kennedy, typical of boats its age, contains asbestos. This hazardous material must be meticulously removed before the ferry can clear state or city inspections.
“The thing about asbestos is, it’s not an issue until you go to take it out,” explained Patrick Quincannon, president of Quincannon Associates, a New York ship brokerage. “It has to be done in hazmat gear. You’re looking at salty numbers to do asbestos remediation.”
While a prime location for a floating entertainment venue would ideally be along Manhattan or Brooklyn, perhaps a pier on the East River, such a dream is far more challenging to realize than imagine. Quincannon detailed several practicalities that well-intentioned novices might have overlooked.
“Those ferries are big, so you would need dolphin heads to secure it,” he elaborated, referring to a specialized multipoint mooring system. “On the East River, the current rips along there intensely.”
Christopher O. Ward, interim head of the Waterfront Alliance, a New York advocacy group, highlighted yet another obstacle: underwater shadows.
Ward clarified that large vessels cast significant underwater shadows, which can harm marine ecosystems and aquatic life over prolonged periods. He noted that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation maintains “strident” regulations regarding shadow impact in waterfront areas.
The John F. Kennedy remains docked at a Staten Island shipyard as its owners continue to grapple with bringing their ambitious plans to fruition.
Currently, even selling the boat for scrap – if Jost and Davidson opt for this route – would offer little reprieve from the financial drain. Tommy O’Toole, a partner at Compass Maritime, a New Jersey-based brokerage firm specializing in ship sales, noted that scrap markets are presently weak.
Unlike heavier oceangoing vessels, ferries are relatively lightweight and thus less valuable to recyclers. Furthermore, the highest-paying ship recyclers in the United States are situated far away, spanning from Mobile, Alabama, to Brownsville, Texas. Towing the John F. Kennedy such a vast distance would incur significant additional costs.
“Let’s say something weighed 2,000 tons,” O’Toole illustrated with quick calculations. “If it’s worth $150 a ton to scrap, that’s $300,000. 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 well wishes to Jost and Davidson, though he also revealed to The Daily News in 2022 that the ferry suffered from 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 commented.
Members of the iconic Wu-Tang Clan are seen here aboard the John F. Kennedy for a Tommy Hilfiger fashion show last year, offering a glimpse of the ferry’s potential.
In May 2025, “Saturday Night Live” featured a sketch aboard a ferry, where two passengers engaged in a heated argument from their parked cars. As Mikey Day’s character expressed his love for ferries, Jost made a surprise appearance, shouting, “If you love ferries, would you like to buy one? Please buy it!”
Remarkably, the John F. Kennedy has only ventured out of its Staten Island slip once: in September 2024, when it was towed to Pier 17 in Manhattan to serve as the venue for a Tommy Hilfiger presentation during New York Fashion Week. Jost, impeccably dressed, greeted guests including Brooke Shields and Staten Island’s very own Wu-Tang Clan.
That event provided a tantalizing glimpse of the vessel’s potential. “I always had faith that it will be something really fun,” Jost declared that day.
Jost and his partners are not pioneers in this particular dream. Back in 1966, entrepreneur Herbert R. Axelrod acquired four decommissioned Staten Island Ferries, intending to transform them into floating restaurants. His ambitious plan, however, never materialized.
This image shows a ferryboat bought by marina owner George Searle in 1976, who also planned to convert it into a restaurant. It sat rusting for three decades before ultimately being scrapped.
Similarly, marina owner George Searle harbored the same vision in 1976 when he purchased an out-of-service Staten Island Ferry. The vessel remained at his New Jersey marina along the Raritan River for over three decades, eventually being dismantled for scrap.
Regardless of the ultimate destiny of Jost and Davidson’s dream boat, one truth remains starkly evident. As Quincannon plainly stated: “They’re paying out a lot to have this thing just sitting there while they figure out what to do.”
Davidson, however, hasn’t completely abandoned hope. “We have a really good plan,” he recently shared on the YouTube talk show “Hot Ones.” “It’s fun to have a dream.”