On a recent morning at a Staten Island shipyard, the Mexican Navy sailing ship Cuauhtémoc, which tragically crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge in May, was undergoing repairs. Nearby, however, sat a different kind of troubled ship: the Staten Island Ferry once acquired by comedians Colin Jost and Pete Davidson.
The John F. Kennedy, a 277-foot ferry that once transported over 3,000 daily passengers between Staten Island and Manhattan, now idles on the Kill Van Kull tidal strait. Its ambitious future appears as murky as the surrounding waters.
Both proud Staten Island natives and former ‘Saturday Night Live’ cast members, Jost and Davidson purchased the decommissioned vessel almost four years ago for a reported $280,100. Their vision for this 2,100-ton behemoth was a vibrant floating entertainment complex, complete with two restaurants, six bars, a concert hall, and even hotel rooms featuring private sundecks. Yet, with years passing and their ambitious $35 million renovation plan showing little progress, it increasingly appears they may have overpaid significantly for their maritime acquisition.
Jost, now 43, candidly admitted it was ‘the dumbest and least thought-through purchase I’ve ever made.’ Davidson, 31, has similarly joked about it becoming ‘a lifelong problem for me and Colin.’
Adding to their headaches are legal complications. Titanic 2, the LLC formed by the duo and their partners, is currently facing a lawsuit for nonpayment from the law firm tasked with handling dockage and towing contracts. 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. A lawyer for the plaintiffs, Val Wamser, confirmed that 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 clearly visible on the murky waters. With its engine damaged by a fire long before its sale, the ferry remains immobile, floating in the harbor like a colossal bathtub toy, steadily accumulating docking fees. Steve Kalil, president of Caddell Dry Dock & Repair, where the ferry is docked, refrained from disclosing the exact monthly dockage fees but noted that a reporter’s estimate of $10,000 was ‘on the low side.’ He expressed that it’s unusual for a vessel to sit for so long without repairs and couldn’t predict when the John F. Kennedy might finally move. “I’d like to say soon, but who knows,” Kalil remarked, adding, ‘The hope is that they will eventually succeed in their dream. And we would be part of that.’
Anyone familiar with the pitfalls of an ambitious fixer-upper project can easily empathize with Jost and Davidson. Their acquisition was an impulse buy at an online auction — a scenario many can relate to. However, seasoned mariners understand that boats are notorious money pits, especially a 60-year-old vessel larger than a superyacht, requiring extensive repairs and prime dock space in one of the world’s most active and heavily regulated harbors.
The Auction: How a Dream Began
The Department of Citywide Administrative Services manages New York City’s obsolete inventory, ranging from old office phones to outdated dictionaries. This often-overlooked agency regularly conducts public auctions to clear out these items. They also handle more substantial assets, such as decommissioned ferryboats, which are typically sold to companies for scrap. This was the anticipated fate for the John F. Kennedy when it went up for auction on January 12, 2022.
Larry Siegel, the city employee managing the auction, initially valued the ferry for scrap at $60,000 to $100,000. However, recognizing its historical significance and unique nature, he set the opening bid at $250,000. Siegel, now retired, prioritized maximizing city revenue. When the ferry initially failed to attract bidders, he employed a classic sales tactic: he slashed the price in half.
Simultaneously, agency staff leveraged social media to generate buzz. A few posts gained significant traction by government standards, with one user even tweeting at NBC, home of ‘Saturday Night Live,’ suggesting they inform Davidson and Jost. This might be how the famous Staten Island duo discovered the unexpected opportunity. (Jost’s representatives declined to comment, and Davidson’s publicist indicated he would ‘speak on it closer to completion.’)
The John F. Kennedy, launched in 1965, was the oldest vessel in the Staten Island Ferry fleet. The auction listing made no attempt to sugarcoat its condition, describing it as ‘poor’ and ‘decommissioned due to mechanical issues on the propulsion end.’ In essence, it couldn’t move. Despite this, during the week-long auction, Jost simply texted Davidson: ‘Split it?’
Both comedians held a deep, if sometimes humorously expressed, affection for the Staten Island Ferry. Jost, who commuted on it to Regis High School, noted in his 2020 memoir, ‘A Very Punchable Face,’ that it offered ‘amazing views of the Statue of Liberty’ but also served as ‘a great place to watch a raccoon eat a passenger’s leftover meth.’
Davidson’s connection to the ferry was evident in his 2020 semi-autobiographical comedy, ‘The King of Staten Island.’ The film’s moving climax features the protagonist aboard a Manhattan-bound ferry, sharing a meaningful kiss with his love interest, set against a stunning aerial shot of the iconic orange vessel.
As the 2022 auction approached its conclusion, Siegel observed a surge of bids from new accounts. ‘Oh, this is different,’ he recalled thinking. ‘We have breached the scrap metal industry!’ The winning bid was placed under the name Paul Italia. Siegel initially suspected a prank, knowing Italia co-owned The Stand, a Manhattan comedy club.
However, the purchase was entirely serious. Italia was part of a group with Jost, Davidson, and New York architect Ron Castellano, who was set to spearhead the transformation of the dilapidated vessel into a lavish 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 told The New York Times after their winning bid.
Shortly after the auction, on a cold day, Davidson visited the St. George Ferry Terminal on Staten Island, where the Department of Transportation was storing the inoperable boat. Sporting a puffy brown coat, wool cap, and sunglasses, Davidson recounted to a New York Post reporter his younger days riding the ferry to Manhattan for stand-up gigs. Upon seeing his new purchase, he appeared somewhat awestruck, exclaiming, ‘It’s sick,’ indicating his approval.
The following day, during a ‘Weekend Update’ segment on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ Jost and Davidson addressed the widely reported story. Davidson quipped, ‘We bought a ferry — the windowless van of the sea.’ Jost added with a touch of irony, ‘Yes, it’s very exciting. We thought the whole thing through.’
Rough Sailing: Challenges Mount
New York City disavows responsibility for the delivery of its former property, whether a filing cabinet or a ferryboat. This meant Jost and Davidson had a mere 10 days to collect their new acquisition. Since the engine was inoperable, towing was necessary. While finding one of the 30 tugboat companies in New York Harbor to transport it for approximately $1,700 an hour was straightforward, the real challenge was locating a suitable docking spot in a city where even land-based parking is a luxury. With only a handful of private shipyards remaining on the city’s waterfront and space at a premium, docking at a public pier on the Hudson or East rivers would necessitate formal approval from numerous city and state agencies.
Italia meticulously studied satellite images of New York Harbor and reached out to every waterfront property owner he could identify. The initial 10-day deadline passed without a resolution. Mayor Eric Adams’s administration granted an extension in February, but the ferry remained at St. George Terminal until April. Jost finally experienced a ‘victory cruise’ on April 11, 2022, when the John F. Kennedy was towed three miles to a Staten Island shipyard, with his father, Daniel, a retired schoolteacher, joining him.
Five months later, during a ‘Late Night With Seth Meyers’ appearance, Jost confessed to the challenges of his impulse purchase. ‘This is why idiots should not be allowed to do things,’ he stated. ‘Pete and I bought this boat and then, like, there’s so many immediate decisions you have to make.’ One crucial decision involved naming their LLC, but their chosen name, Titanic 2, proved unpopular in the business world. Jost recounted to Meyers, ‘Suddenly, we’re looking for insurance, which we have to buy, because it’s a giant deathtrap boat. And then every insurance company is like: ‘It’s called Titanic 2?’’
As months turned into a year, the public continued to be fascinated by Jost and Davidson’s extravagant venture, with questions about the ferry’s progress frequently arising during talk show and red carpet interviews. Even Jost’s wife, actress Scarlett Johansson, couldn’t avoid the topic. During a June 2023 appearance on ‘Live With Kelly and Mark,’ host Mark Consuelos started, ‘I heard that your husband, Colin Jost, and Pete Davidson bought a — ‘ Johansson, closing her eyes and lowering her head, interjected, ‘The Staten Island Ferry! Yeah.’ She remembered her husband’s ‘secretive phone calls’ just before he texted her about their ferry purchase. Her reaction? ‘I guess surprised. I was like: ‘What are we doing with this?’’
At the New York premiere of ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ on June 5, 2023, ‘Entertainment Tonight’ asked Davidson if he would host an after-party on his boat. He responded, ‘Yeah, if it’s not sunk!’ He then confessed, ‘I have no idea what’s going on with that thing. 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?’
Davidson later expressed a more optimistic outlook, detailing plans for a restaurant, concert venue, and movie theater, and even mentioned towing the party barge 1,100 miles to Miami for winters during a ‘Family Trips With the Meyers Brothers’ podcast appearance. As the owners’ sentiments fluctuated between excitement and frustration, the financial burden steadily climbed. Storage fees alone for the John F. Kennedy are estimated to have surpassed $600,000—more than double the original purchase price. This is in addition to insurance, towing, and legal costs; the Nicoletti, Hornig law firm, for instance, billed them $27,335 in a single month, according to court documents.
Further expenses stemmed from Castellano’s design work with Persak & Wurmfeld, a New York naval architecture firm. Renovating the John F. Kennedy presents a significant challenge, as the 60-year-old vessel contains asbestos, a hazardous material that must be removed before it can pass state or city inspections. Patrick Quincannon, president of Quincannon Associates, a New York ship brokerage, noted the substantial cost implications: ‘The thing about asbestos is, it’s not an issue until you go to take it out. It has to be done in hazmat gear. You’re looking at salty numbers to do asbestos remediation.’
Finding a prime location for a floating entertainment venue, perhaps on a Manhattan or Brooklyn pier along the East River, is another hurdle. Quincannon highlighted several practical considerations that enthusiastic novices might overlook. ‘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, pointed out another environmental concern: underwater shadows. Ward clarified that large vessels can obstruct sunlight, potentially harming marine ecosystems and aquatic life over time. He noted the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s strict approach to regulating shadows in waterfront areas.
At this stage, even scrapping the boat would offer little financial respite. Tommy O’Toole, a partner at Compass Maritime, a ship brokerage firm, noted that scrap markets are currently weak. Unlike heavier oceangoing vessels, ferries are relatively lightweight and less valuable for recycling. The top-paying ship recyclers in the U.S. are located in distant states like Alabama and Texas, requiring a costly tow for the John F. Kennedy. O’Toole performed a quick calculation: ‘Let’s say something weighed 2,000 tons. 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 to take it.’
Kevin Hennessey, the John F. Kennedy’s former captain, extended good wishes to Jost and Davidson, though he also revealed to The Daily News in 2022 that the boat had a significant cockroach infestation. Hennessey concluded, ‘This was an impulse buy by two guys with a lot of money who don’t know anything about maritime vessels.’
In May 2025, ‘Saturday Night Live’ featured a sketch on a ferry, where a character played by Mikey Day expresses love for ferries. Colin Jost then made a cameo, shouting, ‘If you love ferries, would you like to buy one? Please buy it!’
The John F. Kennedy has only left its Staten Island dock once: in September 2024, when it was towed to Pier 17 in Manhattan for a Tommy Hilfiger fashion show during New York Fashion Week. Dressed in a crisp suit, Jost welcomed guests, including Brooke Shields and Staten Island’s own Wu-Tang Clan, offering a brief glimpse of the vessel’s potential. Jost expressed optimism then, saying, ‘I always had faith that it will be something really fun.’
Jost and his partners are not the first to envision new life for an old ferry. In 1966, Herbert R. Axelrod bought four decommissioned Staten Island Ferries to convert them into floating restaurants, a plan that ultimately failed. Similarly, in 1976, marina owner George Searle purchased a disused Staten Island Ferry with the same ambition. It sat rusting at his New Jersey marina for over three decades before finally being scrapped.
Regardless of the ultimate fate of Jost and Davidson’s dream boat, one fact remains stark: as Quincannon aptly put it, ‘They’re paying out a lot to have this thing just sitting there while they figure out what to do.’ Despite the mounting challenges, Davidson remains optimistic. ‘We have a really good plan,’ he stated in a recent ‘Hot Ones’ interview. ‘It’s fun to have a dream.’