On a recent morning at a bustling Staten Island shipyard, amidst repairs on a Mexican Navy sailing ship that had dramatically collided with the Brooklyn Bridge, another kind of problem silently floated nearby: the Staten Island Ferry owned by comedians Colin Jost and Pete Davidson.
Once, the majestic 277-foot ferryboat, the John F. Kennedy, proudly transported over 3,000 passengers daily between Staten Island and Manhattan. Now, it rests on the Kill Van Kull tidal straight, its future as unclear as the murky waters surrounding it. Nearly four years ago, these proud Staten Island natives and “Saturday Night Live” alumni acquired the decommissioned vessel for $280,100.
Upon acquiring this 2,100-ton behemoth, their shared vision was grand: a spectacular floating event space complete with two restaurants, six bars, a vibrant concert venue, and luxurious hotel rooms featuring private sundecks. However, as the years have drifted by, their ambitious $35 million dream remains frustratingly out of reach, prompting speculation that they might have overpaid by a significant margin.
Jost, 43, openly refers to the purchase as “the dumbest and least thought-through acquisition of my life,” while Davidson, 31, has humorously dubbed it “a lifelong problem for me and Colin.” Their woes are compounded by legal challenges; their company, Titanic 2 LLC, is currently facing a lawsuit for unpaid fees from the law firm that handled their dockage and towing contracts. The firm claims Titanic 2 has neglected its outstanding obligations of $13,500, with no payment or response to the lawsuit received as of yet.
Visible from Heritage Park along Staten Island’s north shore, the bright orange John F. Kennedy floats idly on the brackish waters. Rendered immobile by engine damage sustained long before its sale, it now drifts in the harbor like a colossal bathtub toy, accumulating substantial docking fees. Steve Kalil, president of Caddell Dry Dock & Repair, hinted that monthly dockage costs easily exceed a reporter’s estimate of $10,000, noting the unusual duration of the vessel’s un-repaired stay. Kalil remains uncertain of the ferry’s departure date, expressing a shared hope for the duo’s eventual success in realizing their dream.
It’s easy to empathize with Jost and Davidson, who, like many, fell prey to an impulse purchase during an online auction. Yet, 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 a highly regulated, bustling harbor, is a unique kind of financial vortex.
The Auction
New York City’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services, responsible for offloading obsolete city inventory – everything from old office phones to a surplus of dictionaries – regularly hosts public auctions. These often include larger items, such as decommissioned ferry boats, which typically end up being sold for scrap. This was precisely the expectation when the John F. Kennedy was listed for sale on January 12, 2022.
Larry Siegel, the retired city employee who managed the auction, initially estimated the ferry’s scrap value between $60,000 and $100,000. However, recognizing its unique history, he set the opening bid at $250,000. When the boat failed to attract immediate interest, Siegel employed a classic sales tactic: he slashed the price in half.
Simultaneously, agency staff leveraged social media to generate buzz. A few posts went unexpectedly viral, even by government standards. One tweet, specifically tagging NBC and “Saturday Night Live,” urged them to inform Davidson and Jost of this unusual opportunity. This might very well be how Staten Island’s beloved sons first learned of the ferry’s availability.
The John F. Kennedy, launched in 1965, held the title of the oldest vessel in the Staten Island Ferry fleet. The auction listing made no attempt to disguise its condition, stating it was in “poor condition” and “decommissioned due to mechanical issues on the propulsion end.” In plain terms, it simply didn’t move.
Despite these clear warnings, during the weeklong auction, Jost sent a succinct text to Davidson: “Split it?” Both men harbored deep affection for the Staten Island Ferry. Jost, who commuted on it to Regis High School, affectionately described it in his 2020 memoir, “A Very Punchable Face,” as a place for “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 fondness for the ferry was also evident in his 2020 comedy, “The King of Staten Island.” The film’s moving climax features his character sharing a heartfelt kiss on a Manhattan-bound ferry, with an aerial shot capturing the iconic orange vessel set against stirring music.
As the 2022 auction approached its final hours, Siegel observed a sudden surge of bids from new accounts, realizing, “Oh, this is different. We have breached the scrap metal industry!” The winning bid was submitted under the name Paul Italia, a co-owner of Manhattan’s Stand comedy club. Siegel initially feared it was a prank. However, it was no joke. Italia was part of a consortium including Jost, Davidson, and New York architect Ron Castellano, who was to spearhead the transformation of the dilapidated vessel into a dazzling 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 publicly stated after securing the winning bid. Shortly after the auction, Davidson, sporting a puffy brown coat and sunglasses, visited the St. George Ferry Terminal where the inoperable boat was docked. He told a New York Post reporter about his youthful ferry rides to Manhattan for stand-up gigs, gazing at his new acquisition with a dazed approval, exclaiming, “It’s sick!” The following day, on “Saturday Night Live’s” “Weekend Update,” both comedians humorously acknowledged the news. “We bought a ferry — the windowless van of the sea,” Davidson quipped. Jost added, “Yes, it’s very exciting. We thought the whole thing through.”
Rough Sailing
New York City explicitly states it holds no responsibility for the delivery of its surplus property, be it a mundane filing cabinet or a colossal ferryboat. This meant Jost and Davidson had a mere 10 days to retrieve their new acquisition. Towing the engineless vessel was the easy part, thanks to the numerous tugboat companies in New York Harbor charging around $1,700 an hour. The true challenge lay in finding a destination for the ferry in a city notorious for its scarcity of space, even for parking a car.
With only a handful of private shipyards remaining along the city’s bustling waterfront, space is a premium. Securing a public pier on the Hudson or East rivers would necessitate navigating a labyrinthine bureaucracy of city and state agencies for formal approval. Italia diligently scoured satellite images of New York Harbor and reached out to every waterfront property owner he could find, but the initial 10-day deadline passed without a solution. In February, Mayor Eric Adams’ administration granted an extension, yet the John F. Kennedy remained at St. George Terminal well into April.
Finally, on April 11, 2022, Jost embarked on what he playfully called a “victory cruise.” The John F. Kennedy was towed three miles to a Staten Island shipyard, with his father, Daniel, a retired schoolteacher, joining him for the ride. Five months later, during an appearance on “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” Jost candidly admitted to the growing burden 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.”
One such decision was the name for their limited liability company. Their initial idea, “Titanic 2,” proved to be a significant misstep in the business world. “Suddenly, we’re looking for insurance, which we have to buy, because it’s a giant deathtrap boat,” Jost recounted to Meyers. “And then every insurance company is like: ‘It’s called Titanic 2?’”
Months continued to tick by, but the public certainly didn’t forget Jost and Davidson’s extravagant whim. During countless talk show interviews and red carpet events, they were constantly pressed for updates on their floating dream. Even Jost’s wife, actress Scarlett Johansson, wasn’t immune. 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 interjected, rolling her eyes and dropping her head, “The Staten Island Ferry! Yeah.” She humorously recalled her husband’s “secretive phone calls” leading up to his text announcing their ferryboat ownership. Her reaction? “I guess surprised. I was like: ‘What are we doing with this?’”
At the June 5, 2023, New York premiere of “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” Davidson was playfully asked by “Entertainment Tonight” if he’d host an after-party on his boat. “Yeah, if it’s not sunk!” he quipped, adding, “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?”
Later, Davidson adopted a more optimistic tone, outlining plans for “a restaurant, a concert venue, a movie theater” on the party barge, which would even be towed 1,100 miles to winter in Miami. Yet, amidst these fluctuating sentiments, the financial burden has steadily escalated. Storage fees alone for the John F. Kennedy have likely surpassed $600,000 – more than double its purchase price – compounded by insurance, towing, and legal expenses. The Nicoletti, Hornig law firm, for instance, billed the owners $27,335 in a single month.
Further costs arose from architect Ron Castellano’s design work with Persak & Wurmfeld, a naval architecture firm. The renovation project proved to be particularly complex because the John F. Kennedy, typical of its age, contains asbestos, requiring expensive, hazmat-equipped removal before state or city inspection. Patrick Quincannon, president of ship broker Quincannon Associates, warned that “salty numbers” are involved in such remediation, as asbestos isn’t an issue until it needs to be removed.
Securing a prime location for a floating entertainment venue, perhaps along Manhattan or Brooklyn’s East River, is another daunting challenge. Quincannon highlighted practical hurdles that enthusiastic novices might overlook, such as the need for “dolphin heads” – a multipoint mooring system – to secure such a large vessel against the East River’s strong currents. Christopher O. Ward, interim head of the Waterfront Alliance, added another significant environmental concern: underwater shadows. He explained that large boats block sunlight, which can devastate marine ecosystems over time, noting the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s stringent regulations against shadow on waterfront locations.
At this juncture, even opting to sell the boat for scrap offers little financial reprieve. Tommy O’Toole, a partner at Compass Maritime, notes that current scrap markets are weak, and ferries, being lighter than ocean-going vessels, hold less value for recyclers. Furthermore, the highest-paying ship recyclers in the United States are located far away, from Mobile, Alabama, to Brownsville, Texas. Towing the John F. Kennedy all that distance would likely cost more than the scrap value it would yield. As former captain Kevin Hennessey bluntly put it in 2022, “This was an impulse buy by two guys with a lot of money who don’t know anything about maritime vessels,” also noting the boat’s “serious cockroach problem.”
Despite the mounting challenges, the John F. Kennedy did experience one fleeting moment of glory. In May 2025, “Saturday Night Live” featured a sketch set on a ferry, where Jost made a desperate cameo, shouting, “If you love ferries, would you like to buy one? Please buy it!” More notably, in September 2024, the ferry was towed to Pier 17 in Manhattan to serve as the backdrop for a Tommy Hilfiger presentation during New York Fashion Week. Dressed impeccably, Jost welcomed celebrity guests, including Brooke Shields and the legendary 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 optimistically stated that day.
However, Jost and his partners are not the first to envision a second life for an old ferryboat. In 1966, entrepreneur Herbert R. Axelrod bought four decommissioned Staten Island Ferries, hoping to transform them into floating restaurants, but his plans never materialized. Similarly, in 1976, marina owner George Searle acquired an out-of-service Staten Island Ferry with the same restaurant idea. It rusted at his New Jersey marina for over three decades before finally being dismantled for scrap.
Whatever the ultimate fate of this ambitious dream boat, one truth remains starkly clear. As Patrick Quincannon succinctly states, “They’re paying out a lot to have this thing just sitting there while they figure out what to do.” Yet, Pete Davidson, ever the optimist, hasn’t completely given up. In a recent appearance on the YouTube talk show “Hot Ones,” he affirmed, “We have a really good plan. It’s fun to have a dream.”