Demolition begins on New Jersey ferry

The ferry carried passengers from 1905 until the 1960s when it was converted into a restaurant and disco club.

Demolition has begun on a ferryboat in Edgewater, New Jersey, that carried passengers from Hoboken to Manhattan, a report from NorthJersey.com says. The Binghamton ferry transported commuters from 1905 into the 1960s when it was turned into a restaurant and disco club.

The ferry was damaged in Hurricanes Irene and Sandy and has since been vacant in the water. Previous attempts to revive the ferry went to court and failed, the report says. 

Demolition of the ferry will take about three months with crews slicing it to pieces, the report says. Since the boat is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, pieces will be put in display at the New Jersey Maritime Museum.

A 915-seat floating restaurant is set to take its place, the report says. The Binghamton II will open summer 2018.

The ferry’s previous owner, Nelson Gross, was kidnapped and killed in the 1990s. Since, the boat’s state took a turn for the worse. The restaurant closed in 2007.