HARLEM, NY — Organizers of a soon to open high-speed boat tour at the 125th Street West Harlem Piers are looking to raise money before its planned first day this summer.
Dubbed the Harlem Rocket, the 90-passenger boat will give tours of the Hudson River along the Upper Manhattan waterfront.
The boat is current getting worked on in a shipyard in Westchester, but the team behind the tour is looking to raise $100,000 in-small dollar contributions to be matched, which will go toward launching the vessel, training new hires, and providing a rich array of community programming.
Find out what's happening in Harlemwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“Riding on the Harlem Rocket is more than an exciting excursion,” said Michael A. Preston, cofounder and vice president of Government Affairs & Customer Experience for Harlem Rocket, in a news release. “It’s a cultural and historic tour, and it will help reclaim the working waterfront for our legacy of maritime activity historically rooted in Black and Brown communities worldwide.”
Depending on the amount donated, those who give to the cause will be eligible to win unlimited and lifetime passes for four people on the boat, scenic tours followed by a dinner at Melba’s Restaurant on 114th Street, or help sponsor curated tours for kids.
Find out what's happening in Harlemwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
There is no opening date set for the Harlem Rocket tours outside of sometime this summer.
The Harlem Rocket is part of a larger Harlem Gateway Waterfront Initiative to transform the 125th Street piers into a tourist destination.
The initiative is being led by Paradise Express Ferry, New York City’s only Black-owned, Harlem-based commercial maritime operator.
Along with the speedboat tours, the initiative would also include an 180-foot ferris wheel on 125th Street and a Harlem Maritime Center & Museum.
Despite the initiative’s website stating the wheel would open in 2024, Paradise Express Ferry’s President Garry Anthony Johnson told Patch it was “nowhere near approval on getting built,” and next summer was no longer a realistic opening date.
In terms of the funding for the high-speed boat, there will be a fundraiser event Tuesday at Harlem’s Chocolat at 6 p.m.
You can learn more about the fundraising effort — HERE.
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