nws weather

The Staten Island Ferry leaves Manhattan under stormy skies.

(Staten Island Advance/Steve Zaffarano)

CITY HALL -- Staten Island Ferry riders can't charge their phones or laptops after the city quietly cut off electricity to outlets on boats when fights broke out over them.

A ferry worker was even punched trying to break up one altercation between riders over the outlets.

The Department of Transportation didn't make an official announcement about what was described as a public safety decision and wouldn't say why riders weren't informed.

The city would not say when the electricity was cut off. Whether access to the outlets will return is being reviewed.

Frustrated ferry riders noticed a change even without public notice. One couple, former Staten Island residents visiting for several weeks, told the Advance recently that they noticed many of the boat charging stations weren't working properly and were told by a worker that the system was having problems and was shut down.

The DOT took several days to explain what happened.

Spokesman Scott Gastel told the Advance that the city made a determination about public safety following incidents involving use of the outlets and altercations over access to them.

When asked for clarification about the overall policy, Gastel responded, "As I noted previously this was done for public safety purposes in conjunction with NYPD following a presence of criminal activity and we are reviewing the current policy."

The NYPD said that a couple of outlets are still working and that only ones connected to violence were shut off.

The DOT said the outlet policy goes back several years, pre-dating Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration.

A request to cut off the electricity was made from NYPD about public safety at the terminals and on vessels, the DOT said.

In addition to altercations between riders, there's been complaints about charging chords along the floors of the boats. Police were also concerned about unattended electronics left charging.

The NYPD said gangs took over particular outlets at the terminals and would remain there for several hours.

The DOT said an employee has been on medical leave after being punched by a passenger and knocked to the deck.

Bridging the "digital divide" is one of de Blasio's major policies; pay phones were turned into LinkNYC kiosks that provide free Wi-Fi and USB charging outlets. While some have reportedly attracted drug dealing and small homeless encampments, none have been removed or turned off.