Pete Davidson (Staten Island, 31) is back Saturday evening live (SNL) three years after announcing his departure from the program that made him famous. A specific aspect, in the form of sketchin which he starred alongside Colin Jost, friend, partner and business partner. Precisely this last point is what both focused on in their four-minute appearance. Everything after the newspaper The New York Times published an article on October 20 in which he described the investment they both made to purchase a ferry to Staten Island in 2022 as a “fiasco.”
Both, born on New York Island, saw a business opportunity in the boat: they wanted to transform it into a floating event space, with two restaurants, six bars, a concert hall and hotel rooms with private terraces. Him John F. Kennedy, An 84-meter-long ferry carried more than 3,000 passengers on its daily trips between Staten Island and Manhattan. It is now stuck in the Kill Van Kull Strait and there is no sign that the situation will change.
“In case you were wondering why I had to do a show “In Saudi Arabia we are losing millions on this ferry,” Davidson said wryly SNL. “I guess that’s what the article says, because I can’t spend five dollars on a membership when I become a father,” he continued. He also joked that during the recent New York Marathon the boat was used as a billboard and was renamed “Titanic 2″. And the new name is no joke.
The ferry, out of service, was purchased for $280,000 and his ambitious plan called for an investment of approximately $35 million. As stated The New York TimesJost called the acquisition “the stupidest, most ill-advised purchase” he had ever made in his life. For his part, Davidson described it as “a lifelong problem” for both of them. The legal problems they are facing are reportedly worsening their business plans, delaying the timelines longer than expected: “The limited liability company, created by Jost and Davidson and their partners, is being sued for non-payment by the law firm in charge of managing the docking and towing contracts,” the media reports. The lawsuit was filed in June in New York State Supreme Court, claiming that “Titanic 2 (the name of the ship and company) is in default and has refused to pay its outstanding obligations” in the amount of $13,500. As of October 20, that amount had still not been paid: “We have not received any payment or response to our lawsuit,” the plaintiff’s lawyer said in the article.
The old one John F. Kennedy It is unable to move under its own power: a fire damaged the engine long before it was sold and, since then, it has been necessary to pay mooring and travel costs. According to estimates from the aforementioned newspaper, the monthly expenses would be well over 10,000 dollars and, since the purchase, no type of repair or maintenance has been carried out.
The city’s Department of Administrative Services typically disposes of obsolete inventory of New York properties. And for this reason, periodic public auctions are held. It was 2022 when the John F. Kennedy went on sale. The agency’s goal was for this one to be acquired, like other ships, for scrapping. Initially, the ferry was valued at between $60,000 and $100,000. But the bid was set at $250,000 after it was discovered that it was the oldest ship in the fleet.
Neither Jost nor Davidson would comment for the article. The New York Times; Their representatives assured the newspaper that they would prefer to talk about the project “when it is closer to completion”. A project born from the love they both have for this type of boat: for example, Jost, husband of actress Scarlett Johansson, used it to go to and from Regis High School, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. None of them talked about deadlines or whether they’re sticking with the initial idea of turning the ferry into a large space for meetings, restaurants and parties, but it doesn’t seem like they’re taking it too seriously.
