Pete Davidson regrets ‘very stoned’ purchase of $280,000 Staten Island ferry as he admits plan to make it NYC’s next hot nightclub scuttled
- The 29-year-old comedian bought the ferry in 2022 with former SNL co-star Colin Jost
- The pair had said they planned to turn the ship into a New York City club
- The ferry carried people between Manhattan and Staten Island for more than 50 years
Some regrets are especially expensive, especially if you’re Pete Davidson.
The comedian, 29, has admitted that he deeply regrets buying a decommissioned Staten Island ferry while stoned with his former Saturday Night Live co-star Colin Jost, 41.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight on Monday, Pete gave fans an update on the pair’s January 2022 splurge.
“I have no idea what’s going on with that thing,” he said at the New York premiere of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
“Me and Colin got really stoned a year ago and bought a ferry. And we’re figuring it out.’
Comedians Pete Davidson, 28, (left) and Colin Jost, 40, (right) bought the retired Staten Island ferry hoping to turn it into a floating nightclub
Pete has now admitted he regrets buying a decommissioned Staten Island ferry (pictured)
Pete joked that he would host an after party for his latest movie on the bright orange boat, “if it didn’t sink!”
“Hopefully it turns into a Transformer and the bastard gets out of there so I don’t have to pay for it anymore!” said Pete, who plays the character Mirage in the latest Transformers movie.
Pete and Colin, as well as comedy club owner Paul Italia, purchased the ferry when it was auctioned off by New York City’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services.
The ferry, named the John F. Kennedy, carried commuters between Manhattan and Staten Island from 1965 to 2021.
At the time of their purchase, the comedians, who are both from Long Island, said the plan was to turn the 277-foot ship into a New York City club.
But those plans soon ran into obstacles, when the ferry’s former captain, Kevin Hennessey, told the New York Daily News that it would likely cost Pete and Colin millions to refurbish the ferry.
Hennessey said the boat’s engine was also compromised by a fire that broke out in the engine room just after the ferry was decommissioned and before the comedians bought it.
Jost and Davidson bought the ferry – the MV John F. Kennedy – last year with comedy club owner Paul Italia for $280,000
Pete and Colin are both from Long Island
He added that the toxic asbestos lining the walls of the ferry, which was “a common building material” in 1965, would be one of the biggest complications the ferry project would face.
“As time passed and pipes and wires rotted, the asbestos lining was broken up and patched up,” he said. “It’s generally harmless until you grind it or drill into it.”
He said cockroach infestations are common on the Staten Island ferries, but the John F. Kennedy always had a particularly big problem.
Another ferry worker said cockroaches thrived in pockets under the boat’s seats where life jackets were stored.
“People are lazy and like to dump their rubbish in there,” said the worker.
Ferry workers told the Daily News they estimate the renovation could run into the millions, and that Jost and Davidson had a good idea but were not right.
“I wish these guys luck with the project, but they’re going to need some help,” said Hennessey.
At the time, Italia called Hennessey’s assessment of the ferry’s condition “garbage information” and said plans for the ferry’s future would be announced by the end of the year.