«What's
different between comparing this ferry and the Staten Island Ferry is this is a citywide system, it goes to multiple
boroughs, and linking Staten Islanders to all of those destinations is a
different thing than what the Staten Island Ferry does today,» de Blasio said.
He said: «To compare the border
between two sovereign states, the UK and the Republic of Ireland, to the boundaries
between different London
boroughs is not only patently ridiculous but also shows staggering insensitivity and a stupefying ignorance of a conflict in which over 3,000 people died
between 1969 and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.»