The first of three new 4,500-passenger Staten Island ferries will be named in honor of the late Army Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis, a Staten Islander killed in Afghanistan in 2013 at the age of 24.
Ollis was assigned to the U.S Army’s 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team and the 10th Mountain Division. After enlisting in 2006, Staff Sergeant Ollis served one tour of duty in Iraq and two tours in Afghanistan.
Staff Sergeant Michael H. Ollis. Photo courtesy Michael Ollis Facebook community page.On Aug. 28, 2013, during his third deployment serving at a forward operating base in Ghazni, Afghanistan, the base was attacked by insurgent forces. During that attack, Ollis stepped in front of a wounded Polish officer in order to protect him from an insurgent wearing a suicide vest.
Posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Silver Star and the Audie Murphy Medallion, Ollis was also granted Poland’s highest military award, the Polish Medal of Honor.
The New York City Department of Transportation said there was a groundswell of support behind naming the boat in Ollis' honor, with an online petition garnering more than 5,700 signatures.
“Staff Sergeant Michael Ollis is a true Staten Island hero and will be a perpetual reminder that we can and must be about something greater than ourselves, in all ways big and small,” said Staten Island Borough President James Oddo.
The three new ferries will be funded by a $156 million Federal Transportation Administration grant awarded in 2014, $138 million in city funds, and $20 million in other state and federal grants funds, according to the DOT. This will be the first new class of boats added to the Staten Island Ferry fleet since 2006, and will reflect modern engines and technology, as well as many of the celebrated features of past Staten Island ferries, including outdoor promenades.
The Staff Sgt. Ollis is anticipated to be delivered to New York City in early 2019, the second boat is expected to be finished in fall 2019, and the final boat is anticipated to be delivered in early 2020. In fall of 2015, DOT surveyed three new styles of ferry seats and is currently reviewing the responses. The boats are being designed by Seattle-based Elliott Bay Design Group.
A bid will be issued in the spring of 2016, and the ‘Notice to Proceed’ for the first of three boats will issued at the end of the year, the DOT said.
