Pete Davidson says Staten Island Ferry purchase has him ‘in the hole’ and turning ship into entertainment venue ‘five years away’
Pete Davidson provided a rare update on his plans to transform the old Staten Island Ferry he bought with fellow funnyman Colin Jost into a floating nightspot — but eager fans will have to wait quite a while to come aboard.
Davidson, 29, admitted that they are “in the hole” with their $280,000 purchase but said that was all the more reason for them to push forward with their nostalgic grand scheme.
The “Bupkis” star said he has seen detailed computer mock-ups of plans for the ferry’s interior during an appearance on Seth Meyers’ “Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers” podcast.
“We just got all the plans built, and we had them do one of those computer-generated, show-you-what-it-could-be type things, and now we’re out to a few people,” he told Meyers. “And it seems like it’s all going well, but it’s definitely like five years away.”
Davidson and Jost, who both were born and raised on Staten Island, purchased the decommissioned ferry for $280,000 last year with plans to turn it into a comedy and entertainment venue.
“There’ll be a restaurant, there’ll be a concert venue, there’ll be a movie theater… and then there’s hotels in it, so we’ll have a couple of those,” Davidson said.
The inside will be completely gutted to take out the former passenger bench-style seating that New Yorkers once sat on during their seaside commute but Davidson said the outside will remain largely to stay true to the iconic orange vessel.
“It’s all going to stay the same — the same outside,” he said. “We’re gonna keep what we can and just repurpose, make sure it’s nice, but it’ll be the Staten Island Ferry.”
Like many New Yorkers, the former SNL castmates are hoping to do a “snowbird”-style arrangement for their ferry boat.
They want to dock their ferry-turned-venue in New York from April through September or October and then bring it down to Miami for the winter, Davidson said on the podcast.
The “King of Staten Island” actor’s detailed updates about the plans for the ship are a dramatic shift from his remarks on the ferry at the beginning of this month.
“I have no idea what’s going on with that thing,” he said when asked about the converted ferry at the red carpet premiere of “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” on June 5. “Me and Colin were very stoned a year ago and bought a ferry. And we’re figuring it out.”
Davidson added that he wasn’t even sure if the boat had sank or was still floating.
Meyers also noticed the change.
“Wow, you’ve really thought this through,” the late-night host told Davidson
“We have to, ’cause we’re in the hole,” Davidson replied. “Colin called me, and he’s like, ‘Hey, can you hop on this call about the ferry?’ I was like, ‘We’re still doing that thing?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, this is pretty serious.’ And it is! I had no idea, I just saw a link and sent a deposit, and now I’m stuck with a f–kin’ boat.”
Earlier this month, Jost, 40, set the record straight and said he was “stone-cold sober” when they decided to buy the ferry boat.
“We’re excited to prove the non-believers wrong,” the “Weekend Update” co-host said in an Instagram post. “You’re going to be BEGGING to get on this ferry in two years. Mark my words.”
Looks like the beggers will have to wait an additional three years to hop on the ship, according to Davidson’s latest update.
The ferry news comes at around the same time Page Six exclusively reported that Davidson has checked into a Pennsylvania rehab after struggling with borderline personality disorder and PTSD.
