Officials celebrated the Haverstraw ferry's new terminal building on Girling Drive Tuesday.

"It's another step," said Martin Ginsburg, with Ginsburg Development Companies, which is responsible for the new addition to the waterfront.

He says the $600,000 project looks to promote transportation to both sides of the river and took less than a year to finish. It's next to their development of waterfront apartments.

The new 748-square-foot building will be a haven for commuters when there's bad weather. It features electric outlets. too.

The ferry connects Haverstraw to the Ossining Metro-North train station and now runs weekdays before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m.

The boat is operated by NY Waterway, which says this year an average of 325 people took round-trip, trips per day. That includes a weekend pilot program which recently ended that saw more than 18 thousand total riders.

"In a broader perspective it's bringing wealth into this county," said Rockland County Executive Ed Day. "There was nothing here before. When you have nothing, you get nothing."

"We love Rockland county and we're looking to serve you better," said Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi. She says they are looking at ways to improve connections and service for Rocklanders, including bringing back the weekend ferry service.

The developer is hoping to add a waterfront restaurant to the property in the future.