Colin Jost says Staten Island ferry was the ‘dumbest’ purchase he’s ever made

Colin Jost opened up on whether or not he has any regrets about purchasing a ferry with Pete Davidson in 2022.

Two years ago, the New York Times revealed that theSaturday Night Live stars purchased a decommissioned ferry for $280,000, to “restore a piece of New York.” While at the Tommy Hilfiger show during New York Fashion Week, Jost admitted to People that for a typically “conservative” spender, the purchase was an impulsive one.

“It is absolutely the dumbest and least thought-through purchase I’ve ever made in my life,” he told the outlet. “The way I justified it is for the amount of money we were putting into buying it, on just a basic square-footage level, is if you found the right place for it to be, you were essentially buying a building on its side that’s 65,000 square feet.”

He added, “So around New York, that is a very good price per square foot.”

Although Davidson and Jost have done some renovations to the ferry, it still looks like a Staten Island Ferry, mainly because the comedians and their co-investor, comedy club owner Paul Italia, have been busier with not only their full-time jobs but other projects as well. Eventually, they hope to fully transform the ferry into the entertainment venue they envisioned from the get-go.

There’s also the added possibility that the ferry will ultimately be a functional boat, with a staff to run it and all, but Jost said their team hasn’t gotten there yet. In an ideal world, Jost noted that he’d be able to take the ferry out to sea, but he can’t do it alone.

“I’m sure our insurance company would love it,” he joked. “Maybe they would love it because it would get them out of the contract. But it requires a lot of people to move it.”

For now, their team believes it makes more sense for the ferry to be docked and used as a venue like it was for the Tommy Hilfiger fashion show. Since the ferry’s engines are currently inoperable, the ferry has to be docked or towed. However, Jost noted that the ferry could be operable “within weeks” if they wanted it to be.

But with everything going on, they’re perfectly fine with it being a somewhat stationary venue for now.

Back in March, their architect Ron Castellano told Curbed the plan was to turn the ferry into a Miami venue boasting hotel rooms, restaurants, and bars. Jost, however, admitted that he’d prefer it if the ferry stayed in New York City.

“Being on the water in New York is very special,” the comedian said. “I would love it obviously to be here. I think it’s special if it stays in New York in some way and I think it will be re-imagined, but the spirit of it will be the same.”