In his State of the City speech, the mayor proposed a new network of ferry routes that the city says will be largest municipal ferry service in the country, serving close to 5 million riders annually. NY1's Bobby Cuza filed the following report.

It was perhaps the loudest applause the mayor got Tuesday.

"Today, we announce that we're launching a new citywide ferry service to open for business in 2017," he said in his State of the City speech.

Nowhere will cheers be louder than in the Rockaways, where a city-operated ferry that began after Hurricane Sandy was discontinued by the de Blasio administration in October over protests.

Donovan Richards represents the east end of the Rockaways.

"You can get to Florida by plane just as quick as you can get to Manhattan by train on some days in the Rockaways. Many days," Richards said.

It’s just one of several neighborhoods that will benefit from five new routes.

By 2017, a Rockaway route will make stops in the Rockaways and Sunset Park; the Astoria route will connect Astoria, northern Long Island City and Roosevelt Island to Manhattan; and a south Brooklyn route will include stops in Bay Ridge, Red Hook and Pier 6 in Brooklyn Heights.

By 2018, a Lower East Side route would add new stops at East 23rd and Grand streets, while a Soundview route would stop in the Bronx and at East 90th and East 62nd Streets in Manhattan.

Where previous attempts at ferry service have failed to generate high ridership, this time, one key element will be different.

"Our ferry system will be based on a new model. The rides on these ferries will be priced the same as a MetroCard fare," de Blasio said.

That's currently $2.50, going up to $2.75 next month, which is cheaper than the $4 fare on the current city-run East River ferry and requiring heavy public subsidies: $10- to $20 million a year, the city estimates, plus $55 million in capital investments, costs the city says are manageable.

"We have a lot of existing infrastructure, and actually, we're building out more ferry infrastructure in the city thanks to a federal grant we got through the Hurricane Sandy funds," said Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. 

City officials say ferry service could eventually also come to Stapleton on Staten Island and to Coney Island in Brookyln during a second phase of ferry expansion, though that will be contingent on additional funding.