Built by the
Levingston Shipbuilding Company between 1963 and 1965 for the Department of Marine and Aviation, the
John F. Kennedy was delivered May 14, 1965.
John F. Kennedy was named for the
35th President of the United States. She entered service in 1965 alongside her two sister ships, the
MV American Legion and the
MV The Gov. Herbert H. Lehman. While
American Legion was retired in 2006 as the newer
Molinari-class ferries entered service, and
The Gov. Herbert H. Lehman was decommissioned the following year, and riders preferred her abundant open-air deck space.
Retirement John F. Kennedy was retired from service in August 2021, to be replaced by the recently completed MV
Michael H. Ollis, the lead ship of a new trio of ferries, collectively known as the
Ollis-class. The design of this new class is heavily influenced by
John F. Kennedy, featuring her distinctive outdoor promenades and extended foredecks. The auction concluded on January 19, 2022, with the ferry sold "as is" and "where is" to Paul Italia, Ron Castellano, and
Saturday Night Live comedians
Colin Jost and
Pete Davidson for a final selling price of $280,100. The new owners planned on converting the ferry into an entertainment venue at the cost of $34 million . since her final location remained undecided. Castellano said in early 2024 that he was continuing to revise the plans for
Kennedy renovation. The first event held on the vessel, in September 2024, was a fashion show for
Tommy Hilfiger's spring 2025 collection; this was the first time she had been towed away from the shipyard since 2022. Two years after Jost and Davidson's acquisition, the renovation of
John F. Kennedy had still not started, and both men had expressed regret over acquiring the vessel; had tried to get her husband to sell
Kennedy. The company that had towed
Kennedy to the shipyard had sued Jost and Davidson for non-payment of towing fees. By 2026, marine experts suggested that the vessel could be sunk if no other options were viable, but Jost denied that
Kennedy had been a waste of his and Davidson's money. ==See also==