NEW YORK (AP) - A new Staten Island Ferry boat will be named for a New York City solider killed in Afghanistan.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday that the new 4,500-passenger boat, set to begin service in 2019, will be named the “Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis.”
Ollis was killed in 2013 when he stepped in front of a wounded Polish soldier to protect him from a combatant wearing a suicide vest.
The 24-year-old Staten Island resident also was honored posthumously with the Bronze Star, Silver Star, Purple Heart and other medals.
The $300 million ship will be the first of three new ferries that will begin to serve passengers between Staten Island and lower Manhattan.
The ferry system carries about 22 million riders a year. Passengers ride for free.
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