A lot of eyebrows were raised when it was revealed Pete Davidson, 28, and his Saturday Night Live co-star Colin Jost, 39, purchased a Staten Island Ferry recently. In case you missed it, the comedians, along with comedy club owner Paul Italia, won the auction for a decommissioned, 277-foot boat that was used to shuttle commuters between Manhattan and Staten Island since 1965 before it was taken out of service last August. As fans were clamoring to figure out exactly why the trio coughed up $280,100 for the vessel, a source EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife that the new owners have some big plans for it.
“Pete is all about his hometown and has used the Staten Island Ferry himself so many times that it is an extremely important part of his life. So, when he found out that one of the Ferry‘s was available for purchase, he had to have it,” the insider explained. “He talked to Colin and some friends and thought how cool it would be if they could refurbish the boat and turn it into one of the best restaurants and comedy clubs that there could ever be in New York or anywhere to be honest.”
After the sale went through, Pete and Colin knew there was “lots of work to do” — but they still have “a lot of ideas.” “This will probably be a thing a few years down the line, but they got the most important thing taken care of by getting the Ferry. Now all the time in the world is in their hands to make this an amazing dream of his to actually come true.”
While the planning stages get underway, the SNL cohorts decided to poke fun at themselves on the latest episode of the famed sketch comedy series. During Weekend Update, Alex Moffat’s popular character “Guy Who Just Bought a Boat” introduced Pete to news desk as “Guy Who Just Bought A Ferry.”
“We’re boat people now, Colin,” quipped Pete. “I mean, you always were. You look like you own the yacht they rent out for rap videos.” Colin responded sarcastically, “It’s very exciting. We thought the whole thing through.”