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CHANCES ARE, most drivers stuck in the Lincoln Tunnel don't think about it. And few straphangers on the IRT would even consider it. But among the local officials who plan how New Yorkers commute to work, the talk these days often turns to romance.
Romance as in breathtaking vistas. Romance as in cooling breezes and lapping waves. Romance as in ferries.
At least six proposals are in the works to launch ferries from Brooklyn or New Jersey to Manhattan. Those working on the plans discuss passenger loads and economic viability. But then they start to look misty-eyed over what could be the most important factor of all, the emotional factor.
"I don't think anyone's ever told me they thought the tunnels were romantic," said Cathy Arnone, a manager in the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. "But they think the ferries are. You're talking about a view of the skyline or the New Jersey shoreline. The walls of the tunnel just don't compare."
Despite their aesthetic appeal, the dozen or so ferry lines that once linked Manhattan...