Helayne Seidman
Buoy, oh buoy.
A Staten Island Ferry skipper is demanding $1 million in damages from the city after a Gilligan-like mishap in the pilot house.
Assistant Capt. Joseph Grym, 44, claims he wrenched his shoulder and back while trying to close a “jammed” pilot house window.
No word if he was crossing New York Harbor on a three-hour tour.
The million-dollar injury allegedly occurred June 6, 2022 aboard the Spirit of America, a $40 million vessel the city launched in 2006.
While it might lack smoothly-sliding windows, it is reportedly equipped with the latest in Marine technology, including radar, collision avoidance, communications and GPS navigation systems.
The seaman seeking C-notes, who lives in swanky Grymes Hill on Staten Island, claims in the Brooklyn Federal Court filing that the injury left him “internally and externally disabled.”
Grym, who made $125,437 in 2022, wants the hefty sum to soothe his “pain and suffering.”
He is also seeking $50,000 for medical expenses and lost wages.
The lawsuit was making waves in the city’s smallest borough.
“Talk about Grym’s Staten Island Ferry tales,” snarked retired photojournalist Hilton Flores, 67, of Grymes Hill. “If I’m a lawyer I’d be embarrassed. This gives ambulance chasers a bad name.”
The president of the American Tort Reform Association, or ATRA, a nonprofit that seeks “fairness” in the civil lawsuit system, was also blown out of the water.
“Why a million dollars? And how much is the lawyer going to be paid?” wondered ATRA’s Tiger Joyce.
Grym has been with the city Department of Transportation, which runs the ferry system, since February 2005.
“The case is under review. We will respond in the litigation,” city Law Department spokesman Nicholas Paolucci told The Post.
“I have no comment at this time. Thank you for reaching out. God Bless you,” Grym texted to The Post when reached for comment.
Grym’s attorney, Bernard Friedman also issued a “no comment.”
The suit was filed under the Jones Act — a federal law that allows maritime workers who are injured on the job to sue their employer for damages.