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Colin Jost and Pete Davidson’s Staten Island Ferry dreams are so far underwater they apparently can’t even pay their lawyers.
The team from “Saturday Night Live,” in partnership with comedy club owner Paul Italia, are facing a debt of $13,500 to a law firm in the downtown area. After years of delay, the law firm has initiated a lawsuit to recover the owed sum, according to court documents.
Upon winning the bid for the retired John F. Kennedy vessel at an auction in March of 2022 for $280,000, the trio engaged the services of Nicoletti, Hornig Namazi Eckert & Sheehan to oversee dockage and towing contracts.
They renamed the vessel the Titanic 2, and plan to convert it into a $34 million entertainment venue — but have been treading water ever since.
Nicoletti attorney Val Wamser stated, “There has been no explanation provided by Titanic 2/Mr. Italia for the lack of payment. Despite our numerous attempts to secure payment for the legal assistance we provided, we have not received any response.”
The firm hasn’t done any work for the trio since April 2022, Wamser said. The original bill was more than $27,000 but only partial payments have been made, according to the Manhattan Supreme Court legal papers.
Italia did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Staten Island-bred Jost and Davidson “were unaware of this as they don’t handle the day to day business operations of the ferry,” a source told The Post.
The fate of the project has predictably turned into the butt of numerous jokes, as Jost recently admitted buying the seaside sensation was “absolutely the dumbest and least thought-through purchase I’ve ever made in my life.”
In January Jost appeared on the “Today Show” with actress wife Scarlett Johansson in a sketch debating whether they should sell the ferry for scrap, and last month, he made a rare appearance in an SNL sketch begging someone to take the maritime mess off his hands.