Blog

Feb­ru­ary on Gov­er­nors Island: Oper­a­tions Highlight

Feb 12, 2020 12:59 pm

Gov­er­nors Island’s 172 acres con­tain dozens of build­ings, miles of roads and paths, essen­tial util­i­ty lines, out­door attrac­tions, vis­i­tor ameni­ties, mar­itime infra­struc­ture and many oth­er fea­tures that require con­stant care and atten­tion. The Nation­al Park Ser­vice stew­ards 22 of these acres, includ­ing two his­toric forts, that com­prise Gov­er­nors Island Nation­al Mon­u­ment. The Island’s Oper­a­tions depart­ment takes care of every­thing else. 

The Oper­a­tions team works to keep Gov­er­nors Island in shape all year long. Vis­i­tors, Har­bor School stu­dents, Island work­ers — any­one and every­one head­ing to the Island rely on the Ops team to get them there. Ops is respon­si­ble for Gov­er­nors Island’s fer­ries, from deter­min­ing ser­vice and staffing sched­ules, coor­di­nat­ing deliv­er­ies and respond­ing to emerg­ing con­di­tions in the Har­bor, to main­tain­ing facil­i­ties and machin­ery on both sides of the cross­ing. Their super­vi­sion allows Gov­er­nors Island’s two fer­ries, the Samuel Coursen and the Gov­er­nors 1, to pro­vide reli­able ser­vice and keep the Island oper­at­ing nor­mal­ly through­out the year.

Get­ting every­one and every­thing to Gov­er­nors Island is just the tip of the Oper­a­tions ice­berg. All of the facil­i­ties, ameni­ties, roads, paths, util­i­ties, vehi­cles, equip­ment and land­scapes on the Island (besides in the Nation­al Mon­u­ment) fall under Ops’ purview, and this is not an exhaus­tive list. Every one of these assets, down to the rail­ing that cir­cles the Island’s ice cream cone-shaped shore­line, depends on Ops to keep them in good con­di­tion. This means that Ops’ day-to-day activ­i­ties vary wide­ly: any sin­gle day could see pot­holes filled, light posts repaired, tires changed, lawns mowed, waste col­lect­ed, build­ings main­tained — the list goes on, and there’s always plen­ty to do to keep the Island safe and enjoy­able for all users.

The vast major­i­ty of Oper­a­tions’ duties con­tin­ue year-round, though there are some sea­son­al tasks. The fer­ry land­ings need more man­age­ment when there’s high­er foot traf­fic in the sum­mer; out­door fur­ni­ture comes and goes with the sea­sons; roads need de-icing in the win­ter. Some year-round duties change slight­ly from month to month: there are more leaves to remove from storm gut­ters in fall, more path repairs to make after the spring thaw, more com­post to put down in the spring to jump­start the growth of the grass. For the most part, Oper­a­tions’ long list of respon­si­bil­i­ties stays con­stant year-in, year-out.

From the moment you first step into the fer­ry line until you lat­er dis­em­bark back in the City, the work of the Oper­a­tions team pos­i­tive­ly impacts your trip to Gov­er­nors Island. Whether it’s the 4^th of July or New Year’s Day, Ops keeps Gov­er­nors Island going.