Ferries are vital partners in the Town’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Shelter Island Chief of Police James Read said at Friday.
Representatives from the two ferry services that connect Shelter Island to Long Island joined Read, Town Supervisor Gerry Siller and members of the Town Board during an emergency update Friday that was broadcast from Town Hall.
[See our coverage of the rest of that meeting in this Gazette post.]
Speaking via Zoom were Nicholas Morehead, director of operations for the South Ferry Company, and Bridg Hunt, general manger of the North Ferry Co., Inc.
“People think of the ferry as a chokepoint for Shelter Island,” Hunt said. “In the end, the transit that we’re providing is for a broad audience.”
“Not only nurses and doctors going to their rounds, not only the obvious requirement for food and groceries and other supplies, but people that are seeking health care off-Island and people that have necessary travel off-Island for their own provisioning. This de-stresses the local infrastructure and we’re addressing it by trying to have the maximum capacity with the least interaction with the general public.”
Read, who serves as the town’s emergency coordinator, said the ferry operators have been participating in weekly meetings where “we try collectively work on best practices.”
“Our goal, in general, is to keep the community safe and to keep the ferry workers that are down there operating every day safe,” Read said.
“Both ferries have been excellent partners with us in this event,” Read said, noting a long history of collaboration during past emergencies like hurricanes, coastal storms and other events. “They’re a vital link to our community and they provide excellent service.”
South Ferry
“By keeping our crew as safe as possible that helps to keep the customers and the community as safe as possible,” Morehead said. The goal of all the initiatives is “to keep interaction to a minimum.”
To reduce risk of exposure and limit the spread of the novel coronavirus the ferry company:
- installed a new dockside sink to encourage hand washing
- reduced shift hours to limit exposure
- reduced the number of crew on the premises on a given day
- began “pro-active quarantine”, keeping three crew members per week in reserve
- imposed strict controls on crew schedule switching
- employs best practices for sanitizing procedures
- wipes down high-touch points on the vessels before, during and after shifts
- provides gloves to crew; with masks used as needed
Passengers can help reduce interaction by purchasing tickets online, he said. Resident discount tickets can be purchased by calling the ferry office, 631-749-1200, weekdays 9AM to 2PM. Pay by credit card, and then call again upon arrival to have the ticket handed out the office door. Residents can also order discount tickets by mail.
Medical health workers who use South Ferry should contact the ferry to find out more about special procedures to minimize contact.
For tickets and further information, visit southferry.com. You can also follow South Ferry on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/southferryinc.
North Ferry
At North Ferry, Hunt said that to limit the risk of exposure for crews on each boat, the company is running more boats but with fewer cars boarding each one.
‘What that does is it cuts down the number of interactions per trip for anybody using our service,” Hunt said. “A deckhand isn’t pursing a full boat; they’re pursing a sparsely populated boat. After that, they go upstairs and sanitize their hands.”
North Ferry is also segregating crews to minimize their exposure, and has set up strict sanitizing protocols, he said.
“We are asking everybody to please use your tickets for your fare, or if you don’t have them, use exact change,” Hunt said. “That minimizes the multiple contacts of making change.”
The company is also sanitizing any currency that comes into the office before it goes back out onto the boat, Hunt said. “But we’d prefer not to make change at all.”
Office hours, somewhat reduced, are Monday to Friday, 10AM to 4PM, and Saturday, 9AM to noon.
The Supervisor said the Town had received calls from people concerned about maintaining appropriate social distancing while inside the narrow passenger cabins.
“We can’t lock the passenger cabins,” Hunt said. “That’s were the life preservers are.”
“We do wipe down the cabins periodically, but clearly it’s a small space and while we have it posted, it is difficult to enforce the social distancing.”
He recommended that foot travelers dress for the weather, bring an umbrella if it’s raining, and “stay out on deck. It’s beautiful.”
To learn more about North Ferry, visit the company’s website, northferry.com.
Travelers who are or may be COVID-19 positive
Chief Read said both ferry companies had worked with the Town to create a protocol for handling passengers who are sick with COVID-19 or believe they may have been exposed to the virus.
Anyone who fits this profile and must travel via ferry should first call the police department’s non-emergency number, 631-749-0600. They will be directed to drive to the police station where a pass for the appropriate ferry service will be attached to their vehicle. That way they won’t have to interact directly with ferry personnel. There is no charge for this service, Read said.
You can watch the entire meeting on Channel 22, the local public access station, or at Town Hall Streams.
