NY Water Taxi!

Drive down Van Brunt Street in Red Hook for long enough and you either end up in the parking lot of Fairway food market or on the NY Water Taxi pier. The civil war era waterfront building that houses the Water Taxi's offices is situated perfectly, overlooking the entire New York Harbor, crowned by the statue of liberty and the lower Manhattan skyline. An inspiring place to visit and certainly to work.

Down on the piers, I found Jimmy, Kereem, Wilfredo and Ali working happily amidst five boats tied up in the slips, awaiting afternoon ferry runs. All four of these guys, even Ali who has at times been inconsistent in the internship/economics program, are working hard and seem to be appreciated by all. When the guys are not needed as deckhands, they are all scurrying (slight exaggeration) around the docks tying up lines and doing general maintenance and engine maintenance. Mr. Sanchez is the natural leader of this crew and the only Harbor School student who has been offered a full time engineering position with the company. In the words of Jimmy's supervisor Ted, he's a go-getter, always asking for work, and it shows. From talking to Jimmy recently, it seems he has assimilated the complete history of Water Taxi, the entire extent of its operations, and a solid vision for the future of the company. In other words, Tom Fox the second.

Kereem, Wildredo, and Ali are coming up strong in their own right. Both Ted and Rob have told me specifically that the guys work great together and everyone appreciates having them around the docks. These four along with several other Harbor School students will be working full time all summer as deckhands, ticket sellers, or in Jimmy's case, full time engineers. The Water Taxi - Harbor School job training partnership is sure to grow enormously with the new ferry service out to Governor's Island and the continued input of dedicated student interns. Thanks to Murray, Tom Fox, the Water Taxi staff, and all four of the first Harbor/Water Taxi interns for laying a foundation that will hopefully last for decades.