In a recent letter to the Sun, Andrew Alper, president of the
New York City Economic Development Corporation, attempted to
explain the delays in the renovation of the Staten Island ferry
terminals. The Whitehall project, he said, began on an overly
aggressive 36-month schedule instead of a more realistic 48-month
timetable. He ended the missive with these ironic words: "I
am proud to say that not a single day of service was interrupted
by construction."
Not many of the 60,000 ferry passengers who pass through these
terminals daily would consider Mr. Alper's statement anything but
disingenuous. Ever since the renovations began, we have been
inconvenienced by lack of seating, lack of vendors, and
cancellations of ferry trips, as well as bus reroutings that
leave passengers farther and farther away from the terminal in
Whitehall.
As one of those 60,000, I will not complain, because I still
regard the ferry ride as one of the more pleasant ways to commute
- provided it's not in rush hour. What Mr. Alper may not be
considering in his excuses for the budget overruns and delays,
however, is that only recently have we noticed much work being
done at all.
Over the past three years, we have indeed seen plenty of men
walking around wearing hard hats and badges and carrying
clipboards, but rarely did we see actual work going on. I've
traveled through the terminal at different times of the day
during the week and have always witnessed the men milling around,
or taking coffee and smoking breaks out on the bus ramps. Some
men were working - I'd know because I could hear drilling and
banging - but nothing much seemed to be accomplished, except the
whittling away of seating areas and conveniences.
The transit buses - numbers 15, 6, and 1 - used to come right up
to the front of the terminal, but now they are distant, and
disembarking ferry riders must rush to catch them as they pull
away. Time and tide and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
wait for no ferry riders.
Recent reports in the Sun that the terminals are way behind
schedule and way over budget are no surprise, since a
construction project for government is involved. Does anyone
remember the Wollman Memorial Ice Rink renovation, which lasted
six years and went nowhere till Donald Trump took over and
completed the work in six months? All around the city, buildings
go up in record time. One can see a building frame go up and the
next week, the structure's nearly completed. If it's a publicly
financed enterprise, though, the work is soooooo slow. Why is
that?
Maybe the problem is simply the failure of management to demand
and maintain a good work ethic.
I've been watching the homes in my neighborhood being speedily
renovated by a crew of immigrant workers, who barely stop for
lunch. They work constantly, the sweat pouring off their
foreheads. Whether the immigrants are from Mexico, Africa, or the
Caribbean, they all realize that working diligently is the road
to achieving the American dream.
My Albanian neighbors came to this country more than 20 years ago
and, like many immigrants, pooled all their resources, cutting
expenses by sharing the living expenses with their extended
families. The women worked cleaning offices or homes. The men
took jobs as day laborers and saved enough to start their own
businesses. The last time I checked, they had bought farmland in
New Jersey, and their homes here are now worth millions.
We have growing populations from Haiti, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria
who work double shifts running minicabs to and from the ferry,
and they are the people buying new homes throughout Staten
Island. There's no secret to their success: It's hard work -
something that some native-born Americans feel is beneath them.
Maybe the idea of working hard just to pay taxes stifles a good
bit of our energy, but more than likely it's because we've been
spoiled.
Once upon a time, most service and government agencies would have
quality analysts, known as Q.I.s, who monitored employees'
performance to ensure that the work was being done efficiently.
Those positions have been phased out at many companies, in some
cases as a result of union objections. That's a pity, because
having someone look over your shoulder is not always such a bad
thing. Mr. Alper, the Economic Development Corporation president,
needs to visit the terminals in Whitehall and St. George to speed
things along or, better yet, he should call Donald Trump.