Superstorm Sandy wiped out most
commuter travel into New York City 10 years ago. News 12 New
Jersey’s Lauren Due spoke to a captain of tourist ferries who shifted
gears to help fellow New Jersey residents get to work.
Ten years ago, the Holland and Lincoln tunnels were damaged. PATH trains and New Jersey Transit were down.
Captain Matt Gill decided to take
his boats up the Hudson River past Poughkeepsie. When he came back, the boats
weren't used to visit Ellis Island or the Statue of Liberty anymore.
Gill's friendly welcome to a
tourist attraction became -- Welcome to NYC, have a great day at work.
“It was crazy, it was wild time,
but we got through it and it's a memory now,” says Gill. “It's hard to believe
it's 10 years ago. But here we are.”
Hours before Sandy hit, he led nine
boats 95 miles up the Hudson River to keep them safe, and on the ships were two
captains and four crew members each all riding out the storm on a boat for 42
hours
“The captain I was with lost his
house,” says Gill. “He had found out his house washed away. He had a house in
Breezy Point. And that was the duality of our concerns. Yeah, what's going on
at home. But if we don't protect our livelihood, we won't have a job either.”
They came back to a flooded and
destroyed harbor.
“The ocean came to us,” says Gill.
“This entire dock that you are looking at here was gone, ruined. There were
many boats in Jersey City in the Science Center parking lot. The Statue of
Liberty and Ellis Island were in bad shape.”
They worked from a makeshift
office; it also was on a boat. They later realized by doing this they helped
others keep their jobs as well.
“We took people from Jersey City
into Manhattan so they could carry on with their workday,” says Gill. “I think
we are a little bit equipped for that now. The pandemic taught us how to work
from home. That wasn't an option in 2012.”
Back then, Gill had two twin boys that he left at home that night.
The boys celebrated Halloween a few days later as Super Mario brothers. Connor and Colin are now
11 and think their dad is a superhero.