Duo-Gard Shelters Passengers Waiting for Fire Island Ferries

In October 2012, Superstorm Sandy demolished the ferry terminal that served passengers departing from the Incorporated village of Ocean Beach on New York's popular Fire Island. The village's residents, workers and throngs of visitors were left at the mercy of the weather as they waited for the ferries, which typically run several times a day and then every hour in the summer season.   

No more, thanks to a new passenger waiting shelter engineered and installed by Duo-Gard in April for the village.

"The weather here can get pretty nasty," says Bill Stenger, consultant/project manager for the village, "and we needed to come up with something to accommodate ferry passengers."

His research led him to Duo-Gard's extensive selection of shelters which, he says, had a nicer appearance than typical structures he'd seen. His collaboration with Duo-Gard resulted in a 14 ft. by 28 ft. shelter which will easily serve about 30 people.

"Duo-Gard worked with our specific needs and customized this to suit us," Stenger said

He adds that aesthetics were important, both in materials and style. The shelter's walls are quarter inch tempered glass. Clear anodized framing supports an unusual reverse barrel vault roof of aluminum in a standing seam style. Its coating in a soft Patina Green tint complements the seaside environment. The village added four benches for seating.

"I'm the one who sweats the details," says Stenger. "From inception through installation, this process was painless. It was very easy to deal with Duo-Gard."

However, the logistics of getting the prefabricated materials onto the island and into place could best be described as challenging. The long panels for the reverse barrel vault roof required special packaging and handling. They had to be unloaded by crane onto a freight ferry. And because no commercial motorized vehicles are allowed on the island, transporting tools for installation could have become a hurdle; however, Duo-Gard's installers were allowed to store the tools in the police station near the shelter site.

Parallel to the south shore of Long Island, Fire Island is 32 miles long and has several villages and resort areas. The Incorporated Village of Ocean Beach is one of the island's top destinations. The new passenger waiting shelter is making another contribution to the resurgence of the island. In about two years, the Village hopes to build a new ferry terminal and move the shelter to another location. In the meantime, Stenger says, "Duo-Gard's shelter has won public favor and people appreciate it."