News Release

Passenger Ferry Transportation Concession Prospectus Released

Date: May 20, 2019

Liberty Island, NY - The National Park Service (NPS) announced today the release of the passenger ferry transportation and related services prospectus at Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration. The prospectus is for a 10-year concession contract opportunity and is available on the NPS website at: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/concessions/prospectuses.htm.

The NPS offers this opportunity for passenger ferry services to the iconic Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in New York Harbor. One of the most popular national parks in the United States, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island together attracted over 4.5 million visitors in 2016. All visitors must arrive by ferry from Battery Park in New York City or Liberty State Park in New Jersey. Visitors enjoy self-guided tours, exhibits, ranger-led and audio tours, and other programs and activities on Liberty and Ellis islands. The park also hosts numerous school groups, special civic ceremonies, corporate and other events.

The concessioner will provide year-round passenger ferry service to Liberty Island and Ellis Island, including charter ferry service for special events. The concessioner will provide onboard food and beverage service on all ferries. As part of its ferry ticketing system, the concessioner will manage access to both the crown and the pedestal via a ticket system on behalf of the NPS, audio tours on behalf of the Statue of Liberty- Ellis Island Foundation, and hard hat tours on behalf of Save Ellis Island, Inc. The concessioner will also provide access to lockers on Liberty Island for passengers visiting the pedestal and crown.

To accommodate the high visitation demand for Ellis and Liberty islands, prospective offerors must have the capacity to transport thousands of passengers each hour regardless of the constraints of the operation.

The prospectus results from the solicitation process required by the NPS Concessions Management Improvement Act of 1998. The Service expects operations to commence under the new contract on October 1, 2020. The Director, pursuant to 36 CFR Part 51, has determined that no preferred offeror for this contract exists.

The NPS will host a site visit on Thursday, June 6, 2019. The site visit provides interested organizations an overview of the concession operation along with a tour of the facilities
assigned to the concessioner under the draft contract.  Please register for the
site visit before Wednesday, May 29, 2019, by sending an email to e-mail us.

Offers are due to the NPS on Tuesday, September 3, 2019.

For information on this prospectus at the park, contact:
Ben Hanslin
Chief of Concessions
Statue of Liberty National Monument & Ellis Island
Phone: [phone]
Email: e-mail us
 

- NPS –

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