One in three visitors were repeaters, either from last year or from earlier in 2008. The average visit was three hours; last year, it was just over two hours. Approximately 20 percent came with their families, and children under 12 and teenagers represented about a quarter of all Island visitors.
One in three said they toured the Island on
their own. One in five came for concerts, guided tours or some other
special event. Biking exploded - 20,000 visitors pedaled this year,
compared to 3,000 last year. Some 5,000 took advantage of Free Bike
Fridays, more than 10,000 rented on weekends and the rest - 10,000! -
brought their own. For the first time there were also free kayaks on
Buttermilk Channel.
Open-ended comments ranged from pleasure at seeing that island had changed so dramatically to excitement at having discovered that it exists at all. Positive feedback
to this open ended question increased almost ten-fold from 2007.
There was a significant reduction - almost two-thirds - in the number of criticisms compared to last year. Ferry service topped the list, as it did last year, but it was mentioned significantly less often and mostly because of one particular Saturday when 7,000 people who came for the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance's "City of Water Festival," an Eric Bibb performance or the Turner Company picnic, all wanted to leave around the same time.
There were also frequent calls for more food venues with more variety and lower prices, benches and picnic tables, a more varied, longer bike path, and more buildings open for public viewing. GIPEC's Request for Proposals for a waterfront performance space combined with restaurant facilities should help answer the food concerns next summer. There was a significant drop in requests for more benches, trash cans and bathrooms. GIPEC and the National Park Service had improved on all of these points since last year.
The need for signs in languages other than English, most notably Spanish, drew comments from a concerned minority. Some visitors also asked for tours in Spanish. Others wanted better identification of buildings and more signs to help people find their way around. Less frequent comments urged that pets and the sale of alcohol be permitted - and more nighttime events.
Almost half the visitors told us they heard about the Island by word of mouth. One in four learned about it through an arts group, such as FIGMENT or Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra. Websites and newspapers were the next most cited, which indicates how important it is that they be kept up to date. But whatever brought people out, the large number of repeat visitors - some even more than once - certified that the Island is emerging as a V.I.P. - Very Important Place - on the New York scene.
Open-ended comments ranged from pleasure at seeing that island had changed so dramatically to excitement at having discovered that it exists at all. Positive feedback
to this open ended question increased almost ten-fold from 2007.
There was a significant reduction - almost two-thirds - in the number of criticisms compared to last year. Ferry service topped the list, as it did last year, but it was mentioned significantly less often and mostly because of one particular Saturday when 7,000 people who came for the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance's "City of Water Festival," an Eric Bibb performance or the Turner Company picnic, all wanted to leave around the same time.
There were also frequent calls for more food venues with more variety and lower prices, benches and picnic tables, a more varied, longer bike path, and more buildings open for public viewing. GIPEC's Request for Proposals for a waterfront performance space combined with restaurant facilities should help answer the food concerns next summer. There was a significant drop in requests for more benches, trash cans and bathrooms. GIPEC and the National Park Service had improved on all of these points since last year.
The need for signs in languages other than English, most notably Spanish, drew comments from a concerned minority. Some visitors also asked for tours in Spanish. Others wanted better identification of buildings and more signs to help people find their way around. Less frequent comments urged that pets and the sale of alcohol be permitted - and more nighttime events.
Almost half the visitors told us they heard about the Island by word of mouth. One in four learned about it through an arts group, such as FIGMENT or Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra. Websites and newspapers were the next most cited, which indicates how important it is that they be kept up to date. But whatever brought people out, the large number of repeat visitors - some even more than once - certified that the Island is emerging as a V.I.P. - Very Important Place - on the New York scene.