NEW YORK ACTIVITIES

Boat Trip to Ellis Island

The members of the Academy and their guests visited the Ellis Island facility where so many were processed for entry into the United States. Those members and guests who have served in the U.S. Public Health Service had opportunity to appreciate one of the early assignments of the Service. The decisions made by these men could profoundly affect the lives of individuals, resulting in 2% of potential immigrants being returned to their countries of origin, frequently separating the members of families. The rest of us reflected upon the experiences of those who first came to North America, the hardships they endured, and the legacy that we have inherited.

	Ground Zero seen from the buses en route to the Ellis Island Ferry
	The Statue of Liberty from the Ellis island Ferry
	The Ellis Island Reception Building seen from the Ferry
	The Brooklyn Bridge
	Grand Central Station It is the busiest and grandest terminal in the world. On an average day 700,000 people, more than the entire population of North Dakota, pass in an out of Grand Central. There are 125,000 commuters and some 575,000 people who come every day just to eat, shop or site-see It is the deepest terminal at 110 feet. The basement is nine stories below the lowest floor that a commuter will ever see. Grand Central terminal has 33 miles of track and 44 platforms, which is more than any other in the world. 660 trains arrive or depart every day The cost to renovate this baby was more than $250 million and took 2 years. There are 95 retail businesses in the terminal. 5 tons of newspapers are recycled every day It encompasses 49 acres and you could spend years before you discovered all of its secrets. Its whispering Gallery, its Vanderbilt family emblems, its tennis courts, its hidden railway cars or its private ground floor apartment which is now been transformed into a retro cocktail lounge. In Grand Central, 19,000 bits and pieces are turned into the lost and found every year. 60% of it is eventually reunited with their owners. The most common misplaced item is the coat. There are cell phones, I-pods, umbrellas, books, diamond rings, bicycles, false teeth and eyes, hairpieces and even a prosthetic ear. Once, an urn of human ashes was deliberately left by a woman whose dead husband disguised his extramarital affairs by saying he kept falling asleep on the train. The information booth is one of the best-known icons and is the most common meeting place in the terminal. As many as a thousand people an hour come to the booth to ask for information.
	The Grand Hyatt Hotel approached through Grand Central Station. This proved to be a very useful relationship for speedy connection to to the theatres of Broadway, and for avoiding the rain
	Night life in New York was spectacular, with members encountering each other in restaurants and shows all over town. "Always look at the bright side of life" may become the Academy's theme song!