Hitching a Ride on the Goldman Sachs Ferry

It’s 5 p.m., and Alvin Mai, a Goldman Sachs programmer, is traveling in style. He’s reclining in a green-and-blue upholstered seat on the York, a new 72-foot, Goldman-funded ferry bobbing along the Hudson River toward Manhattan. “It’s really convenient and really quick, and it sticks to a tight schedule,” says Mai, who opted for the five-minute boat ride home from Jersey City instead of taking the Path train.

The York and its sister boat, the Jersey, began operating in February after a two-year delay, serving the public as well as Goldman Sachs employees. They’re part of a $5 million Goldman investment meant to ease transportation between its two New York-area buildings: the main tower in Battery Park City, which houses sales, trading, and banking, and the smaller office across the Hudson in Jersey City, N.J., predominately the operations and technology side of the bank. “For the most part, your group is in your building,” says Mai. “But you can ferry across the river for cross-divisional stuff or to attend a seminar that’s only held in one place.”