Liberty Landing Marina

• 520 Slip Marina
• Service & Support Facilities for Members
• Two Public Restaurants

Site Description

The Liberty Landing Marina is a 520-slip marina located in Liberty State Park, Jersey City, New Jersey. A full service marina, the Liberty Landing is accessible to Manhattan, minutes from the Holland Tunnel.

Established in 1997, the marina location offers a spectacular view of Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island. The boat slips are in a naturally protected, deep-water harbor that is a safe haven in storms.

Although located in a historic state park, the marina has license to operate an exclusive, membership parking area for 600 cars. Other facilities include rest rooms, showers, laundry rooms, dock house, a large service center, fuel dock, and a dry storage that are not open to the public. Open to the public are a five star restaurant, The Liberty House, and the Lighthouse Bar and Grill for more casual dining.

The Situation

Because the marina is located within a State Park, certain facilities are open to the public. Maintaining security and exclusive use of marina facilities for members only proved to be sensitive issues, both on the State and marina membership sides. Protection of high value inventories, controlling access to the 520 slips, and maintenance of shower and restroom facilities had to be the prime objectives of a sound security system.

It was also necessary to comply with State requirements for certain facilities such as marina restaurants and a major portion of the parking lot to be open to the public. How to keep strangers from wandering through the restricted areas of the marina was a major security objective. It was also important for marina administrators to record marina traffic and facility use for accounting purposes.

The Keri Solution

Marina security is enhanced by a 24-hour manned service consisting State Park Rangers, Jersey City Police, and a harbor patrol manned by Liberty Landing Marina security. Physical assets are protected with a conventional security system the heart of which is a card access control system. The Keri Systems’ PXL-250 card access was selected as the best choice for this application.

Entrance to each marina dock, consisting of 14 to 18 slips, is channeled through a small dock house. A locked gate restricts access to the dock and boat slips. The gate is equipped with a Keri MS-3000 proximity access reader. A key tag issued to members, when passed within close proximity to the reader, will allow the member access to the boat slip. There are 17 docks with access control readers installed. The marina parking, laundry house, showers, and restrooms are also key tag required access.

The MS-3000 reader was chosen for its rugged construction, small size and its total resistance to a saltwater environment. The reader, made of a durable polycarbon material, is practically imperious to vandal damage and will withstand any weather conditions. There are no reader moving parts, no slots to clean or be clogged, and the reader does not require periodic calibration. Because the key tag and reader do not require contact, there is no wear because of usage. Maintenance is required for esthetic purposes only.

The key tag is also durable. Small in size it fits handily on any key chain. Encoded in the key tag is a unique security code that is impossible to decipher. When the key tag is passed within close proximity to the reader, the code is read and sent to the PXL-250 controller. The controller then makes a decision to allow or deny access to the tagholder. Both the key tag and the reader are warranted for life against damage due to normal usage.

The controller is mounted within the dock house and is connected to a communication network that connects each controller to the central computer. The communication wires are waterproof and can be as long as 10,000 feet. All decisions to unlock or lock the dock gate are made at the controller. The computer is used only to program and to collect activity data. The design advantage of this communication approach is that if the computer fails, the access system continues to operate as though nothing has happened. In addition, each controller is an independent computer. Failure of one controller has no affect on the operation of other controllers within the network—a tremendous service advantage.

Keri’s Doors software provides the programming features ideally suited for marina operations. Each marina member is assigned to an access group. An access group assigns the operation of a gate or group of gates to a specific time schedule. The member’s key tag is programmed to operate within a specific access group. The embers will then have access to only those areas and times defined within the access group. If a tag is lost it can be quickly turned off or deleted from the system in a matter of seconds with the click of the computer mouse.

Each access event, the opening and closing of a gate, the use of the parking lot, the use of the shower and restroom facility, is recorded and stored within the controller. The controller memory will store over 3,600 events. When the controller event memory reaches a preprogrammed level of capacity, the controller will automatically send the event data to the computer. The data are stored in the computer and can be presented in a custom report form for future reference. If a situation occurs that requires investigation, the use of each controlled area can be thoroughly examined by the system administrator.

Accounting of facility use is also recorded. Funded services such as slip rental payments and parking fees can be monitored and controlled. A disgruntled employee or a member failing to comply with marina regulations or failing to make rental payments can be quickly deleted from the system and a complete activity record is available for future reference.

Results

The marina administrators are very happy with the system. There are more than 2,500 members using the access system of 20 controlled gates and doors. Even though the original Keri installation contractor retired and left the marina administrators with service questions, Keri was instrumental in finding another qualified dealer to complete the project. Because Keri does not have facilities to directly install and service access control systems, it is important for Keri to maintain and support good local dealers. Keri maintains close contact with more than 2,000 domestic dealers/contractors.