Governors Island returns to NY for development

[dbhstockton]

Oh no. *And how are we going to decide what to build there? *The same way we do for the WTC?

[Agglomeration]

The present structures for the island will probably stay the way they are for the present.

[Kris]

February 23, 2003
Off Lower Manhattan, Island Hopes for Invasion ... by Tourists
By TERRY PRISTIN

When Governors Island was returned to New York State last month after two centuries under federal control, the most immediate beneficiary was not the state or the city. It was a federal agency that had waited seven years for the transfer: the National Park Service.

Most of the 172-acre island, a former military base that has been off limits to the public, is now in the custody of a new city-state agency with the cumbersome name Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation, which will have to figure out just exactly what to do with its new prize.

The park service, though, has a clearer role. The changeover means that its officials will finally have a chance to introduce the public to the slice of history embodied by the 22 acres that have been designated a national monument. The monument encompasses seven buildings, including two forts from the early 19th century, Fort Jay and Castle Williams, which were once vital to the city's security.

Park service officials say they have a compelling story to tell that has become even more relevant in light of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. On a recent tour of the monument, Linda Neal, the project director, stood on a snow-covered road below the round red sandstone fort known as Castle Williams and gazed at the Lower Manhattan skyline.

"Sept. 11 raised a lot of people's awareness of the importance of the harbor and its defenses," she said. "The fortifications are obviously passé in terms of the technology, but the story is the same. We still need protection in New York City."

The strategic value of Governors Island — known originally as Nutten Island — apparently went unrecognized by the Dutch settlers who acquired it in 1637. But the island's potential was not lost on American colonists. When the Revolution broke out, they fortified the island and used it to prevent the British from landing at the southern tip of Manhattan.

In 1800, the island was transferred to the federal government from New York, and work began on the two permanent forts, including the star-shaped Fort Jay at the island's northern end. During the War of 1812, these forts helped deter a British attack on New York. During the Civil War, Castle Williams became a prison that housed as many as 1,000 Confederate soldiers. Prisoners awaiting execution were sent to a dungeon at Fort Jay.

Despite Governors Island's proximity to New York, few residents have ever visited it, and most will have to wait a little longer because of the absence of public amenities and adequate transportation. The island is accessible only by ferry. Eventually, officials say, visitors to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island will be able to stop at Governors Island as well.

But Ms. Neal said that by Memorial Day, the National Park Service hopes to be able to conduct some limited guided tours.

The park service, which manages nearly 27,000 acres in and around New York Harbor, has three years to work out a plan for rehabilitating, using and promoting its new national monument, but Ms. Neal said the work might be completed sooner.

The new monument was created by former President Bill Clinton just as he was leaving office in 2001. But Congress had determined that under the 1997 Balanced Budget Act, Governors Island had to be sold at fair market value. It was unclear if the monuments were supposed to be included in the sale, Ms. Neal said. In the end, though, New York got the island for a dollar, and President Bush reissued the monument proclamation on Feb. 7.

The acquisition will pose a challenge to the city-state agency, which needs to make the island self-sustaining. The agreement with the federal government bars large-scale commercial development and housing. City University is working on a plan to develop research and teacher-training centers with other universities, but no details have been offered. All that is certain so far is that 40 acres will be set aside as open space.

The park service is in a more enviable position. The current federal budget includes $1.1 million in operating expenses for the monument, and the park service has other financing sources to draw upon. Still, the agency is inviting revenue-generating ideas to help pay for renovations and upkeep.

Among the ideas floating around, Ms. Neal said, are a open-air theater within the walls of Castle Williams and an education center at Fort Jay.

Albert K. Butzel, the president of the Governors Island Alliance, a coalition of environmental, planning and business groups, said he had no problem with the park service's intention to make money from the forts.

"They ought to be able to use whatever's there," he said.


Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

[Edward]

Castle Williams on Governors Island was used to hold Confederate enlisted men.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/guide/governors_island/governors_island_fort_williams_brooklyn_9march03.j pg

From CorrectionHistory.org:
http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_pows/html/cwpows4.html

GOVERNORS ISLAND

"Our men are now suffering very greatly from disease," wrote prisoner Andrew Norman, 7th Regiment, North Carolina Volunteers on September 30, 1861, while being held at Castle Williams on Governors Island. . . .

Dr. William J. Sloan, medical director of the Federal army, reported that the prisoners "are crowded into an ill-ventilated building which has always been an unhealthy one when occupied by large bodies of men.... There are now upwards of eighty cases of measles amongst them, a number of cases of typhoid fever, pneumonia, intermittent fever, etc. . . . Every building upon the island being crowded with troops, with a large number in tents, I know not how the condition of these prisoners can be improved except by a change of location.... If 100 are removed to Bedloe's Island as contemplated and including a large portion of the sick, there will be better facilities for improving the condition of those remaining [at Castle Williams]." Authorities took Doctor Sloan's advice and began transferring prisoners to Bedloe's Island in mid-October. Here they were confined at Fort Wood, a star-shaped rampart built in 1811 on the east side of the twelve-acre, eggshaped isle.

But conditions for the prisoners confined in all of New York's harbor facilities continued to worsen as illness and deaths increased. Finally, on October 30, all prisoners confined at Fort Lafayette, Governors Island, and Fort Wood were evacuated and transferred by steamer to newly-converted Fort Warren in Boston Harbor. Within a few months, though, as additional captives continued to be brought into the city, authorities ignored the previous recommendations, and again began filling the harbor facilities beyond capacity.

Fort Wood and Governors Island, consisting of Castle Williams and Fort Columbus, were situated in the Upper Bay area. Governors Island, 170 acres and 500 yards off the southern tip of Manhattan where the East and Hudson Rivers converge into the bay, was originally called Nutten, or Nut Island because of the massive grove of nut trees growing there. Wouter van Twiller, second governor of then New Netherland, purchased the island in 1637, and in 1698, the New York Assembly set the land aside for the "benefit and accommodation of His Majesty's governors," hence its present name. Castle Williams on the southern side of the island and Fort Columbus on the northern end of the isle were built originally as a defense against the British.

Fort Columbus dominated the island from a knoll. It was a red-brick, star-shaped structure built in 1794 with the name Fort Jay, in honor of John Jay, diplomat and the first Chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. . . . During the Civil War, a quadrangle of officers' dwellings within the fort served to confine captured Confederate officers. Although the combined capacity of Fort Columbus and Castle Williams was estimated at five hundred, more than that number were incarcerated there most of the time . . .

Castle Williams was a circular fort, and because of its shape, was often referred to as "the cheese box." It was named in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Williams, who designed the structure. The fort was two hundred feet in diameter with walls of red sandstone forty feet high and eight feet thick. Construction had begun in 1807 but wasn't completed until 1811.

Castle Williams was used to hold Confederate enlisted men. These men were confined to their quarters at all times, while the officers at Fort Columbus were given the privilege of roaming about the west and south sides of the island. At times, the prisoner population of Castle Williams included deserters from the U.S. army, but generally it served as a POW facility.

[ShowBiz]

Oh Wow! *A Fort Jay message board! *I was stationed at Fort Jay in the early 60s. *I was so sad to find out that I can't take the ferry there anymore. *I return to NYC at least once a year and hope each time that Ft Jay can again be accessed. *Anyone who was stationed there from 1961-63 on this board? *If so, let's get some memories going.

Sincerely,

ShowBiz

[ShowBiz]

Some geography about Gov Island. *Ft Jay itself is surrounded by a moat and located in a quadrangle. *There's a golf course, a huge parade ground where planes can land, and lovely old red brick buldings. The sidewalks in the main enlisted barracks area are paved with red cobblestones. *At one time, Gov Island was the home of an "army air corps" unit. *That explains the parade ground, which doubles as an air strip.

Lovely island. *Greatest place in the world to be stationed as a draftee back in the early 60's in the Greatest City in the World.

:)

[Kris]

July 25, 2003

An Island That Took 203 Years to Welcome Tourists

By ANDREA ELLIOTT

It was always just out of reach.

Five minutes by ferry from the bustling concrete depths of Wall Street sits what could be a quaint New England town: stately, collegiate buildings framed by tree-lined walkways where the wind rustles through aging oak trees.

For 203 years, the oasis known as Governors Island was closed to the public, but that changed yesterday when more than 80 people took the first formal, public tour of what has become the city's newest national park.

"This is the unknown New York," said Barry Day, 69, a British playwright and author who lives in Manhattan for part of the year and took the tour. "You're so close to downtown this could be a haven."

The 172-acre island, which New York State sold to the federal government for $1 in 1800, was used by the United States Army until 1966, and then by the United States Coast Guard until 1997. The island was officially handed back to New York last January and is maintained by a public corporation governed by the city, the state and the National Park Service.

The public can now take a free walking tour of the island three days a week until Sept. 27, when the touring season for the island ends. Public tours will resume in the spring.

The sightseers yesterday, which included elementary school students, civic group leaders and park advocates, walked 1.5 miles around the northern area of the island, which features two 19th-century forts and a view of New York Harbor and Manhattan's jagged skyline.

The island has played host to several events of historical note. In the War of 1812, the forts on the island deterred a British attack on New York. In 1909, Wilbur Wright made his first over-water flight from the island. And in 1988, it was the site of the summit between President Ronald Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev.

The tour includes the 22-acre area now known as the Governors Island National Monument, which has as its central attraction the earthen-walled, star-shaped Fort Jay, one of the best-preserved forts in the nation.

"If the English had taken Governors Island, the course of the war could have dramatically changed," said Ken Bausch, the park ranger who guided the tour, as he stood in the middle of the Fort Jay's open courtyard.

The group gasped with surprise at the long, quiet stretches of shaded walkways, Victorian-era houses and tall, collegiate buildings where some 4,000 people lived when the Coast Guard used the island, Mr. Bausch said.

"Everything is in a lot better shape than I expected," said Susannah Sard, the executive director of the Women's City Club of New York. "It's surprisingly like a college campus. It has the ivory tower feeling."

Some of the younger members of the tour said they wanted more by way of adventure.

"It's interesting learning about historical facts," said Phuoc Huynh, 13, who lives in Brooklyn. He said he thought the experience would be more one of "chilling in the park, looking for artifacts."

One purpose of the tour is to introduce the public to the island in the hope that people will help determine how the space is used, said Robert Pirani, director of the Governors Island Alliance, a coalition of environmental, planning and business groups.

"We're hoping the public will take an active role in determining the future of this island," said Mr. Pirani said. "We want to make sure the people have a voice as it's being reinvented."

More information on the tours is available at governorsislandnationalmonument.org.


Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

[AJphx]

wow, the forts and historic area look very nice. * From that one pic, it looks like Castle Williams's interior needs to be restored, though. (what is that, glass on the inside?)

[Kris]

A Dollar and a Dream

Jim Lima plans to make Governors Island New York's next great public place.

By Karen E. Steen

The Metropolis Observed

November 2003

The story was legend, bordering on myth: in a helicopter over the New York harbor, Senator Patrick Moynihan and President Bill Clinton shook hands on a deal that would transfer Governors Island--a decommissioned military base that predates the War of 1812--to the city and state of New York for a dollar. Years passed, both men left office, and New Yorkers waited, their hopes waning that an almost magically empty 172-acre island just a half mile from downtown Manhattan could someday become a public place.

Finally in January 2003 the federal General Services Administration made good. Twenty-two acres of the island were handed over to the National Park Service for a historic monument, with the remaining 150 acres going to the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC), a state and city partnership. Indeed negotiated for a dollar, the transfer to GIPEC stipulates that the land be developed primarily for civic, educational, and cultural uses, including 40 acres of parkland and a possible City University of New York campus. Complicating the program is one caveat: the island must generate enough income to pay for its substantial upkeep.

Spearheading this thrilling if overwhelming challenge is newly appointed GIPEC president James Lima. A veteran of the New York City Economic Development Commission and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, he negotiated acquisition of the island and has led large-scale economic revitalization projects in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. Metropolis senior editor Karen E. Steen spoke with him in early September, just as he was preparing to move into his new post.

Let's start with the basic mandate for the island. What are the key elements stipulated by the transfer?

Deed restrictions ensure that Governors Island be a public place for the foreseeable future, that it be a major new public park, that it have educational uses, and that it host cultural arts--opportunities that bring the broadest spectrum of visitors, residents, and workers from the local area and region (and really everywhere) to the island. Specifically we've committed to not developing casinos on the island, which was a proposal that gained some momentum in the past. There's also a fair degree of consensus that it not be utilized for permanent housing. There will be a lot of opportunity for hotels and extended-stay accommodations, dormitories related to the academic uses on the island, but the thought was that permanent housing is not the most public use for the place.

How do you integrate a new campus, hotels, a conference center, and so on, with the island's historic character? Do you try to be contextual, or do you draw a line and say, "That's historic over there, and over here we're doing something else"?

The island can be thought of in two parts. The northern 90 or so acres are largely part of the original configuration, before the landfill addition. That's the designated historic district [which includes the military fortifications Fort Jay and Castle Williams, erected prior to the War of 1812]. There are a couple of buildings that are considered intrusions into the historic district, which in the past preservation groups have called to be demolished, but are really exciting opportunities for contemporary buildings that are completely compatible with that unique historic district. South of Division Road are the 80-plus additional acres that the army created from the excavation of the east-side subway in the early 1900s: largely barrack housing, industrial-service buildings, and playing fields. There it's a very different context, and as you move away from the historic district, the configuration of buildings, their size and scale, presents a different opportunity.

Is there a chance for international design competitions on Governor's Island? Can we look forward to the possibility of a signature building?

I sure hope so. We'll have a coordinated master-planning effort, in which GIPEC and the National Parks Service will come up with the site plan and program for the two parts of the island that complement each other. Individual projects that will come out of that master plan present really exciting opportunities for international calls for both landscape architecture and individual building design. It's an extraordinary landscape-architecture assignment, an amazing opportunity to bring new buildings that relate to this incredibly rich existing landscape, and respond to the context, vistas, and history of the place.

The island is somewhat undefended geographically. Does the weather affect what can be done out there? Are there challenges, like how cold it gets, but also opportunities, like wind or wave power?

I can confirm it's an extremely windy place, so we should look at the options for capturing some of these alternative energy sources. It's going to be a factor: How do you create a harbor-front park that is enjoyable to use in the off-season, when it gets kind of cold and windy? That is part of the design challenge, in terms of building placement, site planning, and landscape planning.

We're committed to making the entire island sustainable, so we're overlaying that as one of the values on the island: converting the fuel we use for our ferries to cleaner alternatives; using the latest technologies including electric cars; the orientation of buildings; lowering energy needs; recycling water; exploring the possibilities of alternative energy sources and green roofs. We're really excited about the idea of creating possibly the first entirely green environment on a considerable scale.

I'm an avid sailor, and living on a boat makes you very aware of how much water you use, the waste you create, and the energy you use from batteries and things. So it's interesting to think of the island as a contained environment that ought to not only take care of itself but also not create excess waste.

How much of a role is there for the public in shaping the island's development?

A whole range of civic groups have met under the umbrella of the Governors Island Alliance and Community Board 1 and thought about, What does New York City need?

That formed the basis for our deed restrictions.There were some pretty strong voices, a lot of public discussion that happened once the Coast Guard announced that they were leaving, in the mid-1990s. There was concern that the island could even get auctioned to a private developer. So the advocacy that came out of that fear led to some positive and focused ideas about it being a financially self-sustaining but still public place. The challenge now is to find ways to strike the right balance of commercially viable uses that actually generate revenue to pay the bills for what are very significant fixed costs for us: operating something that's an island, has ferry-only access, has a sea wall of two and a half miles, and has 65 amazing historic properties that need constant maintenance and care. And then, prospectively, operating and maintaining a significant new park and supporting educational uses. We need some economic drivers here, and we need them early to really succeed. The hotel/conference idea we think can be a really good complement to the other uses on the island and a great fit with the specific buildings that are there now--and it would really benefit from the island's character as a retreat and a sanctuary only five minutes from Wall Street.

Has the World Trade Center site-planning process brought more attention to city redevelopment projects, or does it end up stealing the spotlight?

I see this as being part of Lower Manhattan's revitalization. We're going to have some early positive new projects come on line that will, I think, be part of that healing process. We'll be making recreational facilities on the island available quickly to community residents and coming up with a range of really interesting interim uses, such as art installations, performance art, and concerts. The public tours we started this summer sold out immediately. That was a first effort, even though we have only had the island for a few months, just to let the public get out there and see it. And it's only reaffirmed what we suspected, which is that there is going to be tremendous excitement at discovering what's just half a mile away.

Housing is not an option under the deed restrictions, so how do you create a neighborhood without neighbors? What can you do to build in personality that doesn't feel like a theme park?

First you focus on establishing some key anchors that are going to help on the economic side--educational, entertainment, cultural, and historical destination uses. Then once you have a strong economic base to build from, you can start to pull in a whole range of other locally based uses and to adaptively reuse some of these historic buildings and encourage the island to be a place that's about ideas, promoting the arts, and building upon the beauty that exists there in terms of both the landscape and the extraordinary architecture. This is going to be all about partnerships with private organizations, private investors, and philanthropists--people who see it as we see it, which is really as a legacy project. If somebody wants to shape a project at a location like no other, this is the place to do it. The Institute for the Study of...something. The Center for...blank.

I think it's going to have a lot of personality. It has a well-defined personality now as a completely unique intact historic district, which comes as a surprise to everyone who goes there. You see the care that was taken to preserve these historic buildings--plus we've got a bowling alley, a golf course, swimming pools, tennis courts, major piers, and an extraordinary esplanade overlooking Ellis and Liberty islands and the Lower Manhattan skyline. It will become a great public place.

I've been involved in a lot of these large-scale plans, and this is one that everyone you talk to, no matter who they are, has such a great feeling about. It gives people a sense of hope and optimism about the potential we have to do great things that are very public and create a great quality of life experience in New York.

www.metropolismag.com

[Eugenius]

I think that the golf course could be a tremendous cash cow. Given that there are no golf courses in NYC, and the closest alternative is the driving range at Chelsea Piers, they could have themselves an economic base just by opening up the golf course to Wall Street executives for a nominal greens fee of several hundred dollars a pop.

[TLOZ Link5]

Would there be enough space for a major golf course?

[billyblancoNYC]

Probably not. A decent course usually is at least in the 150 acre range, so the entire island would be the course.

I wouldn't mind a golf course complex of 4 courses - different costs to play, etc, carved out of Fresh Kills, though.

[ZippyTheChimp]

From New york Newsday:

Governors Island Photo Tour (http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/manhattan/nyc-govgallery0724.photogallery)

Virtual Tour (http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/manhattan/nyc-islandvideo.realvideo)

[Clarknt67]

Can one tour Governor's Island? How do you get there? anyone know?

[Clarknt67]

Probably not. A decent course usually is at least in the 150 acre range, so the entire island would be the course.

I wouldn't mind a golf course complex of 4 courses - different costs to play, etc, carved out of Fresh Kills, though.

It seems like there's an awful lot of trees for a golf course. You'd have to chop a lot down, angering enviromentalists.

And while I do think a golf course there would be a cool idea, and I think it probably could be a gold mine. But I also think it would end up being a political hot potato. Could anyone argue with the assertion that it would primarily benefit older, rich, white men? Hooray, they can leave their overpaid jobs on Wall street and take a half day off on the green and still collect full pay! What a great day for the City's elite!

the teacher's training campus is a great idea, benefiting everyone. Plus conversion of the fort and other structures to museums, and landscaping some parks, and maybe maritime uses, a great benefit to everyone.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Can one tour Governor's Island? How do you get there? anyone know?
Yes you can. Guided tours are conducted by the National Park Service (http://www.nps.gov/gois/), and will resume next spring or summer. Access is by ferry from the Maritime Building.

[Clarknt67]

Can one tour Governor's Island? How do you get there? anyone know?
Yes you can. Guided tours are conducted by the National Park Service (http://www.nps.gov/gois/), and will resume next spring or summer. Access is by ferry from the Maritime Building.

thanks for the 411.

[BigMac]

USA Today
June 2, 2004

Governors Island open again for public tours

http://images.usatoday.com/travel/_photos/2004/06/02/gov-island-inside.jpg
Governors Island is separated from Brooklyn by a strait called Buttermilk Channel.

NEW YORK (AP) — Perhaps the most remarkable thing about New York's newest tourist attraction is that New Yorkers want to go there.

Governors Island, a former Coast Guard facility located in New York Harbor, was opened for public tours last summer. The tours, led by National Park Service rangers, proved so popular that they are back this year, starting in late June.

Even those self-styled Gotham sophisticates who would never admit to having visited the Statue of Liberty or the top of the Empire State Building may have been overcome by curiosity about a 172-acre harbor island that was under their noses but virtually inaccessible for more than two centuries.

In fact, most of the several thousand visitors last year were "native New Yorkers" rather than out-of-towners, said Linda Neal, the NPS superintendent for Governors Island National Monument.

"Our rangers, who are used to working at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island and hosting primarily international visitors, have been thrilled to see so many New Yorkers visiting," Neal said through a spokeswoman.

"They are keenly interested in what the mystery island that they have seen from afar has to offer."

What they find is a verdant, teardrop-shaped island, 2.2 miles around and packed with fascinating snippets of history dating back to the city's origin as New Amsterdam.

Dutch settlers bought the original 90-acre island from Indians in 1637, for two ax-heads, some beads and nails, and named it Nutten Island for its many nut trees. It was renamed for British colonial governors who lived there.

Separated from Brooklyn by a strait called Buttermilk Channel and accessible only by ferry from lower Manhattan, Governors Island was for 242 years a military post — Dutch, then British, then American, and only rarely open to visitors.

Although its two early 19th century forts apparently never fired in anger, they did discourage British threats against New York during the War of 1812.

The last tenant, the U.S. Coast Guard, pulled out in 1997 for budgetary reasons. The island, deserted except for a handful of caretakers and migrating geese, and rated one of the nation's 11 most endangered places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, faced an uncertain future.

Proposals for its use included high-rise apartments, public housing, a television tower — even a casino, favored by then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani — before a public and private coalition called the Governors Island Partnership stepped in with a master plan to make use of the island while preserving its character.

In January 2003, the harbor jewel that the federal government had valued at $500 million was returned to New York City for the bargain price of one dollar.

Proposals for developing the southern half — actually early 20th century landfill from New York's first subway excavation — now include open space, maritime facilities and a City University of New York education center, according to the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corp., a state-city entity that is the steward for the island. GIPEC also runs the ferry to the island and sponsors the tours led by the park rangers.

The northern part of the island, which tourists see, is a 90-acre National Historic Landmark District, a former military post of 19th century buildings in a bucolic setting of towering trees, against the dramatic backdrop of Manhattan skyscrapers.

The two forts, Fort Jay and Castle Williams, are national monuments, managed by the NPS. Nearby, but not open, is a 9-hole golf course — the only one with a Manhattan zip code.

While Governors Island may never compete with its famous neighbors, it does offer an amazing variety of historical touchstones and famous names.

In 1776, Continental troops on Governors Island helped save the fledgling Revolution by distracting the British as Gen. George Washington's army, defeated in the Battle of Brooklyn, escaped by boats to Manhattan.

Castle Williams, a circular masonry fortress with 8-foot thick walls, built in 1807-11, housed Confederate prisoners during the Civil War, and remained a military jail for a century afterward.

A memorial outside Ligget Hall, the former barracks of the Army's 16th Infantry Regiment, reads like a Union officers' roster from the battle of Gettysburg.

Elsewhere, plaques record the 1710 quarantine of John Peter Zenger, a 13-year-old German refugee later famous for his acquittal in a landmark press freedom case; the house where an obscure officer named Ulysses S. Grant lived a decade before the Civil War, and a now-vanished airstrip used by Wilbur Wright for a flight around the Statue of Liberty in 1909.

Markers also show where President Reagan and French President Francois Mitterand pressed a button to light the refurbished Statue of Liberty in 1986, and the colonial governors' mansion where Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev held a summit two years later.

Other names linked to the island's history include Samuel F.B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph; generals Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson and John "Blackjack" Pershing, and the Smothers Brothers comedy team, who were born into a military family at its Army clinic.

Neal said the park service wants to improve tourist amenities — food service is limited to a few vending machines, for example — without altering the island's "special nature."

The NPS also is studying possible waterborne travel links to other harbor sites including Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

That poses "a real challenge," Neal said. "Visitors to Ellis and the statue have a full day of experiences. It's unrealistic to believe they would want yet another experience on the same day."

Copyright 2004 USA TODAY

[NYatKNIGHT]

June 4, 2004

Once Off Limits, Governors Island to Be Open for Summer Tours

By ANTHONY DePALMA

Many New Yorkers never take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty even though they can get there just about any time they want.

Most New Yorkers never set foot on Governors Island either, even though it is lying there in the cold mist of New York Harbor little more than a chip shot from the Brooklyn waterfront. They do not go because it has been off limits for most of the last two centuries.

Starting next weekend, that will begin to change in a big way.

The Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation is scheduled to announce today that for the first time since the state sold the 172-acre island to the federal government for $1 in 1800, New Yorkers will have virtually unlimited access to the island's western and northern waterfronts, where there is a mile-long stretch of esplanade and dazzling views of New York Harbor.

"Right now, it's kind of like this mysterious place nobody knows," said Yvette DeBow, marketing director for the corporation, which shares responsibility for the island with the National Park Service. "We want New Yorkers to feel that this is their own island."

On Saturdays through the summer, ferries will leave from the Battery Maritime Terminal for the six-minute trip to the island. Once there, visitors will be restricted to one area, but will be able to stroll along the esplanade, picnic on shady lawns and generally spend as much time as they like on the island.

There is no more historic part of the harbor than the island, which a fledgling United States military used as a strategic coastal fortification early in the 19th century. The Army and later the Coast Guard used it until 1997. In 2002, the federal government agreed to sell the island back to New York for its original price - $1.

The Governors Island corporation will hold public hearings later this year on a plan for redeveloping the island. All historic buildings there will be preserved, but there could be room for other uses, perhaps including a new hotel, a conference center and space for the City University of New York. Housing, industrial development and casinos are prohibited.

Last summer, small groups of New Yorkers were given limited access to the island. Those same weekday guided tours of the island and its many buildings will be available again this summer, Tuesdays through Fridays, starting June 15. As on the Saturday visits, passes will be free, but the ferry ride will cost $5 for adults and children over 13, and $3 for children from 5 to 12. Children under 5 may ride free.

About 4,000 people visited the island last year. But James F. Lima, president of the corporation, said that as many as 40,000 people might visit this summer.

Passes and ferry tickets will be available at locations as yet unannounced. Information is available at www.nps.gov/gois .

Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

[Kris]

June 20, 2004

THE CITY

Governors Island Reopening

In a city as densely packed as New York, the idea of 172 acres of new open space sounds like something from another dimension or the Twilight Zone. But then there is Governors Island. Long used as a military post and shut off from everyday New Yorkers for more than 200 years, the 172-acre island at the mouth of the East River is coming out of mothballs, bringing with it some of the rarest and most spectacular views of the city.

From the time New Yorkers learned the Coast Guard would be decamping in 1996, there has been speculation about what to do with such a boon opportunity. There still isn't anything close to a final decision. But at least New Yorkers and tourists are now getting a chance to explore. For the cost of a round-trip ferry ride from Lower Manhattan ($5 for adults, $3 for children ages 5 to 12), visitors can take a stroll, jog or picnic along an esplanade on the island situated between Wall Street and Brooklyn. For now, visits are being limited to certain parts of the island and to only about three daylight hours on Saturdays, with weekday National Park Service tours beginning this week.

That's very good news, but it's still just a matter of marking time while state and city officials develop a plan for what to do with the island they bought from the federal government for one dollar last year. Most of the island's interior - including a nine-hole golf course and hundreds of buildings and Victorian-era homes - has been closed since the Coast Guard shut its base. Our own bottom line has not changed. The bulk of the island must be preserved for use by the public. If a small section needs to be used for some private activity that generates money to help pay for upkeep, an educational facility is one frequently mentioned option that sounds reasonable. All discussions of creating a Governors Island Casino should be totally, irrevocably squashed.

Governors Island has been the scene of some of New York's most intriguing history. Visitors can contemplate how it looked to Henry Hudson, who sailed past it in 1609 - as it happens, on Sept. 11. Then, the island was less than half its current size. Landfill from the digging that created the Lexington Avenue subway added more than 100 acres in the early 1900's. Other famed passers-by included George Washington during the Revolutionary War, Ulysses S. Grant before the Civil War, and Wilbur Wright, who flew a plane from the island and around the Statue of Liberty. Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev held a summit meeting at the Admiral's House on the island. Now everyone has a chance to follow in the footsteps of those famous visitors. We're looking forward to the time when access is greater. But not for slot machines.

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

[billyblancoNYC]

Anyone see the Blueprint show on NYC TV about Gov. Island? Very interesting. The island is surely picturesque.

The nice thing was that I was looking at some of the apartment buildings that were build saying that would be perfect for artist housing/studios...like a village. Someone from CB1 said the same thing, so maybe it'll happen.

Check out the show, though.

[Kris]

The Mysterious Island

The mysteries of Governors Island.

By Susan S. Szenasy

July 2004

http://www.metropolismag.com/images/images_0704/prt/Moore.jpg
http://www.metropolismag.com/images/images_0704/prt/Keresziburgerkingsign.jpg
http://www.metropolismag.com/images/images_0704/prt/Kereszicoastguardoffice.jpg
Governors Island, photographs by Lisa Kereszi and Andrew Moore, is on display at the Urban Center Gallery in New York from May 24 to July 8. A book of the photographs will be published this month by the Public Art Fund.

New Yorkers want to know what’s next for Governors Island, the former military base smack in the middle of New York Harbor. But before diving into future plans, the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation took a moment to look back. With help from the Public Art Fund they enlisted two photographers, Andrew Moore and Lisa Kereszi, to document the current state of its buildings and grounds—from forts dating to the War of 1812 to a Burger King and a bowling alley. The island, which has been uninhabited since the Coast Guard moved out in 1997, felt to the artists like a cross between a ghost town and a movie back lot. “It’s a place where most people are not allowed to go, so there’s this mystery surrounding it,” Kereszi says. “It’s something that’s off-limits, but we get to peek inside.”

Moore, known for large-format photographs of more decrepit historical sites, such as Havana and Roosevelt Island, was amazed at the condition of the buildings. “It looked like it had just been abandoned the day before,” he says. Unlike his typical subjects, “It didn’t have the usual patina of decay and the sort of haunted quality of the romance of ruins, so it was a great challenge to find ways to deal with history without the obvious markers of nostalgia.”

Kereszi’s smaller, more detail-oriented photographs explored interiors, where there were still pinup posters on the backs of doors and old medical tools in hospital drawers. “I kept thinking about the people who lived there and the children who grew up there,” she says. “I was looking for the residue, little things that were left behind and point to the life that existed.”

www.metropolismag.com

[Kris]

July 4, 2004

THE CITY

Governors Island

To the Editor:

As members of the Governors Island Alliance, we welcome your attention to signs that Governors Island is "coming out of mothballs" ("Governors Island Reopening," editorial, June 20), but your fear of a casino out there is misplaced.

The deed that transferred the island back to New York after 200 years as a military cloister specifically prohibits any gambling establishment. There is no thought of violating that stipulation.

Worry not about a casino. Worry whether Washington, Albany and City Hall will make the needed investments that can attract private capital.

Robert Pirani
Richard E. Mooney
Manhattan

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

[krulltime]

City Officials Pitch Idea To Turn Governors Island Into Top Spot


JULY 21ST, 2004

For years Governors Island has been a secret to most New Yorkers, but officials hope to change that with an ambitious plan to make the island a top destination. NY1's Michael Scotto took an exclusive tour and filed this report.

Breathtaking views, lush open space, and historic architecture.

Governors Island is a hidden gem in the middle of New York harbor.

And it's about to undergo a major redevelopment project that aims to make it one of the city's premier destinations.

"It could be a jewel for New York and it's a historic opportunity – a once in a century opportunity," said New York Secretary of State Randy Daniels.

For more than 200 years, the island served as a military base and was essentially closed to the public.

But two years ago, the federal government decided to sell the island to the state for $1.

Now officials are hoping the private sector will help transform it.

"We want more than their ideas," said Daniels. "We would like to see some of them get behind Governor's Island, not only in word and deed, but also in dollars. Dollars are very important."

So for three hours, business leaders sat through presentations and learned of the island's deep history.

As the private sector gets ready to help, it will need to abide by several rules.

Sixty acres must be dedicated to parks or education, while another 30 acres used for cultural purposes. Permanent housing, casinos, factories, parking lots and power plants are also not allowed.

Developers hope to build a campus for City University, along with a cultural institution, parkland and hotels.

"This is a phenomenal opportunity to start with a clean piece of paper and create, I think, something that will be phenomenal for New York City," said Henry Kravis of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

But making the island a success requires more than hotels and nice parks.

Capital improvements are needed, which the city and the state are currently paying for, and reliable transportation to and from the island are key.

"Ferry transportation is very important to the island," said Kathryn Wylde of Partnership for New York City. "They have to make sure the whole island can work."

Right now the island is open to the public on a limited basis. Tours are given during the week and on Saturdays New Yorkers can walk around the island by themselves. On a typical Saturday, organizers see 500 people.

A master plan for the island is expected next year and then construction should begin soon after that, with the hope that within the next five years, visitors start pouring in.

– Michael Scotto

VIDEO LINK:
http://real.ny1.com:8080/ramgen/real3/000C0BCD_040721_191004hi.rm

Copyright © 2004 NY1 News.

[krulltime]

Partnership considers Governors Island

July 25, 2004

Kathryn Wylde, president and chief executive of the Partnership for New York City, says the partnership’s investment fund will consider bankrolling projects on Governors Island if the right opportunity comes up.

Ms. Wylde and a group of about 50 of the city’s top businesspeople toured the island last week at the invitation of the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corp., which hopes to develop the former U.S. Army facility.

Ms. Wylde says the partnership could be interested in sponsoring revenue-generating activities.


Copyright 2004, Crain Communications, Inc

[ZippyTheChimp]

http://www.downtownexpress.com/

Park Service begins to float Governors Island ideas

By Ronda Kaysen

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_83/governor.gif
Downtown Express photo by Elisabeth Robert
The island’s Liggett Hall, the largest U.S. military building until the Pentagon was built. Originally The barracks were designed by McKim, Mead and White and the building was built to foil the city’s effort to open an airport on the island. It is also the site where Wilbur Wright took off and landed his airplane.


The National Park Service unveiled its first round of ideas for the 22-acre National Monument at Governors Island, and has been circulating its plans to various community and government groups for input and feedback.

The monument — which includes Fort Jay and Castle William, a three-story fort built to protect the harbor — is in need of at least $14 million in renovations just to get up to code, according to Judy Duffy, assistant district manager of Community Board 1. Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC), a state and city agency, controls the remaining 150 acres of the island — which was, until 1996, home to the U.S. Coast Guard and sold in 2003 to the state of New York for one dollar — and is working on renovation plans of its own.

“Based on a combination of public feedback and advisors, we developed these three visions of what this park might be,” said Linda Neal, superintendent of the Governors Island National Monument for the Park Service. “This is a way to put something out there of what the park might be. The preferred alternative might be a hybrid of two of [the ideas] or something that comes in new.”

She said there are no cost estimates yet for any of the alternatives.

The first alternative, A, is titled Monument Emphasis, and focuses on the military history of the monument. It preserves both the castle and the fort and, according to the Park plan, would “help visitors understand and make personal connections to the development of the island’s military features.”

The island’s military history is significant. Castle William was built between 1807 and 1811 to protect the harbor during the War of 1812 and later turned into a prison for Confederate prisoners and AWOL Union soldiers during the Civil War and continued to be used as a military prison until 1966. The star-shaped Fort Jay was built 1794 and is surrounded by a grassy dry moat.

Alternative B, dubbed Whole-Island Experience, would provide “visitors with an island-wide cultural experience,” according to the plan’s description. The monument’s structures, once renovated, would become cultural venues for art expositions, performances and educational activities. The monument would serve, particularly the castle and fort, as a launching point for activities throughout the island.

Harbor and Beyond, alternative C, would consider the monument in the context of the other National Parks of New York Harbor. Capitalizing on its centralized location amongst the other harbor parks, the monument would serve as a “Harbor Center.” Temporary and permanent monument installations would “interpret and explore the development and conservation of the island and New York Harbor,” according to the N.P.S. plan. The agency would also manage and develop various harbor-related public programs.

When N.P.S. presented its plan to C.B. 1 last month, it received a positive response. “It was a very collaborative give and take kind of meeting,” said Duffy of C.B. 1. Duffy said the Waterfront committee, which held the Nov. 29 meeting, did not favor one alternative over the others. It has until January to make a formal response to the presentation. “It’s a fun project,” Duffy added.

Neal is confident the three plans, devised after a community outreach campaign launched in conjunction with GIPEC last spring, will work well with the rest of the island. “These alternatives are broad enough that they could succeed with GIPEC’s other plans,” said Neal.

GIPEC agrees. “We are delighted with the progress that they [NPS] are making,” said Yvette DeBow, a spokesperson for the agency. “Their plans very much align with what we’re thinking.”

N.P.S. intends to present its findings from the community response to the three alternatives by next summer.

Ronda@DowntownExpress.com
Downtown Express is published by
Community Media LLC.

[jiw40]

I just read page one of this thread and found out there's no more golf courses in NYC.Glad I got to play most of them before they were gone.

[TLOZ Link5]

I just read page one of this thread and found out there's no more golf courses in NYC.Glad I got to play most of them before they were gone.

Eh? How can that be true?

[NewYorkYankee]

Arnt there golf courses in Queens and the Bronx?

[billyblancoNYC]

Not sure if this is all of them, but there's 13 public courses (maybe 1 or 2 private)...

http://www.golfinnyc.com/GolfCourseList.htm

Also, they are getting major upgrades, if they haven't already, that it's to the point where some suburbanites come to NYC b/c it's good and cheap...

http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_newsroom/media_advisories/press_releases.php?id=18518

Finally, they are in the process of building a brand new links-style course designed by Jack Nicklaus, on the water in the Bronx (right by the Whitestone Bridge).

Gold in NYC is alive and very well.

[billyblancoNYC]

Arnt there golf courses in Queens and the Bronx?

And Brooklyn, Staten Island. Surely, there will be one or two developed in the Fresh Kills park some day as well.

[islandpete]

I went to school while in the Coast Guard on GI. I was at Damage Control school and Aid to Navigation school. The island was a world with in NYC. It had it's own hospital, dinning area, swimming pools, rec area, dock space for boating, any thing you might think of it has. Plus living space for full time personel. There are some really nice houses on the island. The officers got to live in them. There are apt down at the southern end. I've spent more than 4 months on "The Rock" and walked over every inch of the island. You should be happy the island is now yours. I read what they wish to do with the space and it will be a great place. In the future you can bet they will rent out living space being they want this island to become a place for a college, out door play area, and maybe some day when they get all the facilities back up and running another area to live. I do hope they use this space to the good of everyone.

[ZippyTheChimp]

http://www.downtownexpress.com/


Shakespeare on the island?


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A replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater would be built in Governors Island’s Castle Williams under a new proposal.


By Ronda Kaysen


All the world’s a stage, but some stages are better equipped to become a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater than others. One woman thinks she may have found just the right spot: Castle Williams on Governors Island.


Barbara Romer, a former consultant, has been shopping around plans to plop a New Globe Theater — constructed in the spirit of the 1997 replica on London’s south bank — at Castle Williams, an 1811 circular fort on Governors Island now the property of the National Park Service. In an uncanny coincidence, the 200-ft. diameter masonry castle shares the same blueprint — perfectly round and three-tiered — as the original 1599 Globe Theater.


Castle Williams “looks exactly like the Globe,” said Judy Duffy, assistant district manager of Community Board 1. “It has the three tiers going up.”


The stage and theater seats would be located in the castle’s open courtyard, preserving the castle’s historic structure, according to a source close to the project, who requested anonymity to avoid jeopardizing Park Service approval after the review process begins. The design, with a partial glass rooftop enclosure, is completely reversible. According to the organization’s website, the theater needs an “angel investor” willing to bankroll the $10 million project.


Romer, until recently was a consultant for the London-based McKinsey & Company, has formed New Globe, a non-profit organization that hopes to bring the theater to Governors Island.


Still in the early schematic phase, the London architectural firm Foster and Partners, which designed the Millennium Bridge in London and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, is preparing a design for Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation. GIPEC, a city and state agency, controls 150 acres of the island but not the castle, a Park Service property.


The agency has plans to issue a request for expression and interest for Governors Island, which will include Castle Williams-related projects, according to Linda Neal, superintendent of the Governors Island National Monument for the Park Service. GIPEC did not indicate when they would release the request, however, “they’re working around the clock to put the final touches on that,” Neal said. “I would imagine that is coming out fairly soon.”


GIPEC declined to comment on the New Globe proposal.


Although still in preliminary stages — the Parks Service is still hammering out ideas for the 22-acre National Monument that also includes Fort Jay — the New Globe Theater has enjoyed a warm reception so far.


“It’s something that everybody’s been talking about,” said Duffy of C.B. 1. The board was scheduled to review the project this week, but the meeting was postponed until Feb. 28. “It just sounds like such a cool idea.”


“It’s a nifty idea,” said Frank Sanchis, senior vice president for the Municipal Arts Society, a public interest group. “I am very attracted by the ingenuity of the thinking that surrounds the project and also the similarities with the size of the [original] Globe.”


Sanchis has his reservations, however. He wonders how readily New Yorkers will traverse the seven-minute ferry ride to the island for Shakespeare (or other performances, since the theater will not be limited to Shakespeare.)


“I am less certain that hoards of people really would go to Governors Island for Shakespeare,” he said. “I don’t know whether it fits the bigger scheme [for Governors Island] and I don’t know if it could sustain itself as Barbara [Romer] truly thinks it can.” A New Globe Theater, says Sanchis, could be successful if the Park Service coordinates ferry transportation to and from the island with performance schedules, for example.


But New Yorkers may very well venture from Manhattan for a Globe Theater equipped with its own resident acting company, says Linda Rosenthal an aide to U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler. “It’s so unique, it’s something New York doesn’t have,” she said. “I think it would draw a nice crowd.”


Nadler reviewed the project and “was very impressed with it,” said Rosenthal. “As long as the structure itself is maintained, it sounds like a perfect fit,” she added.


Sanchis has his own concerns about retaining the integrity of the historic structure. “It is a highly unusual solution for adaptive use of an historic building and will require substantial intervention into the historic fabric of the original structure,” he said. The plans, according to sources close to the project, will “rehabilitate” the structure, but protect the building’s integrity.


Romer declined to comment.


The New Globe, although similar to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, has no connection to the Thames River recreation.


“It has no connection to us at all,” said Jerry Halliday a spokesperson for Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in Bankside, London. The London Globe does not own a copyright to the original theater, which was destroyed in a fire in 1613 during a performance of Henry VIII. The original theater was rebuilt, but demolished in 1644, two years after England’s Puritan administration shut all the country’s theaters.


The Park Service is still a long way off from deciding the National Monument’s future. It does not expect to release plans for the monument until February 2006. “We’re in the middle of our planning process and that planning process really determines how we best care for the National Park Service properties,” said Linda Neal, of the Park Service.


Late last year, the Park Service floated three preliminary ideas for the monument. Although all three ideas may change significantly during the lengthy review process, only one, Alternative C, makes space for a New Globe Theater, as it now stands. Alternative C would transform both the fort and castle into a cultural venue for art expositions, performances and educational activities. The other two alternatives include a military history monument incorporating both Castle Williams and Fort Jay and creating a “Harbor Center” that would serve as a launching point for the New York harbor. With the monument’s future still very much in question, Neal thought it premature to comment on the New Globe project.


“Because we’re mid stream in that process, we’re not at the point of seriously responding to development proposals,” she said.


In the meantime, Romer will submit her proposal to GIPEC as soon as the corporation requests it.



Downtown Express is published by

Community Media LLC.


Downtown Express487 Greenwich St.,

Suite 6A | New York, NY 10013
Email: josh@downtownexpress.com (josh@downtownexpress.com)

[NewYorkYankee]

That Globe Theatre idea is interesting. I think it would make a nice addition.

[RedFerrari360f1]

Yeah, reeeeeal original. I think we can do better.

[TLOZ Link5]

A Foster-designed skyscraper, a giant Ferris wheel, and now a recreation of the Globe Theater — is anyone else concerned with all this copying of London?

[Kris]

I don't think a Foster-designed skyscraper qualifies as copying.

[TLOZ Link5]

I don't think a Foster-designed skyscraper qualifies as copying.

Granted that that's stretching it a bit, but still...

[Kris]

Hopefully the two lame proposals will fall through, and there'll be no discernable pattern. What an embarrassment that would be.

[billyblancoNYC]

Can't really understand the problem with the Theater in the Round. I think it's a good match for the structure and it would make an old historic building an asset again. What else could be done? This, along with other projects would be a nice draw for people...you see how many people see Cirque Du Soleil on Randall's Island...oh wait, then we'd be copying Montreal.

[Kris]

Your comparison is flawed. Cirque du Soleil is an organization that exports; the Globe is a historic London theater, recently replicated near its original site.

[landmark_lover]

I agree with billyblanco. A theater on Governors Island would be a great attraction for the city. And from a preservation point of view, it sounds like a creative rehabilitation that will actually help to protect the castle -- which was rapidly eroding when I last saw it -- without compromising its historic integrity. Finally, my understanding is that this won't be a replica of the original London Globe, but a modern theater-in-the-round with a glass roof (the article clearly states that it won't be limited to Shakespeare). And if the design is anything like Foster's reinvention of the British Museum's courtyard or the German Parliament's dome, we'll be in for a really gorgeous addition to the city's architecture.

[NYCgirl]

i totally agree with landmark lover. the New Globe idea sounds AWESOME!!! what a great thing to turn that old military fort into a theater-in-the-round ... i might actually take the ferry out there :)

[Kris]

New Globe Theater (http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5877)

[billyblancoNYC]

Yessir, this is a winner. I would love to see this happen.

[TonyO]

Wall St. Journal
3/30/05

New York Solicits Proposals for Governors Island


Governors Island is just 800 yards from the concrete canyons of southern Manhattan, but it might as well be in another time zone. The 172-acre former Coast Guard base has sprawling lawns and drop-dead views and has sat unused for so many years that many New Yorkers don't even know it's there.

Now, the city and state are moving ahead with plans for one of the biggest undeveloped pieces of real estate in New York. The goal: Nothing less than creating the world's next great public space.

New York has begun sending out requests for ideas from architects, builders and institutions for how to develop the island, which served as a military installation for most of the past 200-plus years. New York wants the island to be used for education, research and arts and culture, as well as for recreation and entertainment.

"It is the last great open space," says Randy A. Daniels, New York's secretary of state and chairman of the Governors Island Preservation & Education Corp., which owns most of the island. "What we have to do is to give New York an island that 50 or 100 years from today people will look back . . . the same way they look back on Central Park today."

That means that even though it has some of the most enviable views of the lower Manhattan skyline, the group won't allow any residential development on the island, which could potentially be worth billions of dollars. But one of the guidelines is to make the island financially self-sufficient -- it eats up $10 million a year in public money right now -- so there will be a fairly significant commercial aspect, including at least one hotel and several restaurants and shops.

The federal government sold the island to New York state two years ago for $1 on the condition it wouldn't be used primarily for commercial purposes. It is connected to Manhattan by a short ferry ride.

Sometime this summer, Gipec will announce a program and development framework for the island and issue proposal requests to developers. By next year, the organization will sign contracts and construction will begin.

Gipec's plan will cover the 150 acres of the island that it owns. The island's remaining 22 acres are a monument owned and run by the National Parks Service, which contains Fort Jay and Castle Williams, two forts built just before the War of 1812 to protect New York Harbor. Some of the grand officers' houses on the island date back to the Jefferson administration.

The island's north end, where the monument is, will be preserved, while the south end, which is about 80 acres, is almost a blank slate. The buildings there are from the island's last military use as a Coast Guard outpost, and they aren't historically significant and can be torn down.

"It has to be a place not only where a person can go and stay in a five-star facility, but also a place where a single mom and her two kids can hop on the ferry to play in the park and buy a hot dog," Mr. Daniels says.

The development of Governor's Island is part of a larger plan to redevelop New York's East River waterfront and New York Harbor. Other projects include the redevelopment of a two-mile stretch of lower Manhattan's East River waterfront, the construction of a 1.3-mile-long Brooklyn Bridge Park on the Brooklyn waterfront and the rezoning of a 75-block industrial strip that runs along the river in North Brooklyn.

[noik53]

Cirque have been looking for a location downtown and maybe Governers island is perfect for it. A great location that will definitly attract visitors to the island and they could continue the stay in the park on the island

[krulltime]

Out in the Harbor, Still Waiting


http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/04/25/nyregion/gove.583.jpg
Manhattan is a five- to seven-minute ferry ride away. The Park Service plans to offer tours starting June 11. Librado Romero/The New York Times

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/04/25/nyregion/governor.184.3.650.jpg
The guns of 1861, still in place in Fort Jay overlooking the harbor. Librado Romero/The New York Times


By GLENN COLLINS and CHARLES V. BAGLI
Published: April 25, 2005

Governors Island is looking for a few good ideas.

Still.

It has been more than two years since New York State and New York City purchased Governors Island from the federal government for $1, and teams of consultants have toiled to generate possible uses for "the island at the center of the world," as its marketing brochure proclaims it.

But earlier this month, the president of the city-state partnership redeveloping the historic 172-acre island resigned. And city and state officials have dusted off the suggestion box once again. "Everybody involved had the same feeling, that we had an incredibly unique asset," said Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff, the vice chairman of the island's management corporation.

"What I don't want is a bunch of consultants to determine what we ought to do there," he added. "So we are calling out to the world for one-of-a-kind ideas."

Preservationists and community watchdogs say action, not more ideas, is needed and point to this delay as proof that the process has stalled. "Time is marching on," said Robert Pirani, executive director of the Governors Island Alliance, a coalition of organizations monitoring redevelopment plans, "because more than 12 million square feet of historic spaces are intended to be preserved, but are rapidly deteriorating. It is imperative that a lot of empty buildings be filled with private tenants."

Albert K. Butzel, the president of Friends of Hudson River Park, said "there has been a six- to eight-month delay," adding: "In many ways it seems to have fallen off the central radar screen for both the city and the state. I don't see any really strong advocates within the government."

Governors Island has been touted as a potential "international marketplace of leaders and innovators in education, commerce and arts" in its marketing materials.

In January 2004, the island's managers hired a team of experts to produce a self-sustaining development plan. It was presented last summer to the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation, a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation that is responsible for the planning, redevelopment and operations for 150 acres of Governors Island. (The National Park Service owns and administers an additional 22 acres of the island, designated as the Governors Island National Monument.)

Among the many possible uses already envisioned are an academic compound; a hotel, spa and conference center; film production facilities; museums; office space; sites for concerts; and a marina. Plans also call for the maintenance of a public path along the island's 2.2-mile waterfront perimeter, and the creation of a 40-acre public park.

According to the preservation corporation's announcements, the preliminary development and planning phase was scheduled for completion last fall, and a master plan was to be adopted by the end of this year. But on March 30, instead of proceeding to the next logical step - issuing requests for specific development proposals - a call for "expressions of interest," or more ideas, was issued to investors, developers and potential tenants.

The state and city are in the last year of a three-year, $30 million commitment to pay for the island's security, utilities, ferry operation and infrastructure maintenance. The preservation corporation's chairman, Randy A. Daniels, the secretary of state of New York, said he would like to see a speedier development process, "but it takes two years to clear your throat in New York."

He said the island had been guaranteed another $30 million this year from the state and the city for infrastructure work.

Mr. Daniels rejected the notion that the Pataki administration had been uninterested because Gov. George E. Pataki may decide not to seek re-election. "I don't call a $30 million investment a project that has lost focus - that sounds like a real commitment to me," he said.

Mr. Doctoroff said that despite the West Side stadium controversy, Lower Manhattan development issues and the mayoral campaign, "my staff is totally on top of this," and added, "I'm aware of everything that is going on."

Mr. Daniels said he hoped the preservation corporation could put out specific requests for development proposals by year's end and work on a master plan for the site. But no construction can begin until an environmental impact statement can be prepared. "I can't see any development activity before late 2006," he said.

Before he resigned as preservation corporation president, James F. Lima led the negotiations with the federal government that transferred the island to the city and state in 2003 for $1, a deal even better than Dutch settlers got when they bought it from American Indians in 1637 for two ax heads, some beads and a few iron nails.

Mr. Lima resigned early this month and left the island last Monday. Before he did, he told colleagues involved in urban planning that he felt frustration with the lack of development progress, according to the colleagues, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Mr. Lima did not return phone calls.

Mr. Doctoroff said that "people should not read anything into his resignation."

Mr. Butzel said it would take more than a call for ideas to demonstrate the commitment of the city and state. "Tearing down a lot of the buildings that will never be used, and making a temporary park space, could persuade developers that people are serious about this," he said.

He estimated that it would cost $100 million to $150 million to upgrade electric and sewer lines, provide potable water and refurbish the seawalls, the esplanade and ferry facilities.

Mr. Doctoroff said such preparation would not be necessary because "people who know development, and who understand the needs of their institutions, can look past the existing conditions and imagine them not being there."

Until the federal government departed, Governors Island, which affords heart-stopping views of Lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, had been a base for the Army and the Coast Guard that was largely off-limits to visitors.

The National Historic Landmark District includes the 92 acres at the northern end of the island. Twenty-two acres of that are designated the National Monument, with its star attractions, Fort Jay and Castle Williams. The exteriors of 62 historic buildings have been declared landmarks, and Mr. Doctoroff said the preservation corporation was "spending a lot of money to make sure conditions do not deteriorate."

An 80-acre tract to the south is short on historic structures but long on tacky barracks buildings.

Another opportunity being offered to developers is the Lower Manhattan terminus of the Governors Island ferry, the 1909 Battery Maritime Building, at 10 South Street.

The island's managers believe that its rich history can make it a tourist destination.

In the northeastern part of the island, the older foundation of an 1808 structure is thought to mark the home of the British royal governor. The Admiral's Quarters nearby was the site of the 1988 summit meeting between Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan.

The fortifications at Castle Williams, matching those at Castle Clinton in Battery Park in Lower Manhattan, were used in turning the British Navy away during the War of 1812. The island was a bulwark during the Civil War and the Spanish-American War and was an important staging area in both world wars.

Another district, Colonels' Row, provided officer housing in brick mansions with parquet floors and marble fireplaces.

The Coast Guard, which took over in 1966, left in 1997, but the island's martial history continued. Shortly after affording a horrifying view of the collapse of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, the island became a bivouac for the National Guard.

It takes five to seven minutes by ferry to traverse the 800 yards from Lower Manhattan to the island, and since the preservation corporation was formed, the National Park Service has offered tours for visitors. Its Web site, www.govisland.com, will offer details on the tour schedule that begins on June 11.

The tours, led by seasonal rangers, "are helping to develop a public constituency for the island," said Linda C. Neal, superintendent of the Governors Island National Monument. "We, too, are looking for program ideas, and suggestions for adaptive reuse."

To Mr. Doctoroff, "if we end up spending a few more months to get it right, we feel it's an investment that would be worthwhile," he said. "We are making a decision that would affect the future of this island more or less in perpetuity."


Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

[MagnumPI]

Out in the Harbor, Still Waiting

By GLENN COLLINS (http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?ppds=bylL&v1=GLENN COLLINS&fdq=19960101&td=sysdate&sort=newest&ac=GLENN COLLINS&inline=nyt-per) and CHARLES V. BAGLI (http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?ppds=bylL&v1=CHARLES V. BAGLI&fdq=19960101&td=sysdate&sort=newest&ac=CHARLES V. BAGLI&inline=nyt-per)

NY TIMEShttp://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif
Published: April 25, 2005

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/04/25/nyregion/governor.184.3.650.jpg
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/dropcap/g.gifovernors Island is looking for a few good ideas.

Still.

It has been more than two years since New York State and New York City purchased Governors Island from the federal government for $1, and teams of consultants have toiled to generate possible uses for "the island at the center of the world," as its marketing brochure proclaims it.

But earlier this month, the president of the city-state partnership redeveloping the historic 172-acre island resigned. And city and state officials have dusted off the suggestion box once again. "Everybody involved had the same feeling, that we had an incredibly unique asset," said Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff, the vice chairman of the island's management corporation.

"What I don't want is a bunch of consultants to determine what we ought to do there," he added. "So we are calling out to the world for one-of-a-kind ideas."

Preservationists and community watchdogs say action, not more ideas, is needed and point to this delay as proof that the process has stalled. "Time is marching on," said Robert Pirani, executive director of the Governors Island Alliance, a coalition of organizations monitoring redevelopment plans, "because more than 12 million square feet of historic spaces are intended to be preserved, but are rapidly deteriorating. It is imperative that a lot of empty buildings be filled with private tenants."

Albert K. Butzel, the president of Friends of Hudson River Park, said "there has been a six- to eight-month delay," adding: "In many ways it seems to have fallen off the central radar screen for both the city and the state. I don't see any really strong advocates within the government."

Governors Island has been touted as a potential "international marketplace of leaders and innovators in education, commerce and arts" in its marketing materials.

In January 2004, the island's managers hired a team of experts to produce a self-sustaining development plan. It was presented last summer to the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation, a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation that is responsible for the planning, redevelopment and operations for 150 acres of Governors Island. (The National Park Service owns and administers an additional 22 acres of the island, designated as the Governors Island National Monument.)

Among the many possible uses already envisioned are an academic compound; a hotel, spa and conference center; film production facilities; museums; office space; sites for concerts; and a marina. Plans also call for the maintenance of a public path along the island's 2.2-mile waterfront perimeter, and the creation of a 40-acre public park.

According to the preservation corporation's announcements, the preliminary development and planning phase was scheduled for completion last fall, and a master plan was to be adopted by the end of this year. But on March 30, instead of proceeding to the next logical step - issuing requests for specific development proposals - a call for "expressions of interest," or more ideas, was issued to investors, developers and potential tenants.

The state and city are in the last year of a three-year, $30 million commitment to pay for the island's security, utilities, ferry operation and infrastructure maintenance. The preservation corporation's chairman, Randy A. Daniels, the secretary of state of New York, said he would like to see a speedier development process, "but it takes two years to clear your throat in New York."

He said the island had been guaranteed another $30 million this year from the state and the city for infrastructure work.

Mr. Daniels rejected the notion that the Pataki administration had been uninterested because Gov. George E. Pataki may decide not to seek re-election. "I don't call a $30 million investment a project that has lost focus - that sounds like a real commitment to me," he said.

Mr. Daniels said he hoped the preservation corporation could put out specific requests for development proposals by year's end and work on a master plan for the site. But no construction can begin until an environmental impact statement can be prepared. "I can't see any development activity before late 2006," he said

Before he resigned as preservation corporation president, James F. Lima led the negotiations with the federal government that transferred the island to the city and state in 2003 for $1, a deal even better than Dutch settlers got when they bought it from American Indians in 1637 for two ax heads, some beads and a few iron nails.

[MagnumPI]

Sorry krulltime, i didnt read your post while i was copying the text from the nytimes site.:(

April 25th, 2005 11:32 AM krulltime
April 25th, 2005 11:34 AM MagnumPI

[Clarknt67]

So I remember a press conference where Bloomberg annouced GI would be a campus for people studying to become NYC school teachers. Were they jumping the gun? Or is this request for development idea IN ADDITION to that plan?

[Clarknt67]

So another thread about Chuck Schumer's plan for downtown alludes to his advocating "an international biotech center on Governor's Island."

http://208.198.20.182/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=8&aid=50299

1. Has anyone heard anything more about this? I've run a few Google News searches with no luck.

This just sounds like such a terrible idea. I'm surprise Schumer's behind it.

What about pharmaceutical research requires those panaramic views? What about it requires those beautiful historic buildings? What about it requires such great and easy access to the NY Harbor? What about it requires gov't subsidy of land, as NY/NYC is in a position to do having acquired the land for $1?

[ZippyTheChimp]

What to do with Governors Island?

BY PRADNYA JOSHI
STAFF WRITER

May 8, 2005

It could be any real-estate developer's dream: 50 blocks of space in lower Manhattan, barely a stone's throw from Wall Street, filled with sweeping views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and Manhattan's great monuments.

But when it comes to Governors Island development, certain plans are off-limits: permanent housing, casinos and destruction of historical buildings. Those no-no's were part of the terms of the deal when the federal government turned over the deed to the island to New York State for $1 in 2003.

Majestic vision, anyone?

With that charter, city and state officials are looking for a grand vision for the island and are asking developers, universities, think tanks and others for ideas to transform the island, which -- as a military bunker and later Coast Guard installation -- was off-limits to most New Yorkers for centuries.

The Governors Island Preservation and Education Corp., or GIPEC, the state agency charged with developing the island, is ratcheting up its efforts to get feedback on what to do with the swaths of land, more than 100 historic buildings and the breathtaking waterfront.

Although development may take longer than originally planned, officials say they want to be "informed by what the marketplace realities are," said GIPEC chairman Randy A. Daniels. "It should be a very special place where 50 or 100 years from now people will say we got it right."

Realistically, the development will take years, even decades, and the first building projects probably won't break ground until at least 2006. In the meantime, the island is being opened in the summer for public tours, and GIPEC hopes to attract public concerts or other gatherings.

The agency must preserve at least 40 acres for public parks and leave open the esplanade so pedestrians can enjoy the harbor views. At different points in time, everyone from a Shakespeare theater company to the City University of New York had kicked the tires to see if the island would be suitable.

Daniels won't name names on who is interested this time around but says several types of development will be welcomed: hotel, catering or other hospitality uses; educational and cultural institutions. Other plans could involve a marina, bed and breakfasts or spas. Some buildings seem to naturally lend themselves for bed and breakfast inns, wedding halls, spa resorts or marina docking.

Putting the vast amount of space to use in a cohesive plan is proving not to be a quick task. Right now the island is run by a skeletal staff of eight people with an annual budget of just $10 million for basic upkeep, summer tours, special events and a semi-regular ferry operating. This year, the island is getting $30 million more to just maintain plumbing and buildings and make other urgent repairs. But as developers come in, the agency hopes that enough money will pour in to invest in restoring the grand Colonials, maintaining a regular ferry service and perhaps even building a pedestrian footbridge to Brooklyn.

New deadline for ideas

Therefore GIPEC has extended its deadline for Requests for Statements of Interest -- governmentspeak for a broad vision -- to June 20. On May 17 it will host a three-hour tour for potential developers or partners.

From those submissions, the officials will create a master plan and solicit the more formal Requests for Proposals, a process that will award contracts to build or develop specific buildings or parts of the island.

The plans come the same time as the city is taking on other ambitious real estate development projects. With the 16-acre site at the World Trade Center, West Side rezoning including the controversial New York Jets stadium, Brooklyn waterfront redevelopment and other projects hogging the spotlight, Governors Island has largely been out of sight and out of mind for most New Yorkers.

But with 172 acres to offer and dozens of sites rich in history, Governors Island could eventually have a far more public use than other projects.

Last week, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) suggested that officials try to attract a major biotech or pharmaceutical facility to the island.

The island's past lives have paralleled much of New York City's own evolution. Just as old New Amsterdam was redubbed New York after the British captured it from the Dutch, Nutten Island was renamed Governors Island a few years after the crown decreed it should be used for the "benefit and accommodation of His Majesty's Governors."

In the 1800s the island began to be used for military purposes, first during the War of 1812, later for housing Confederate POWs during the Civil War. It was used as a supply base during World Wars I and II. The Coast Guard took it over in 1966 and used it as the headquarters for monitoring all of its Atlantic command. At the peak of the Guard's presence, more than 3,500 personnel and families lived on the southern half of the island, which is so large it once had regular bus service to shuttle passengers from one end to the other.

The island, which resembles the shape of an ice cream cone, is actually two different land tracts. The northern end is filled with 100-year-old-plus forts, landmark buildings and the historic site run by the National Parks Service. The southern 80 acres by contrast are largely occupied by non-historic buildings in need of demolition: housing not up to city code, decrepit warehouses where barnacles were once stripped off buoys, as well as cracked tennis courts, swimming pools and other eyesores.

Hoping for tear-downs

City planners hope developers will come in and raze all those buildings and start from a blank slate. "That, in part, is why we're doing this request for expressions of interest," said Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff, adding that he hopes ideas from "the best minds in the world" will come up with a great vision.

Community groups, for the most part, are supporting the efforts and have even pushed for some of the broad plans of using public space. With the right vision, they say, the site can become "the next Central Park" where the city's residents will see it as a treasure.

"It would exemplify New York's return to the waterfront," said Rob Pirani, executive director of Governors Island Alliance, a network of groups concerned with historic preservation and parks. "By having a variety of tenants, it makes for a more exciting and interesting place."

Copyright © 2005, Newsday, Inc. (http://www.nynewsday.com/)

[johnny hollywood]

I was in the Coast Guard and an had the opportunity once to go to Gov Island. The CG had to give up alot of bases because of the constant chopping of our budget's in addition to additional resonsibilities. It was Jan. and the wind really drove me to run everywhere. We had received the base from the Army as many of our facilities from our other sister services too due to lack of again funds. I did not have the time to explore the base as I wanted to, but I have never forgotten too the view of the Twin tower's too.
The base and building's should be carefully considered and I am glad the public can see the base now as it was beautifully maintained by a grateful service. We had to learn how to do basically everything on bases, boats, etc; as we did not have near enough people - less than the NYPD at the time. I would like to go back now to see it again for sure.

[GowanusGuy]

Here's an aerial shot I took of the island recently.

[sfenn1117]

I may get flamed for this but I think we should build a CN Tower type structure on the island. It would have to be very tall, very original, it would definitely add to the skyline and provide unparalleled views. I've been to CN Tower and within it there are shops and restaurants, and if we build an adjoining skyscraper that is a hotel well I think that would just be perfect. And it certainly would not cover the entire site, not even close, therefore, we would still have our 40+ acre park and preserve the historical buildings (apparently not all buildings are historical/worth preserving)


Anyone agree with this? I would love to see it happen but I doubt it. :( NY needs a CN-type tower, imo.

[RedFerrari360f1]

Itll never happen but I dont think it would be bad at all, in fact im quite fond of it!

[billyblancoNYC]

I may get flamed for this but I think we should build a CN Tower type structure on the island. It would have to be very tall, very original, it would definitely add to the skyline and provide unparalleled views. I've been to CN Tower and within it there are shops and restaurants, and if we build an adjoining skyscraper that is a hotel well I think that would just be perfect. And it certainly would not cover the entire site, not even close, therefore, we would still have our 40+ acre park and preserve the historical buildings (apparently not all buildings are historical/worth preserving)


Anyone agree with this? I would love to see it happen but I doubt it. :( NY needs a CN-type tower, imo.

I like it. Put it at the southern tip. Expansive harbor views, you can see the skyline and the soon-to-be much bigger Brooklyn skyline. It would be a great draw to the island and it would enhance the skyline. Alas, it will likely not happen.

[Clarknt67]

I like it. Put it at the southern tip. Expansive harbor views, you can see the skyline and the soon-to-be much bigger Brooklyn skyline. It would be a great draw to the island and it would enhance the skyline. Alas, it will likely not happen.

I disagree, I say leave it unspoiled. There will likely be an observation deck at ground zero as well as skyscrapers in Downtown Brooklyn, there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the view.

I see it as another Central Park, a chance to escape the urban landscape and all the $$$ and concrete. Whatever's built there should meld with the historic architecture and provide city dwellers opportunites like biking, kayaking, etc... recreational inexpensive things families and young people can enjoy.

[Stern]

NYSUN:

Redevelopment Ideas Pouring In for Governors Island

BY JEREMY SMERD
June 16, 2005

For two years, the New York Harbor School has been landlocked in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

Since the public high school opened in September 2003, its founders have gazed longingly eastward toward Governors Island, a site naturally suited for a school whose curriculum centers on the bays and tidal estuaries of the harbor.

On June 20, the school will have an opportunity to seize its future. It will propose, to the city-state agency in charge of redeveloping Governors Island, building a campus on the island facing Buttermilk Channel, the quarter-mile-wide stretch of water separating the island's former army barracks from Red Hook, Brooklyn.

The campus could mesh seamlessly with another concept to be proposed by the end of business Monday, the deadline set for submission of ideas for development of the island. A group of 55 civic groups called the Governors Island Alliance will unveil its plans for a 6-acre environmental education center, most likely located on the southern edge of the island, replete with a 2-acre reproduction of the New York Harbor, built to scale and ecologically correct with a minibeach representing Jamaica Bay.

How such projects would reconcile with a proposal to build a replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theater inside a 194-year-old fort will be the task of the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation, which has been grappling with how to develop the island since the deed was handed over from the federal government for $1 in 2003.

These proposals are just ideas, two of hundreds Gipec is likely to receive in response to its request for "expressions of interest" by June 20. The public benefit corporation, a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation, sent out 3,000 applications detailing its guidelines, the group's chairman, Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff, said. Approximately 1,600 applications were downloaded from the organization's Web site.

"We want people from all over the world giving some thought to appropriate, exciting uses for Governors Island," he said.

Mr. Doctoroff expressed optimism that scores of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations - potential developers, investors, and tenants - both here and abroad would respond to the call for ideas on how to develop 150 acres of the island. The remaining 22 acres, known as the Governors Island National Monument, will be preserved and managed by the National Park Service.

Though it's impossible to know how many proposals are forthcoming, real estate experts and those in the planning community are unsure if the private sector will respond enthusiastically to the government's call, which offers few guarantees compared to a more formal request for proposals.

A master plan designed by architects hired by the city in 2004 was supposed to have led to such a request this year. Instead, the preservation corporation issued requests for more input from the community at large in March. A month later, the group's president, James Lima, resigned. Those familiar with the situation said Mr. Lima, who helped secure the deed to Governors Island in 2003, was frustrated by a lack of monetary commitment from the city and state. Although the preservation group received $30 million over three years for upkeep and maintenance on the island, as well as an additional $30 million this year for capital improvements, Mr. Lima said at a Community Board 1 meeting in March that it would take at least $80 million to improve the island's infrastructure - most notably transportation to the island, sewage treatment, and preservation of historic buildings - before private developers would take a risk on developing there.

"The city and state need to make commitments that they will put in money so that the private sector will take this seriously," the president of Friends of Hudson River Park, Albert Butzel, said. "The problem isn't that the private sector won't come up with good ideas, the problem is the more you lay on the back of the private sector to put in infrastructure, the more commercial they have to make it."

This poses a serious obstacle given the restrictions on the possible uses of the island stipulated by the federal government when it handed the deed over to the state. Of the 150 acres controlled by the city and state, the deed requires 40 acres to remain parkland, of which 20 acres are contiguous; 20 acres must be used for education; and 30 acres must be set aside for "public benefit," which could include arts and theater groups.

The remaining 46 acres would be available for private development, but that, too, has its restrictions. Developers are not allowed to build residential housing, except dorms and short-term housing such as hotels, nor are they allowed to build for industrial purposes. Gambling in either casinos on the island or riverboats docked there, and power production, are prohibited. Cars, except for maintenance vehicles, are banned from the island.

"It is clearly a site that is so encumbered with public restrictions that it's very difficult to develop," the president of the Partnership for New York City, Kathryn Wylde, told The New York Sun. "You're not going to see a private for-profit proposal that is very aggressive."

Some money, however, may be forthcoming from the federal government, as $20 million has been earmarked for the island in the fiscal 2006 federal budget. The money, if granted in the budget, will be used to repair 40 docks and install a floating ferry dock to make it easier for private water taxis to take visitors to the island, said Robert Pirani, the director of environmental programs at the Regional Plan Association, one of the lead organizations of the Governors Island Alliance. Mr. Pirani, who knows of at least a dozen plans forthcoming this week from the private sector, acknowledged that once Gipec puts forward the more formal request for proposals, developers will get much more serious and detailed.

"The more specific question you ask, the more specific answer you'll get," he said. "Gipec asked for general ideas."

Until now, ideas from the private sector have included hotels, bed and breakfasts, museums, office space, a marina, and a conference center, one of the first ideas discussed in 2000, during the waning years of the Giuliani administration. At one time or another since then, plans have called for the involvement of the city's public and private universities, which may be readying their own proposals. One idea backed by Senator Schumer is the creation of a CUNY research facility built around a high-speed computer center that would do advanced modeling for a variety of industries.

A notably different idea may come from the private sector, from a group called Federal Development, based in Washington, D.C., according to a consultant for the company, Michael Fishman. Mr. Fishman, who works for the engineering firm Halcrow, said Federal Development's proposal would be based on making the island a model of "environmental and economic sustainability." Mr. Fishman said Federal Development, which, according to its Web site, specializes in "master development of publicly owned real estate assets, "will propose to take on a 99-year lease of the property as the master developer on the island, coordinating individual development projects and helping to secure funding from investors, educational institutions, foundations, and governments.

Such a plan, of course, sounds like what the preservation corporation was created to do in the first place.

[Stern]

Toronto has similar land that is a ferry ride from its CBD, they made it into a sprawling utopia of parkland with a variety of different outdoor entertainment and educational functions. It always filled with people picnicking, walking, biking, swimming, and it’s absolutely beautiful.

http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/parks/images/cityview.jpg

http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/parks/island/index.htm

[Edward]

Saturdays Come Roam and Explore Governors Island

June 11, 2005 - September 3, 2005
10 AM to 5:30 PM

Governors Island Preservation and Education Corp., 212.440.2202
National Park Service, 212.825.3051

Please join us as we celebrate the 2005 Summer Season on Governors Island.

Once again, the Governors Island Preservation & Education Corporation and the National Park Service will open Governors Island to the public for Saturday visits to the Governors Island. This year, visitors will be able to visit the esplenade but also explore on their own a about a 40 acre portion of the National Historic Landmark District that includes Colonel's Row, the parade grounds and Fort Jay.

The only ferry service to Governors Island departs from the Battery Maritime Building located at 10 South Street at the corner of Whitehall and South Streets and next door the Staten Island ferry terminal in lower Manhattan.

On Saturdays, the ferry departs every hour on the hour beginning at 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. The ferry returns to Manhattan at 11:15 AM, then every hour on the ½ hour from 12:30 PM to 5:30 PM.

Governors Island Ferry Ticket Information

Tickets for the Governors Island Ferry will be available through New York Water Taxi Ticket Booth locations: Pier 11(at Wall Street & South Street), at the South Street Seaport Pier 16 at Fulton and South Street and in Jersey City, NJ; as well as online at www.nywatertaxi.com and by phone at 212.742.1969. Tickets may be purchased in advance or on the day of departure in person or by phone. There will also be same day sales at the Governors Island ferry slip on Saturdays ONLY, subject to availability.

Tickets are: $6 for Adults and children 13 and older; $3 for children 3-12 and free for children 2 and younger.

---------------------------------------------

National Park Service Saturday Ranger Programs

New for the 2005 summer season, the National Park Service has developed a self-guided tour of the Governors Island historic district open to the public. The self-guided tour fact sheet is available at the bookstore, Building 140, next to the ferry dock on Governors Island.

Historic Fort Jay will be open to the public during the day with free 20 minute ranger guided tours offered throughout the day.

National Park Service rangers will offer short tours of various portions of the Governors Island historic district each Saturday. Tours will be offered on an hourly basis at 20 minutes after the hour from 10:20 AM to 4:20 PM. Tours are free, limited to 40 people each and require a free tour pass available only at the bookstore, Building 140, next to the ferry dock on Governors Island.

http://www.nps.gov/gois/pphtml/eventdetail17676.html

[Edward]

Text from National Park Service (http://www.nps.gov/gois/pphtml/newsdetail15423.html) website, pictures are mine, taken yesterday.

On December 7, 1988, Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev came to New York City to address the United Nations General Assembly. Following a recitation of the recent changes in the Soviet Union or "perestroika," Gorbachev amazed the global community when he announced drastic cuts in the Soviet military presence in Eastern Europe, ultimately allowing Soviet satellites to choose their own paths.

Not quite a year later, in November 1989, as a result of perestroika in the Soviet Union and a diminishing presence in Eastern Europe, the most graphic symbol of the Cold War, the Berlin Wall, came down.

In his 1998 book about foreign policy, former President George Bush recalled an important meeting at Governors Island with the leader of the Soviet Union after that historic speech:

"As the ferry carrying Mikhail Gorbachev slowly approached the Coast Guard station at Governors Island through the gray waters of New York harbor, a feeling of tense expectation spread across the waiting knots of US and Soviet officials. The arrival field had been largely cleared of spectators and Coast Guardsmen and their families peered from windows, eagerly waiting to glimpse the Soviet leader as he stepped out onto the island. It was a crisp December 7, 1988, and I was looking toward seeing Gorbachev, who had just finished a major address to the United Nations General Assembly--one filled with farreaching arms control proposals. He was on his way to meet with President Ronald Reagan for a brief summit, which had been tacked on to the tail end of his visit to New York."

Bush recalled: "His address that day at the UN had been dramatic in both content and delivery, and it was obvious he loved the gamesmanship that went with an appearance there. It was an encouraging speech. Gorbachev had said that the threat or use of force should no longer be an instrument of foreign policy. He had promised to shift Soviet military doctrine to a more defensive stance and would unilaterally reduce their armed forces by 500,000 in two years--which, given their total size, was small but a good start. He also announced that several armored divisions would be withdrawn from Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and East Germany by 1991 and disbanded."

In planning his trip to the United Nations, Gorbachev had requested a meeting with President Ronald Reagan. With Reagan in final weeks of his presidential term, his advisors felt it important that the visit remain low profile, so there would be no large scale summit or state visit to the White House. Yet, a short and informal meeting between the heads of state and newly elected President George Bush was possible. The White House selected the U.S. Coast Guard base at Governors Island as a meeting site since it was a secure military installation in the middle of New York harbor and just minutes away from the United Nations.

Bush continued: "A broadly smiling Gorbachev emerged from the ferry waving, dressed in a smartly tailored gray suit and a serious red tie. With only a month and a half to go in his term, this would be Reagan's farewell meeting with a man he had come to respect and for whom he felt genuine fondness and friendship. Reagan had brought the US-Soviet relationship a long way forward. He had dispelled the myth that he opposed absolutely everything to do with the Soviet Union, and the Soviet leaders no longer looked upon him as an unreconstructed Cold Warrior." Meeting in the 1840-era commanding officer's residence that now adjoins the Governors Island National Monument, there were moments of tension and humor.

As Bush observed: "...he genuinely flared up when Reagan innocently asked him about progress in reform and perestroika. Gorbachev, with some real feeling, replied, "Have you completed all the reforms you need to complete?" I think he had misinterpreted the question as a criticism, because after we talked about our desire to see reform succeed he calmed down considerably and his good humor returned."

Later on President Reagan humorously noted the only thing he was not able to do during his presidency was to bring horses back to the U.S. cavalry. Gorbachev acknowledged Reagan's love of horses, but shared that he had never had the opportunity to be around them. He told Reagan he could never remember from which side to mount a horse.

With enthusiasm, Reagan responded: "On the left! On the left! Gorbachev, not expecting such passionate uttering of the word "left" by the politically conservative President and retiring Cold Warrior broke up laughing.

A photo opportunity presented the media covering the event was that of Reagan, Gorbachev and Bush gathered on a platform on the opposite side of the island with the Statue of Liberty in the background. The symbolism outlasted the moment.

The role that Governors Island played in the end of the Cold War had implications for the island. The "Peace Dividend" realized by the end of the Cold War resulted in the closing of base in 1996, ending its use as a military installation in New York harbor since 1794.




The meeting of Gorbachev, Reagan, and Bush took place in the Admiral's House on Governors Island on 12/7/1988.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/guide/governors_island/admirals_house.jpg (http://www.wirednewyork.com/guide/governors_island/admirals_house.htm)


http://www.wirednewyork.com/guide/governors_island/admirals_house_room.jpg (http://www.wirednewyork.com/guide/governors_island/admirals_house.htm)

[Edward]

Ferry dock on Governors Island.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/guide/governors_island/governors_island_ferry.jpg (http://www.wirednewyork.com/guide/governors_island/)

http://www.wirednewyork.com/guide/governors_island/ferry_governors_island.jpg (http://www.wirednewyork.com/guide/governors_island/)



South Battery building on Governors Island.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/guide/governors_island/south_battery.jpg (http://www.wirednewyork.com/guide/governors_island/)



Inside Castle Williams.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/guide/governors_island/castle_williams.jpg (http://www.wirednewyork.com/guide/governors_island/)



The view of Manhattan from Governors Island.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/guide/governors_island/manhattan_sailship.jpg (http://www.wirednewyork.com/guide/governors_island/)

[Clarknt67]

I took this tour 2 weekends ago and it was really a great experience. They do let you walk into some of the buildings, like the mansion pictured above. And a ranger will take you on a free 45 min walking tour with snippets of history. The "campus" of officer's homes was really beautiful and the size of the barrack's building was amazing (slept 1,400 troups!). When you're in the middle of the island, you'd never imagine in a millions years you're a stones throw from NYC. It's silent as any paradise and really pastoral.

When you're in the center of the prison, a pin drop could be heard all over. The acoustics were amazing, it would make a wonderful theater/performance space in the round (if one could ignore it's notorious history as the death site for thousands of confederate soldiers).

I'll post some photos later. I totally encourage anyone who's interested to take the ferry over, it's just $6 round trip.

[ZippyTheChimp]

'FANTASY' ISLAND


By ANGELA MONTEFINISE

City planners have come up with four visions for a new Governors Island, including a Disney-like amusement park.

The 172-acre former Coast Guard base a half-mile off lower Manhattan in New York Harbor could be transformed into a tourist mecca of hotels, stores, restaurants, performance stages and rides under four different models dubbed Destination Island, Innovation Island, Minimum Build Island and Iconic Island.

The Disney-esque Destination Island model would raze the buildings on the south side of the island, preserve the landmarks on the north side and include domed entertainment venues, outdoor amusement rides, a conference center, "resort residential" units, a shoreline amphitheater and a theme hotel.

Innovation Island focuses on research and education, and includes a business school, a sports complex, a research campus, dorms, stores, restaurants and a band shell.

Iconic Island touts the "island at the center of the world," combining boutique hotels and historic buildings with high-rise buildings, a conference center and hotel, and housing.

Minimum Build Island shows the island with restaurants, retail and preserved historic buildings, but not much else. In this scenario, the whole south side of the island would be parkland. One planner called it a "worst-case scenario" because it would cost $217 million to build and generate little revenue.

The concepts were put together by the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corp., a state/city subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corp., and were based on 93 responses it received from developers, nonprofits and educators.


GIPEC interim presiden Paul Kelly said it will cost between $217 million and $368 million to develop the island under a plan that mandates public access and 40 acres of parkland, and the preservation of at least 62 landmarked buildings.

"We definitely need economic drivers to help pay for all this," he said. "What we'd like to do is get enough economic activity to maintain the island."

In addition to development costs — which would include the construction of a new tunnels to carry water and electricity to the island — $60 million is needed over the next few years to restore what's already there, Kelly said.

He hopes GIPEC will choose proposal winners by the end of 2006 and start building by late 2007.

The city and state bought the is