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Governor's Island, New York City
Half a mile south of the bottom tip of Manhattan and a quarter mile from Brooklyn's western shore, Governor's Island is a quiet patch of land right beside the bustling city. Currently covering 172 acres, it is much larger than neighboring Ellis Island and Liberty Island. Much of this, however, is artificial landfill; before the twentieth century, the island was roughly half that size. Two centuries of various military uses only recently ended, and at present Governor's Island represents an opportunity to create valuable public spaces easily accessible to a city that needs them.
History
Colonial Period
To the Native Americans in the area, the island was called Pagganck, meaning "Nut Island," after the plentiful nut trees there. In 1611, it was named Noten Eylant (again, "Nut Island") by a Dutch explorer. Two years later, the first black man to live in New York City, the Afro-Caribbean interpreter Jan Rodrigues, began spending idyllic summers there. Because the Dutch colony of New Netherland was founded on the island under principles of religious tolerance, some have argued that it deserves special recognition as a birthplace of the American way.
Subsequently, it housed Dutch soldiers and settlers until being ceded, with the rest of New York, to the English in 1664. By the close of that century, it had been set aside for English royal governors, and people began calling it Governor's Island.
Revolution, Fortification, and Enlargement
From the Revolutionary War on, the island was used as a military base. For more than two centuries after, it remained in military hands.
In the early twentieth century, the island more than doubled in size as 105 acres of landfill from the Lexington Avenue subway were added on the southern end. The whole island became a major Army administrative center called Fort Columbus, complete with barracks and stately officers' homes, which remain.
Governor's Island passed hands from the Army to the Coast Guard in 1966. It was used thereafter as a logistics facility, housing over 3,000 people. Secure and yet a stone's throw from the city, the island was used several times for diplomatic meetings, including President Reagan's 1988 summit with Mikhail Gorbachev.
Governor's Island Today
In 1995, the Coast Guard left, along with all the island's permanent residents. 22 acres on the north end were designated a National Monument, including both Fort Jay and Castle Williams. The rest, in 2003, was sold by the federal government to the people of New York State for $1. This portion is administered by the Governor's Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC), which is charged with overseeing the redevelopment of the island for public use.
Currently, Governor's Island is open to visitors during the summer months only, from late May until early September. Access is free of charge. Throughout that time, it plays host to a variety of events, including concerts, arts festivals like Figment, historical reenactments, and public lectures. Visitors may not bring cars, but bicycles are both permitted and encouraged. This makes the island a rare opportunity for recreation free from the dangers and distractions of automobiles. Cooking, pets, alcohol, and weapons are forbidden.[1]
During the months that it is open, Governor's Island is accessible by boat, both with the Governor's Island Ferry from Lower Manhattan and the New York Water Taxi from Brooklyn.
In Summer 2008, Governor's Island will be home to one of four artificial waterfalls as part of a much-publicized installation by artist Olafur Eliasson.[2]
Plans and Hopes for the Future
Since 2003, the GIPEC has fielded suggestions from the public about what to do with its portion of the island. "Governors Island is a truly unique site that requires the highest standards of development, producing nothing less than the site's nearly limitless possibilities," its chairman Daniel L. Doctoroff (also New York City Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding) said at a press conference.[3] The redevelopment, city officials hope, will allow the island to serve as a tourist destination and a model of environmental sustainability, all the while being economically self-sustaining.
By mid-2007, the designs of five different firms were selected as finalists for the redevelopment project. Each proposed to transform the whole ecology of the island with massive earthworks along with cultural centers. On December 19th of that year, the winners were announced, a consortium led by the Dutch firm West 8.[4] The New York Times suggests that their concept for Governor's Island "could well become the most inspired public park built here in generations."[5] Unlike many recent projects of this size, which are simply parceled up and handed over to developers, the GIPEC seems to have done much to keep the public's interests at the center of the project.
Though architects have been selected, the design itself is still in preliminary stages. The final plan should be ready by the end of 2009, and construction is not expected to be completed until five years after that. Until then, much remains to be decided. For that reason, there still remains the threat that this precious public space may become over-commercialized.
These are some of the proposals, some further along than others, for what might be done with the new Governor's Island.
Bike Sharing
The winning design for the park includes plans for New York City's first bike sharing program, making bicycles free to use for visitors to the island. Since no cars are allowed, bikes are an ideal way to get around. Architect Adriaan Geuze points out, "You could never walk the entire island, but the bikes will help get people to experience more of the island and go anywhere they want to." [6]
Gondola
It already seems likely that a $125 million gondola system will be built, connecting Governors Island to both Brooklyn and Manhattan.[7] The majestic, thread-like structure that has been proposed by architect Santiago Calatrava has met with enthusiastic support from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor George Pataki.[3]
New York Harbor School
In November 2007, the GIPEC approved its first tenant on the island, the New York Harbor School, currently located in Brooklyn. [8] The Harbor School is a small public high school intended "to work with an ethnically and academically diverse group of students to create the next generation of water resource managers, users, scientists and conservationists." [9]
An NYU Campus
In early 2008, New York University announced its interest in building a million-square-foot campus on Governor's Island after the new redevelopment is completed. The campus would include housing for faculty and students, as well as certain academic programs. So far, the idea has been received positively by the GIPEC, but no final decisions have been made. [10]
This is a proposal to be wary of, considering the habits that NYU has already demonstrated in its Greenwich Village base. In the interests of creating a properly sanitized habitat for students, the school has made strides to effectively privatize public spaces like Washington Square Park. [11]
Public Health Center
In late 2007, Mayor Bloomberg expressed interest in using his own philanthropic foundation to fund a public health institute on the new Governor's Island. [12] Nothing is yet finalized, and the foundation still has its reservations about the idea. With his deputy mayor in charge of the GIPEC, Bloomberg's plans to make the island home to his own foundation's project clearly represents a potential conflict of interest.
New Globe Theater
Led by Barbara Romer, a coalition began to develop in 1999 to build a replica of Shakespeare's Globe theater inside the walls of Castle Williams on the island. The theater would fit exactly inside the castle, not affecting the historic structure. London architect Norman Foster designed an impressive glass structure for the project.[13] Despite wide support among politicians and theatre celebrities, the National Park Service decided in early 2008 not to consider the project. According to the Park Service, "Visually, spatially, and in terms of communicating the fort's military function and history, the visitor [to the New Globe site] would be confronted with a very large, permanent intrusion. This would not be the superlative visitor experience expected by the public." [14] Advocates are continuing to fight for the consideration of the New Globe concept.
Tolerance Park
Amateur historian Joep de Koning has spent the last several years advocating for a "Tolerance Park" on the new Governor's Island, celebrating the role of Dutch colonial New York in the American tradition of religious and cultural tolerance. Despite a handful of exuberant websites, a YouTube video, and public speeches by de Koning, neither the GIPEC nor politicians have expressed interest in the project publicly[15,16].
ALSO ON LIVABLE STREETS
REFERENCES
[1] GIPEC - Visit the Island
[2] Gothamist - East River Waterfalls Will Make a Big Splash this July
[3] "Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki Call for Visionary Ideas for the Redevelopment of Governor's Island." News from the Blue Room. February 16, 2006.
[4] "Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Eliot Spitzer Announce the Selection of Team to Design Park and Open Space on Governor's Island." News from the Blue Room. December 19, 2007.
[5] Nicolai Ouroussoff. "A Landscape's Isolation Is Tuned Into a Virtue." The New York Times. December 20, 2007.
[6] Brad Aaron. "City's First Bike Share Planned for Governor's Island." StreetsBlog. December 20, 2007.
[7] Rich Calder, "High on Gov.'s I" The New York Post. December 20, 2007.
[8] Katie N. "The Harbor School Has Landed!" Governor's Island Alliance. November 19, 2007.
[9] "NYHS Mission and Vision." The New York Harbor School.
[10] Rich Calder. "Gov's I Has Class: NYU." The New York Post. February 1, 2008.
[11] PlanNYC - Washington Square Park Redesign.
[12] Ray Rivera. "Bloomberg Envisions Scholars on Governors Island." NYTimes.com - City Room. October 12, 2007.
[13] New Globe Theater website.
[14] Kenneth Jones. "Will a Globe Theater Rise in NY Harbor? National Park Service Invites Comment." Playbill. March 4, 2008.
[15] Albert Amateau. "Let's Go Dutch, Says Lower Manhattan History Maven." The Villager. May 4, 2005.
[16] Governor's Island Legacy. NationalHeritageTriangle.com.
PICTURE REFERENCES
- Castle Williams via Wikipeda
- Map of Governor's Island via Wikipedia
FURTHER READING
- Edmund Banks Smith. Governor's Island: Its Military History Under Three Flags, 1637-1913. New York: Edmund Banks Smith, 1913.
- Blanche Wilder Bellamy. Governor's Island. New York: 1897.
