For immediate release:
Thursday, May 24, 2007

Contact:
Elizabeth Berberich, 212.440.2205


GOVERNORS ISLAND ANNOUNCES DISTINGUISHED JURY FOR LANDSCAPE DESIGN COMPETITION  
City and State Parks Commissioners Join Design Professionals and Citizens in Recommending Team to Design Governors Island Park and Open Space

The Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC) today announced a jury of distinguished individuals to review five design concepts for new park and open spaces on Governors Island.

In January, GIPEC announced that five design teams, Field Operations with WilkinsonEyre Architects; Hargreaves Associates/ Michael Maltzan Architecture, Inc.; REX/MDP; West 8/Rogers Marvel/Diller Scofidio + Renfro/ Quennell Rothschild & Partners/SMWM; and WRT + Urban Strategies, were chosen to compete to design new open space on Governors Island. This space includes the two mile Great Promenade that provides breath-taking views of Lower Manhattan and New York Harbor, a new “Summer Park” on the southern end of the Island, and restoration of the mature landscapes of the Island’s National Historic District.

The Jury will convene this summer to review the design teams’ work and will consider the proposals along with public comments.

The Jury will recommend a winning team or teams, rather than a winning design. GIPEC will work with the selected team(s) to design park and open space, with a process of extensive public input.

Public input on the teams’ proposals can be given in a variety of ways:

• Visit the exhibitions at the American Institute of Architect’s Center for Architecture in Manhattan, and on Governors Island, beginning on May 31st and June 2nd respectively
• Log on to www.govisland.com to view designs and submit feedback
• Attend the public forum on June 20th at the Fashion Institute of Technology (Reeves Great Hall, 28th Street and 7th Avenue) where the design teams will present their concepts.

A future announcement will be made regarding the selection of the team(s).

Information on jury members is below.

Carol Ash is the Commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, as well as the State Historic Preservation Officer. Ash's vision for the future of State Parks includes improving park infrastructure and working to ensure that the agency's policies and initiatives can serve as a model in efforts to address global warming. Prior to her nomination as State Parks Commissioner, Ms. Ash served as Executive Director of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, which manages more than 100,000 acres in New York and New Jersey. She was the first woman to hold the post in the 107 year history of the Park Commission. Throughout her distinguished career, she has been the recipient of numerous honors, including the annual Advocates Award by the Environmental Advocates of New York.

Adrian Benepe is the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and has worked for the last 28 years protecting and enhancing New York City’s natural and historic beauty. Appointed by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Benepe has focused on improving park facilities and programs for children, developing new waterfront parks and greenways, and making New York City bloom with millions of new flowers and hundred of gardens. Starting his Parks & Recreation career more than three decades ago, he has taken on a variety of positions ranging from Director of Natural Resources & Horticulture to Director of Art & Antiquities. During this latter assignment, he helped found the Historic House Trust, a not-for-profit organization created to preserve and promote the historic house museums located in New York City parks.

Leslie Koch is President of the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC). Appointed by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Governor George E. Pataki in April 2006, Ms. Koch is responsible for the planning, redevelopment and on-going operation of 150 acres of the Island. Under her leadership, GIPEC has developed a strategy to create world-class open spaces on the Island, expand public access and early signature uses, preserve historic structures, and plan for mixed-use public and private development. Prior to GIPEC, Leslie Koch was the CEO of the Fund for Public Schools, the nonprofit organization affiliated with the New York City Department of Education where she developed initiatives to increase public participation and private sector support for public education in New York City.

Reed Kroloff has recently accepted the position of Director of the Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum in Detroit. The recipient of the American Academy in Rome’s 2003 Rome Prize Fellowship, Mr. Kroloff previously served as Editor-in-Chief of Architecture magazine. Under his direction, Architecture received more awards for editorial and design excellence than any magazine of its type. Mr. Kroloff advises a range of clients on architect selection and design strategy, including, among others, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Ministry of Culture of the Federal Government of Mexico, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the University of Connecticut, and Motown Center. Mr. Kroloff writes and lectures widely, and is a regular visiting critic at architecture schools and professional organizations across the country.

Karen Brooks Hopkins is the President of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), where she has worked since 1979. As President, Hopkins oversees the Academy’s 300 full- and part-time employees and facilities, including the Howard Gilman Opera House, the BAM Harvey Theater, and the four-theater BAM Rose Cinemas. She has also served as a member of the Mayor’s Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission and is currently a member of the board of NYC & Company. Last year, she was appointed to the New York State Board of Regents and also serves on the Board of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, an economic development organization promoting the growth of the greater Downtown Brooklyn area and the BAM Cultural District.

Laurie Olin is a Principal of Olin Partnership, a landscape architecture firm. Olin is Practice Professor of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania and is also Chairman, Department of Landscape Architecture at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. His distinguished career in landscape architecture spans five decades and hundreds of projects throughout the United States and the world. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Bradford Williams Medal for his writing on history and theory of landscape architecture. He is a Trustee Emeritus of the American Academy of Rome, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and is an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects.

Gregg Pasquarelli co-founded the architectural firm SHoP Architects in 1997 and has lectured, exhibited, and been published internationally. Pasquarelli was named the Saarinen Professor of Architecture at Yale University and in Fall 2006 served as the Shure Professor of Architecture at The University of Virginia during the Fall of 2003. Pasquarelli serves on the Board of Directors for The Architectural League of New York and is a Young Leader’s Fellow of the National Committee on United States - China Relations. SHoP was named a 2002 finalist for the Cooper Hewitt/Smithsonian Institute’s National Design Awards and was awarded the 2001 Academy Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is a Registered Architect in the State of New York.

Joseph Rose is a partner in The Georgetown Company, a privately held real estate development firm which has developed or overseen in excess of 15,000,000 square feet of office, residential, and recreational properties throughout the country, including the award-winning planned communities of Easton and New Albany in Columbus, Ohio. Among Mr. Rose’s current projects is a partnership with InterActiveCorp and Frank Gehry to develop InterActiveCorp’s striking new waterfront headquarters in Manhattan’s west Chelsea neighborhood. Prior to joining Georgetown, Mr. Rose served for eight years as Chairman of the New York City Planning Commission and Director of the Department of City Planning in the administration of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.

About Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC)
The Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation is responsible for the planning, redevelopment and ongoing operations for 150 acres of Governors Island. The National Park Service administers the additional 22 acres of the island designated in 2003 as the Governors Island National Monument. A subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation, GIPEC is overseen by a Board of Directors appointed equally by the Governor and Mayor of New York. GIPEC is working closely with the National Park Service and a wide array of constituent groups, including business, community and civic groups, to foster new ideas for development of Governors Island and to enhance the island’s role as a vital and integral part of New York City and the surrounding region. GIPEC seeks to make Governors Island a destination with great public open space and heritage tourism attractions, as well as education, conference and cultural arts facilities. For more information please visit www.govisland.com or call 212.440.2202.