Blog

Oct 4 4:16 pm

Gov­er­nors Island, now open to the pub­lic year-round for the first time ever, is the ide­al spot for all-sea­son food, bev­er­age, recre­ation­al and oth­er ameni­ty con­ces­sions. Sub­mit a pro­pos­al today to bring your ideas to this icon­ic loca­tion, just min­utes from Low­er Man­hat­tan and Brooklyn.

The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island is accept­ing pro­pos­als for food, bev­er­age and ameni­ties ven­dors to oper­ate in any sea­son. The Island is one of New York City’s most unique des­ti­na­tions, with near­ly one mil­lion vis­i­tors enjoy­ing arts and cul­tur­al pro­grams, events, recre­ation and activ­i­ties, award-win­ning open space with unri­valed views of the New York City sky­line and more each year.

We’re look­ing for part­ners that:

• Can offer high-qual­i­ty, afford­able, food or recre­ation activ­i­ties for our diverse vis­i­tors on a con­sis­tent schedule.
• Com­ple­ment and sup­port Gov­er­nors Island’s new year-round pub­lic hours. Ven­dors that can pro­vide win­ter-appro­pri­ate recre­ation activ­i­ties that take advan­tage of the Island’s abun­dant open space, hills and path­ways; win­ter-friend­ly food con­ces­sions; or hol­i­day mar­kets and win­ter attrac­tions are strong­ly encour­aged to apply.
• Share the Trust’s goal of pro­mot­ing a sus­tain­able and zero-waste environment.

Pro­pos­als will be accept­ed on a rolling basis. Click here to learn more and sub­mit a proposal.

Sep 28 1:59 pm

May­or Bill de Bla­sio and the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island announced today that Gov­er­nors Island will be open to the pub­lic year-round, begin­ning this fall. Start­ing Novem­ber 1, New York­ers will be able to access Gov­er­nors Island’s open space, cul­tur­al pro­gram­ming, and recre­ation­al resources beyond its tra­di­tion­al May through Octo­ber sea­son for the first time.

May­or de Bla­sio, the Trust, and the New York City Eco­nom­ic Devel­op­ment Cor­po­ra­tion (NYCEDC) also announced today that NYC Fer­ry will serve Gov­er­nors Island dai­ly, year-round begin­ning with the launch of the Coney Island Route this fall. NYC Fer­ry will serve Gov­er­nors Island’s Yan­kee Pier via the South Brook­lyn Route, expand­ing direct access from Red Hook, Atlantic Ave/​Brooklyn Bridge Park-Pier 6, DUMBO/​Fulton Fer­ry, and Cor­lears Hook in the Low­er East Side for Gov­er­nors Island vis­i­tors and grow­ing com­mu­ni­ty of tenants.

“The COVID-19 pan­dem­ic has cre­at­ed an unprece­dent­ed oppor­tu­ni­ty to reimag­ine pub­lic space in this city – and now, we’re proud to keep the crown jew­el of our har­bor open to New York­ers all year round,” said May­or Bill de Bla­sio. ​“From expand­ed fer­ry ser­vice, to more ameni­ties than ever, to year-round vis­i­tors from all over the city, there’s no bet­ter time to expe­ri­ence and invest in Gov­er­nors Island.”

“Gov­er­nors Island has been an oasis for New York­ers for near­ly two decades, and I’m so pleased that it will now become a des­ti­na­tion in all sea­sons,” said Vic­ki Been, Deputy May­or for Hous­ing and Eco­nom­ic Devel­op­ment. ​“The Gov­er­nors Island team has been work­ing hard to expand the type and num­ber of part­ner orga­ni­za­tions on the Island – not to men­tion the Cli­mate Solu­tions Cen­ter we have in the works – and this year-round pub­lic fer­ry access is a crit­i­cal part of real­iz­ing our full vision for this green, cul­tur­al, and edu­ca­tion­al hub.”

“Over the past two decades, a vision­ary idea to put Gov­er­nors Island on the map as a pub­lic des­ti­na­tion was out­lined, and today we are proud to announce that Gov­er­nors Island will now be open for New York­ers to enjoy year-round,” said Clare New­man, Pres­i­dent and CEO of the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island. ​“This announce­ment is an excit­ing moment in real­iz­ing our vision to increase equi­table access to this remark­able resource and is an impor­tant step in real­iz­ing Gov­er­nors Island’s full poten­tial. I thank May­or Bill de Bla­sio and NYCEDC for their part­ner­ship in this extra­or­di­nary achieve­ment, as well as Coun­cil Mem­bers Mar­garet Chin, Car­li­na Rivera, State Sen­a­tor Bri­an Kavanagh and all of our elect­ed lead­ers for their advo­ca­cy and support.”

“We are pleased to sup­port Gov­er­nors Island as it opens year-round to the pub­lic with our expand­ed NYC Fer­ry ser­vice lat­er this year. Water­way trans­porta­tion is key to our recov­ery and open­ing Gov­er­nors Island 12 months of the year is anoth­er illus­tra­tion of New York City’s won­der­ful future,” said Rachel Loeb, Pres­i­dent and CEO of the New York City Eco­nom­ic Devel­op­ment Cor­po­ra­tion. ​“Con­grat­u­la­tions to the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island and every­one who has made this vision become a reality.”

Today’s announce­ment marks a sig­nif­i­cant mile­stone in the trans­for­ma­tion of Gov­er­nors Island into a remark­able resource for New York­ers. Fol­low­ing its trans­fer from fed­er­al to local con­trol in 2003, the City of New York and the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island have worked to invest in expand­ing pub­lic access to Gov­er­nors Island, which has tra­di­tion­al­ly wel­comed vis­i­tors in the sum­mer months but has long been envi­sioned as a des­ti­na­tion acces­si­ble year-round.

“Over the years, Gov­er­nors Island has grown into a beloved spot for New York­ers to play, explore, and relax, and I am proud I played a role in con­vert­ing this gem in the har­bor into a pub­lic ameni­ty for New York­ers,” said Sen­a­tor Chuck Schumer. ​“Open­ing Gov­er­nors Island to vis­i­tors year-round rep­re­sents an impor­tant step in reach­ing its full poten­tial as a pub­lic resource.”

“Expand­ing access to Governor’s Island is an excit­ing mile­stone for New York­ers, who vis­it it to enjoy a stroll through nature with loved ones, to see state-of-the-art research facil­i­ties, or to just enjoy a fer­ry ride through the har­bor,” said Sen­a­tor Kirsten Gilli­brand. ​“I am pleased to wel­come year-round ser­vice to this unique and dynam­ic loca­tion that every sin­gle New York­er can access at their convenience.”

“Gov­er­nors Island is tru­ly one of our city’s hid­den gems, and I’m pleased that final­ly after 20 years after I worked on reac­quir­ing the island from the fed­er­al gov­ern­ment, New York­ers will final­ly have year-round fer­ry ser­vice and access to Gov­er­nors Island,” said U.S. Rep. Jer­ry Nadler. ​“That means New York­ers and vis­i­tors alike will have more oppor­tu­ni­ty to play, explore and relax and enjoy this great New York attraction.”

“It is won­der­ful that Gov­er­nors Island will soon be open year round for the pub­lic sev­en days a week,” said U.S. Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez. ​“I am even more thrilled that reg­u­lar week­day fer­ry ser­vice will be pro­vid­ed through a NYC Fer­ry route from Low­er East Side Cor­lears Hook and three key Brook­lyn loca­tions, DUMBO/​Fulton Fer­ry, Pier 6/​Atlantic Avenue and Red Hook/​Atlantic Basin to allow more Low­er East Siders and Brook­lynites than ever quick access to all that Gov­er­nors Island has to offer and more open space recre­ation­al options. I salute the May­or and the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island for their hard work in mak­ing year-round access a reality.”

“The exten­sion of the Gov­er­nors Island sea­son from six months to year-round is great news for all New York­ers,” said Man­hat­tan Bor­ough Pres­i­dent Gale Brew­er. ​“The addi­tion­al fall, win­ter, and spring months of oper­a­tion, along with the planned addi­tion­al fer­ry ser­vice, will give hun­dreds of thou­sands more the oppor­tu­ni­ty to vis­it this tru­ly unique pub­lic space. I look for­ward to fur­ther afford­able oppor­tu­ni­ties to expe­ri­ence out­door recre­ation­al activ­i­ties, the arts, and oth­er cul­tur­al pro­gram­ming. I espe­cial­ly encour­age seniors, res­i­dents of NYCHA, and IDNYC hold­ers to take advan­tage of free fares on the Gov­er­nors Island ferry.”

“In recent years, Gov­er­nors Island has become an invalu­able pub­lic space in New York, offer­ing a need­ed respite from the hus­tle and bus­tle of city life, as well as a wide array of recre­ation­al oppor­tu­ni­ties for the whole fam­i­ly to enjoy. That’s why I’m thrilled that it will be open to the pub­lic year-round, with fer­ry ser­vice sev­en days a week to make it acces­si­ble for Brook­lynites from every back­ground. I thank The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island for this ground­break­ing step, and look for­ward to work­ing with them and oth­er enti­ties across the city to make sure all New York­ers have equi­table access to all our parks,” said Brook­lyn Bor­ough Pres­i­dent Eric Adams.

“This is an excit­ing step for Gov­er­nors Island as this unique New York City gem grows its capac­i­ty to wel­come vis­i­tors from all five bor­oughs,” said Coun­cil Mem­ber Mar­garet Chin. ​“Year-round access com­bined with fer­ry ser­vice expan­sion will allow more New York­ers to spend the day enjoy­ing the island’s beau­ti­ful open space and fam­i­ly-friend­ly activ­i­ties. I can’t wait to vis­it after the city’s first snow­fall to expe­ri­ence island in a com­plete­ly new way!”

“For years, we have been call­ing for expand­ed trans­porta­tion to Gov­er­nors Island that would allow more New York­ers to expe­ri­ence this unique space, espe­cial­ly as the city invests in resilien­cy and cli­mate infra­struc­ture. This announce­ment of year-round access to the island and direct NYC Fer­ry ser­vice from the Low­er East Side and Brook­lyn is a real com­mit­ment to cre­at­ing more inclu­sive nat­ur­al areas and recre­ation­al oppor­tu­ni­ties for the whole city. Thank you May­or de Bla­sio, the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island, and NYCEDC for your respon­sive­ness to com­mu­ni­ties seek­ing addi­tion­al options for open space,” said Coun­cil Mem­ber Car­li­na Rivera.

“I am thrilled to see that Gov­er­nors Island will now be avail­able for our neigh­bors and our city to enjoy year-round,” said Assem­bly Mem­ber Yuh-Line Niou. ​“Gov­er­nors Island rep­re­sents some­thing spe­cial in my dis­trict, where there are rel­a­tive­ly few oppor­tu­ni­ties to enjoy expan­sive green space and open park­land. Expand­ing fer­ry access to Gov­er­nors Island means that res­i­dents of our com­mu­ni­ty will have more oppor­tu­ni­ties to enjoy the green spaces that make our city spe­cial. I’m excit­ed to vis­it in the win­ter and see every­one there!”

“Man­hat­tan Com­mu­ni­ty Board 1 is excit­ed about Gov­er­nors Island open­ing its doors for year-round vis­i­tors,” said Tam­my Meltzer, Chair­per­son, Man­hat­tan Com­mu­ni­ty Board 1. ​“This will awak­en the oppor­tu­ni­ty for more peo­ple to enjoy the bucol­ic nat­ur­al beau­ty and pub­lic pro­gram­ming that Gov­er­nors Island has through all sea­sons of the year. We look for­ward to work­ing with the Trust to con­tin­ue enhanc­ing the pub­lic’s access and expe­ri­ence of this price­less resource through sun, snow and beyond.”

Gov­er­nors Island has under­gone a tremen­dous trans­for­ma­tion over the last decade, includ­ing the cre­ation of a resilient 43-acre park, a grow­ing arts and cul­tur­al pro­gram and remark­able growth in audi­ence. Near­ly one mil­lion vis­i­tors have come to the island in 2019.

In June 2021, May­or Bill de Bla­sio and the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island announced a com­pe­ti­tion to estab­lish a Cen­ter for Cli­mate Solu­tions on Gov­er­nors Island. The City is cur­rent­ly seek­ing an anchor uni­ver­si­ty and research insti­tu­tion through a Request for Expres­sions of Interest.

The NYC Fer­ry ser­vice announced today will sup­ple­ment dai­ly fer­ries run by the Trust that departs from Low­er Man­hat­tan, and peak sea­son week­end ser­vice from Brook­lyn Bridge Park Pier 6 and Red Hook. NYC Fer­ry will add addi­tion­al ser­vice to Gov­er­nors Island on week­days and non-sum­mer week­ends via the South Brook­lyn route. On peak sum­mer week­ends, NYC Fer­ry will serve Gov­er­nors Island via ded­i­cat­ed shut­tle to Yan­kee Pier from Wall St./Pier 11. A launch date for week­day NYC Fer­ry Ser­vice to Gov­er­nors Island will be announced soon. For more infor­ma­tion on cur­rent fer­ry ser­vice to Gov­er­nors Island, vis­it gov​is​land​.org.

“Gov­er­nors Island has served as a promi­nent gate­way to New York Har­bor for cen­turies, and now it serves as an even greater role as a cul­tur­al and his­toric resource for New York­ers, acces­si­ble year-round for the first time,” said Shirley McK­in­ney, Super­in­ten­dent of Man­hat­tan Sites at the Nation­al Park Ser­vice. ​“We’re thrilled that today’s announce­ment will bring expand­ed pub­lic access to Gov­er­nors Island, and we look for­ward to work­ing with our part­ners at the Trust on expand­ed access to the Gov­er­nors Island Nation­al Monument.”

“The launch of year-round pub­lic access to Gov­er­nors Island is a game chang­er,” said Mer­ritt Birn­baum, Exec­u­tive Direc­tor of the Friends of Gov­er­nors Island. ​“Since our found­ing in the mid-nineties, our pri­ma­ry goal has been to see Gov­er­nors Island acti­vat­ed as one of our city’s most extra­or­di­nary pub­lic places – a goal that was nev­er ful­ly real­iz­able with­out 365-day access. With the intro­duc­tion of year-round pub­lic fer­ry ser­vice from Man­hat­tan and Brook­lyn, the city and the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island are open­ing up a whole new world for pub­lic pro­gram­ming, ameni­ties and events that will enable the Island to be ful­ly inter­wo­ven into the fab­ric of every­day New York­ers’ lives.”

“The expan­sion of fer­ry ser­vices and year-round access to Governor’s Island is anoth­er step towards ful­fill­ing bold goals and curat­ing a promis­ing future for one of our most valu­able pub­lic assets,” said Tom Wright, Pres­i­dent of the Region­al Plan Asso­ci­a­tion. ​“After a long his­to­ry that goes back to plan­ning the first few trips to Gov­er­nors Island, RPA is excit­ed about what these steps mean for the future of Gov­er­nors Island.”

“As we enter the fall and win­ter months, New York­ers will be look­ing for new ways to meet out­side, and open­ing Gov­er­nors Island for year-round use will mean more oppor­tu­ni­ties for res­i­dents to enjoy that unique and beau­ti­ful pub­lic open space,” said Carter Strick­land, New York State Direc­tor for The Trust for Pub­lic Land. ​“We’re thrilled to see the City of New York and the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island invest­ing in expand­ed pub­lic access.”

“Low­er Man­hat­tan’s back­yard’ being open year-round is fan­tas­tic news for New York­ers from every bor­ough as well as for vis­i­tors to our city from near and far,” said Jes­si­ca Lap­pin, Pres­i­dent of the Alliance for Down­town New York. ​“To have access to this amaz­ing place in every sea­son with fun and excit­ing things to do is a game changer.”

“Gov­er­nors Island is the jew­el of New York Har­bor, and its ongo­ing trans­for­ma­tion into a year-round pub­lic space is a major mile­stone for restor­ing New York­ers’ con­nec­tion with their water­front. Year-round access and greater inte­gra­tion into the NYC Fer­ry sys­tem send a sig­nal of the island’s future poten­tial as a revi­tal­ized, resilient, acces­si­ble, and inno­v­a­tive water­front com­mu­ni­ty,” said Karen Imas, Vice Pres­i­dent of Pro­grams, Water­front Alliance.

“The Urban Assem­bly New York Har­bor School’s com­mu­ni­ty of stu­dents, fac­ul­ty and fam­i­lies, as well as the 1.1 mil­lion stu­dents of the New York City Depart­ment of Edu­ca­tion, will ben­e­fit immense­ly from year-long access to the envi­ron­men­tal class­room known as Gov­er­nors Island,” said Jeff Che­tirko, Prin­ci­pal of the Urban Assem­bly New York Har­bor School. ​“Addi­tion­al­ly, NYC Fer­ry-route access from Brook­lyn is the much need­ed first step for more equi­table avail­abil­i­ty for NYC res­i­dents to our city’s great­est resource of open spaces, artis­tic exhibits, and cli­mate solu­tion research and imple­men­ta­tion – all avail­able and hap­pen­ing on Gov­er­nors Island every day. We look for­ward to con­tin­u­ing our con­ver­sa­tions with the NYC Fer­ry sys­tem in pro­vid­ing equi­table access from Brooklyn.”

“In a year of unprece­dent­ed change, we couldn’t be more thrilled to hear that Gov­er­nors Island is now a year­long home for all New York­ers. For over a decade, Low­er Man­hat­tan Cul­tur­al Coun­cil (LMCC)’s res­i­den­cy and free pub­lic pro­grams at The Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island have pro­vid­ed oppor­tu­ni­ties for hun­dreds of thou­sands of artists and vis­i­tors to explore the cre­ative process. As active par­tic­i­pants of the Island’s diverse work­ing com­mu­ni­ty, we look for­ward to new part­ner­ships and pos­si­bil­i­ties that will engage the pub­lic, serve artists, and advance our col­lec­tive vision of cul­tur­al and envi­ron­men­tal stew­ard­ship, sus­tain­abil­i­ty, and cli­mate jus­tice,” said Lili Chopra and Diego S. Segali­ni, Co-Exec­u­tive Direc­tors of Low­er Man­hat­tan Cul­tur­al Coun­cil (LMCC).

“Year-round pub­lic access and fer­ry ser­vice from Brook­lyn brings Gov­er­nors Island clos­er to ful­fill­ing its poten­tial as a spec­tac­u­lar site for learn­ing, exchange and explo­ration for all NYC youth,” said Bri­an Cohen, Exec­u­tive Direc­tor of Beam Cen­ter.

Sep 27 9:22 am

The Brook­lyn Navy Yard Devel­op­ment Cor­po­ra­tion (Navy Yard) and the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island (the Trust) announced a new fel­low­ship pro­gram ded­i­cat­ed to help­ing CUNY stu­dents from diverse back­grounds gain the pro­fes­sion­al skills need­ed for suc­cess­ful careers in the real estate indus­try and relat­ed fields. Togeth­er, the Navy Yard and the Trust will host 8 – 10 CUNY under­grad­u­ate and grad­u­ate stu­dents dur­ing the 2021 – 2022 school year to help them gain direct work expe­ri­ence while advanc­ing their pro­fes­sion­al and inter­per­son­al skills.

Upon com­plet­ing the pro­gram, fel­lows will be helped to secure and suc­ceed in inter­views that will allow them to obtain qual­i­ty employ­ment in a real estate or relat­ed field.

The Navy Yard and the Trust have launched a pilot of the fel­low­ship pro­gram for the 2021 – 2022 aca­d­e­m­ic year, and plan to bring on addi­tion­al pub­lic and pri­vate real estate devel­op­ment part­ners to host fel­lows for sub­se­quent years. The pro­gram is designed to tar­get stu­dents from diverse back­grounds, includ­ing those who are Pell-eli­gi­ble, stu­dents of col­or, and first-gen­er­a­tion col­lege stu­dents. Appli­ca­tions were accept­ed ear­li­er this year and the inau­gur­al pilot pro­gram will serve 10 fel­lows across the two organizations.

“Cre­at­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties for New York­ers at all skill lev­els to secure good, high qual­i­ty jobs is our guid­ing mis­sion, and we are proud to intro­duce a pipeline ded­i­cat­ed to help­ing under­served CUNY stu­dents land suc­cess­ful careers in the his­tor­i­cal­ly tough-to-break-into real estate indus­try,” said David Ehren­berg, Pres­i­dent and CEO of the Brook­lyn Navy Yard Devel­op­ment Cor­po­ra­tion. ​“Start­ing this fel­low­ship pro­gram in tan­dem with New York City’s eco­nom­ic and real estate rebound cre­ates an unpar­al­leled oppor­tu­ni­ty for our future lead­ers to gain the expe­ri­ence and skills they need to excel in our dynam­ic indus­try. By work­ing with the Trust, we can ensure our fel­lows receive robust train­ing and we look for­ward to see­ing all that they accom­plish through this program.”

“We’re thrilled to offer this new fel­low­ship pro­gram to sup­port the devel­op­ment of career path­ways for CUNY stu­dents from across the five bor­oughs,” said Clare New­man, Pres­i­dent and CEO of the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island. ​“Gov­er­nors Island offers a unique plat­form for train­ing the next cohort of urban place­mak­ing pro­fes­sion­als, with oppor­tu­ni­ties to devel­op skills in open space man­age­ment, real estate and plan­ning, adap­tive reuse and more and it is our goal to pro­vide fel­lows with the real-world skills they need to suc­ceed in any real estate-relat­ed sec­tor. We are grate­ful for our part­ners at the Navy Yard for help­ing us make the future of real estate more rep­re­sen­ta­tive and accessible.”

In the spring before the final year of their aca­d­e­m­ic pro­gram, eli­gi­ble stu­dents can apply to one of the fol­low­ing areas: Con­struc­tion Man­age­ment or Engi­neer­ing, Real Estate, Busi­ness Man­age­ment, Prop­er­ty Man­age­ment or Hor­ti­cul­ture. The Navy Yard and Trust have part­nered with CUNY cam­pus­es offer­ing rel­e­vant degree options, includ­ing New York City Col­lege of Tech­nol­o­gy, Bronx Com­mu­ni­ty Col­lege, City Col­lege, Lehman Col­lege and Baruch Col­lege to recruit stu­dents for the program.

The one-year pro­gram will progress through the fol­low­ing phases:

• PHASE I: Fel­lows will par­tic­i­pate in a 36-week pro­gram, which will pay them to work 25 – 30 hours per week onsite at their place­ment orga­ni­za­tion, while simul­ta­ne­ous­ly com­plet­ing course­work toward their aca­d­e­m­ic degree.
• PHASE II: At the con­clu­sion of their aca­d­e­m­ic pro­gram and fel­low­ship, stu­dents will receive sup­port to apply to full-time real estate posi­tions with­in the pub­lic or pri­vate sec­tor, includ­ing resume assis­tance, inter­view sup­port and direct intro­duc­tions. The Navy Yard and the Trust will launch the next round of appli­ca­tions for the pro­gram in the com­ing months.

The Real Estate Path­ways Pro­gram is made pos­si­ble through the gen­er­ous sup­port of CUNY, Dock72 Team (Boston Prop­er­ties and Rudin Man­age­ment Com­pa­ny), Hud­son Builders Group, The Liro Group, L+M Devel­op­ment Part­ners, Plaza Con­struc­tion and Two Trees Management.

Sep 13 11:21 am

The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island has released a call for pro­pos­als for orga­ni­za­tions in res­i­dence, open to artis­tic, cul­tur­al, envi­ron­men­tal and edu­ca­tion­al non-prof­it orga­ni­za­tions for the 2022 pub­lic sea­son, between May 1 to Octo­ber 31 of next year. Unique pro­gram­ming space with­in — and around — more than two dozen his­toric for­mer mil­i­tary homes will be offered to qual­i­fy­ing orga­ni­za­tions propos­ing free pub­lic pro­grams, includ­ing exhi­bi­tions, per­for­mances, work­shops, screen­ings, talks, res­i­den­cies and more.

Gov­er­nors Island offers a dynam­ic plat­form for orga­ni­za­tions to present cre­ative projects of var­i­ous forms and con­nect with a diverse and grow­ing audi­ence of near­ly one mil­lion annu­al vis­i­tors. In 2021, as part of the Trust’s arts and cul­ture pro­gram, more than two dozen orga­ni­za­tions pre­sent­ed exhibits, work­shops, per­for­mances, artist res­i­den­cies and events in the his­toric hous­es of Nolan Park and Colonels Row, which once served as homes to mil­i­tary offi­cers and their fam­i­lies dur­ing the Island’s near­ly two-cen­tu­ry his­to­ry as an Army and Coast Guard base.

Past arts and cul­tur­al orga­ni­za­tions in res­i­dence include the New Art Deal­ers Alliance, Pio­neer Works, the Muse­um of Con­tem­po­rary African Dias­po­ran Arts (MoCA­DA), the Amer­i­can Indi­an Com­mu­ni­ty House, 4heads, NARS Foun­da­tion, BronxArt­Space, Children’s Muse­um of the Arts and more. The pro­gram has also host­ed orga­ni­za­tions direct­ly engag­ing in issues ded­i­cat­ed to address­ing the glob­al cli­mate cri­sis, includ­ing the Cli­mate Muse­um, NYC Audubon, the Bil­lion Oys­ter Project, and the New York Vir­tu­al Vol­cano Lab, facil­i­tat­ed by vol­ca­nol­o­gists from CUNY. Res­i­dent orga­ni­za­tions also have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to col­lab­o­rate with year-round cul­tur­al ten­ants on the Island, includ­ing The Low­er Man­hat­tan Cul­tur­al Coun­cil, Beam Cen­ter and Shan­dak­en Projects.

The appli­ca­tion and addi­tion­al infor­ma­tion is avail­able online here.

Pro­pos­als will be eval­u­at­ed based on the over­all qual­i­ty of the pro­posed pro­gram; fit and align­ment with the Island’s dynam­ic arts, cul­tur­al and edu­ca­tion­al pro­gram­ming; track record of con­cep­tu­al­iz­ing, pro­duc­ing and orga­niz­ing oth­er pro­grams and events; com­mit­ment to con­nect­ing with diverse audi­ences; and engage­ment with the Island as a site, includ­ing its his­to­ry, ecol­o­gy, archi­tec­ture and rela­tion­ship to the rest of New York City.

Pro­pos­als will be accept­ed through Octo­ber 29, 2021

Aug 4 3:15 pm

New to Gov­er­nors Island, Beam Camp City is a day camp run by Brook­lyn-based non­prof­it orga­ni­za­tion (and year-round Gov­er­nors Island ten­ant) Beam Cen­ter that aims to make out­door activ­i­ties acces­si­ble for New York City youth. Beam Cen­ter strives to build com­mu­ni­ties and bring togeth­er youth through engag­ing projects. 

Beam Center’s main mis­sion is to cre­ate an out­door camp­ing expe­ri­ence for New York City kids and to pro­vide space for campers to express their cre­ativ­i­ty, explore their iden­ti­ty and con­tribute to a shared expe­ri­ence. Pre­vi­ous­ly, Beam Cen­ter spent its sum­mers exclu­sive­ly at its sum­mer camp in New Hampshire. 

With out­door open space grow­ing more lim­it­ed in New York City, Gov­er­nors Island is the ide­al loca­tion to cre­ate Beam Camp City. Intend­ed for city kids and run by city res­i­dents, Beam Camp City is a safe space for chil­dren to expe­ri­ence the best of what Beam Cen­ter has cre­at­ed in New Hamp­shire, but much clos­er to home. Sur­round­ed by the Island’s lush foliage, kids spend most of their time out­doors learn­ing about their phys­i­cal surroundings. 

Grow­ing up in New York City, some chil­dren may not oth­er­wise have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to iso­late them­selves with trees, flow­ers and, insects. At Beam Camp City, kids are using their nat­ur­al sur­round­ings to make art and rein­force their lev­el of aware­ness for their phys­i­cal space. The Beam Cen­ter team has found that build­ing this rela­tion­ship with the envi­ron­ment and their com­mu­ni­ty can expand campers’ per­spec­tive and creativity. 

Beam Camp City’s flu­id­i­ty and flex­i­bil­i­ty is what makes this sum­mer camp expe­ri­ence so unique. Youth mem­bers and lead­ers lis­ten to what campers have to say. As the chil­dren offer their own feed­back and expe­ri­ence, camp staff empha­size how impor­tant it is that the campers know their voic­es are heard. The camp cur­ricu­lum and pro­grams are based on campers’ feed­back and interests. 

Not only is there a pow­er­ful con­nec­tion between the campers and staff, there is also a large net­work of com­mu­ni­ty sup­port involved in the camp expe­ri­ence. Bri­an Cohen, Exec­u­tive Direc­tor of Beam Cen­ter, says, ​“We are con­nect­ed to the city ecosys­tem of edu­ca­tion — we are work­ing hand in hand with both the Depart­ment of Edu­ca­tion, the Depart­ment of Youth and Com­mu­ni­ty Devel­op­ment and oth­er com­mu­ni­ty-based orga­ni­za­tions to make this hap­pen. This is a cross-sec­tor part­ner­ship, we are not try­ing to do this on our own.” 

For the sum­mer 2021 sea­son, campers part­nered with mixed media artist Ye Qin Zhu to cre­ate CON­STEL­LA­TION, a series of six sculp­tures made of weld­ed steel and silt-cast ceram­ic bells, installed across Gov­er­nors Island through Octo­ber 2021 to cre­ate a lit­er­al con­stel­la­tion of ring­ing bells. 

Marisol Cas­tane­da-Sal­ga­do, Beam Camp City Direc­tor, says, ​“After a year of iso­la­tion and a glob­al pan­dem­ic, plus every­thing that real­ly affect­ed chil­dren and youth in New York City, this project gives them an oppor­tu­ni­ty to see each oth­er.” Along with giv­ing campers the oppor­tu­ni­ty to see one anoth­er, Gov­er­nors Island’s hun­dreds of thou­sands of vis­i­tors are engag­ing with the project as well, fur­ther empha­siz­ing the inter­con­nect­ed­ness between vis­i­tors, the Island and art. 

By employ­ing hun­dreds of city youth each year and invit­ing campers to get involved through feed­back and par­tic­i­pa­to­ry art­work, Beam Cen­ter is work­ing hard to expose the next gen­er­a­tion of New York City res­i­dents to art, team­work, envi­ron­ment, and — most impor­tant­ly — themselves. 

Beam Center’s youth Doc­u­men­ta­tion Team has cre­at­ed a pho­tog­ra­phy exhi­bi­tion titled The Light Show: Beam Camp City, Sum­mer 2021 fea­tur­ing the pho­tos, they cap­tured through­out their sum­mer on Gov­er­nors Island. Vis­i­tors are invit­ed to the exhi­bi­tion, open on August 7, 8, 14 and 15 from 11am to 5pm, in Colonels Row Build­ing 407A. RSVP here.

Vis­i­tors are also invit­ed to attend Beam Center’s Invent­ge­nu­ity Fes­ti­val! All ages from 6 and up are wel­come and invit­ed to par­tic­i­pate in fes­ti­val activ­i­ties. To RSVP click here.

For more infor­ma­tion on how to get involved, click here.

Jul 20 4:55 pm

The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island and Film at Lin­coln Cen­ter are pleased to announce the return of free out­door film screen­ings on the Island, fea­tur­ing Spike Lee’s Mo’ Bet­ter Blues on Fri­day, August 6, 2021. Curat­ed by Film at Lin­coln Cen­ter and inspired by the strength and resilience of New York City — and the peo­ple who call it home — this year’s screen­ing will take place on the Island’s his­toric Parade Ground, an eight-acre lawn with expan­sive open views of Low­er Man­hat­tan. The screen­ing is pro­duced by Rooftop Films. 

A unique­ly New York sto­ry, Mo’ Bet­ter Blues fol­lows jazz trum­peter Bleek Gilliam (Den­zel Wash­ing­ton, in his first col­lab­o­ra­tion with the direc­tor) as he nav­i­gates career and per­son­al life with the city as a backdrop. 

“We are proud to bring our part­ner­ship with Film at Lin­coln Cen­ter into the 2021 sea­son and are espe­cial­ly thrilled to wel­come New York­ers back to the best spot in the city to watch a movie under the stars,” said Clare New­man, Pres­i­dent and CEO of the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island. ​“Gov­er­nors Island is com­mit­ted to pro­vid­ing an afford­able des­ti­na­tion for our vis­i­tors to enjoy open space, arts and cul­ture — and that includes this icon­ic film.” 

“Our out­door film series with Film at Lin­coln Cen­ter has been a huge suc­cess in the past,” said Mered­ith John­son, VP of Arts and Cul­ture at the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island. ​“As the city con­tin­ues to reopen, we hope this screen­ing will give even more audi­ences the oppor­tu­ni­ty to spend an evening on Gov­er­nors Island, expe­ri­enc­ing the daz­zling com­bi­na­tion of a Spike Lee film with the stun­ning Low­er Man­hat­tan sky­line as a backdrop.” 

Film at Lin­coln Cen­ter Exec­u­tive Direc­tor Lesli Klain­berg said, ​“We’re proud to work with Gov­er­nors Island once again, and to trum­pet our city’s reopen­ing with Spike Lee’s cel­e­bra­tion of jazz and NYC, Mo’ Bet­ter Blues.”

The screen­ing is free and open to the pub­lic with pre-show enter­tain­ment kick­ing off at 6pm and the film begin­ning at dusk. Food and drinks will be avail­able for pur­chase, includ­ing a beer gar­den by Threes Brew­ing, food by Mak­i­na Café, Melt Bak­ery and more. 

Evening fer­ry ser­vice will run from Bat­tery Mar­itime Build­ing in Low­er Man­hat­tan, locat­ed at 10 South Street, depart­ing Low­er Man­hat­tan at 5:20, 6, 6:40, 7:20 and 8pm. Fer­ries will return to Low­er Man­hat­tan from Sois­sons Land­ing at 9, 10 and 11pm. Fer­ry tick­et reser­va­tions are required to man­age capac­i­ty and ensure social dis­tanc­ing and can be made online at gov​is​land​.org/​ferry. Face cov­er­ings are required when board­ing, rid­ing and exit­ing Gov­er­nors Island ferries. 

Gov­er­nors Island is open every day from May 1 through Octo­ber 31. On week­days, the Island is open from 10am to 6pm. On week­ends and hol­i­days, the Island is open from 10am to 7pm. On Fri­day and Sat­ur­day evenings between Memo­r­i­al Day week­end and Labor Day week­end, the Island is open until 10pm. 

Jul 1 12:09 pm

If you’re look­ing for evening activ­i­ties this Fri­day and Sat­ur­day, look no fur­ther — sum­mer late nights at Gov­er­nors Island kick off on Fri­day, July 2! Hop on an evening fer­ry and explore every­thing the Island’s 120 acres have to offer, all while enjoy­ing unpar­al­leled New York City sun­set views. 

Gov­er­nors Island will be open until 10pm on Fri­days and Sat­ur­days through Labor Day, with addi­tion­al fer­ry ser­vice from the Bat­tery Mar­itime Build­ing at 10 South Street in Man­hat­tan. Click here for fer­ry sched­ules and to book fer­ry tickets. 

There will be plen­ty to see, eat, and do dur­ing these extra hours. Vis­i­tors will have their pick of deli­cious food and bev­er­ages—think brick oven piz­za, tacos, oys­ters, Ethiopi­an and Eritre­an fare, ice cream sand­wich­es and more. Late night food ven­dors include: 

• Island Oys­ter
• Piz­za Yard 
• Taco Vista
• Mak­i­na Café 
• Lit­tle Eva’s
• Sea Bis­cuit
• Threes Brew­ing & The Meat Hook 
• Melt Bak­ery
• Kim­chi Taco 
• Mai Bpen Rai Papaya Salads 
• Malai Ice Cream (Sat­ur­days only) 
• Ter­ry & Yaki 

Bicy­cle rentals & spe­cial activ­i­ties from Blaz­ing Sad­dles will also be avail­able until sun­set on these Fri­days and Sat­ur­days, and select arts and cul­tur­al pro­gram­ming will also par­tic­i­pate: West Harlem Art Fund’s indoor and out­door exhi­bi­tions will be open until 9 p.m. on July 23, July 30, August 6 and August 20; Pratt Institute’s Grad­u­ate Archi­tec­ture & Urban Design (GAUD) program’s exhib­it will be open late on July 16 with an open­ing cel­e­bra­tion; Open House New York and Ges­so are hold­ing a self-guid­ed audio tour on July 16; and Not for Nut­ten is on view in the Bat­tery Mar­itime Build­ing dur­ing all late night hours. 

Addi­tion­al late-night ven­dors, pro­grams and activ­i­ties will con­tin­ue to be announced through­out the summer. 

GET­TING TO LATE NIGHTS AT GOV­ER­NORS ISLAND

Late night fer­ry ser­vice to Gov­er­nors Island fer­ries will run until 10pm on Fri­days and Sat­ur­days between the Bat­tery Mar­itime Build­ing at 10 South Street in Man­hat­tan and Sois­sons Land­ing on the Island. Click here to view the expand­ed sched­ule and reserve your tickets. 

Vis­i­tors must reserve fer­ry tick­ets in advance of their trip to Gov­er­nors Island, and face cov­er­ings are required while board­ing and rid­ing fer­ries. Gov­er­nors Island fer­ries are always free for chil­dren 12 and under, seniors 65 and up, res­i­dents of NYCHA hous­ing, IDNYC hold­ers, cur­rent and for­mer mil­i­tary ser­vice­mem­bers and Gov­er­nors Island mem­bers. There is no sur­charge for bicy­cles or strollers at any time. The Trust also offers waived fares for non-prof­it com­mu­ni­ty-based orga­ni­za­tions, youth camps, and senior cen­ters through­out New York City. To inquire about group vis­its, orga­ni­za­tions may email groupvisits@​govisland.​org.

Jun 28 3:09 pm

NEW YORK (June 28, 2021) — May­or Bill de Bla­sio and The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island (the Trust) today launched a glob­al com­pe­ti­tion to cre­ate a cli­mate-focused research and edu­ca­tion­al hub on Gov­er­nors Island. The com­pe­ti­tion invites uni­ver­si­ties and research insti­tu­tions to estab­lish an anchor insti­tu­tion for a Cli­mate Solu­tions Cen­ter, ded­i­cat­ed to com­bat­ting the cli­mate cri­sis in the heart of New York City’s har­bor. The Request for Expres­sions of Inter­est (RFEI) can be found here.

Trust for Gov­er­nors Island Pres­i­dent Clare New­man was joined by May­or Bill de Bla­sio, Sen­ate Major­i­ty Leader Charles Schumer, US Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Jer­ry Nadler, State Sen­a­tor Bri­an Kavanagh, rep­re­sen­ta­tives from New York City Coun­cil Mem­ber Mar­garet Chin’s office, and Jeff Che­tirko, Prin­ci­pal of the Urban Assem­bly New York Har­bor School to cel­e­brate the announcement.

The Cen­ter will cap­i­tal­ize on New York City’s unique tal­ent pool to pre­pare com­mu­ni­ties around the world for the impacts of cli­mate change; cre­ate good-pay­ing green jobs across the city; and fos­ter pub­lic aware­ness, dia­logue, and action to address the glob­al cli­mate crisis. 

“Gov­er­nors Island is a crown jew­el of this city – a place where fam­i­lies, work­ers and stu­dents have come to enjoy a beau­ti­ful land­scape with spec­tac­u­lar views of the great­est city in the world. But we can get more out of this unique space. We can main­tain the island’s iden­ti­ty while turn­ing it into a world-class des­ti­na­tion for fight­ing the cli­mate cri­sis in New York City and across the world. That jour­ney starts today, and I can’t wait to see where it takes us,” said May­or Bill de Bla­sio.

“New York City has every asset need­ed to become the glob­al leader in cli­mate solu­tions and adap­ta­tion. We have the best tal­ent, most inno­v­a­tive and cre­ative entre­pre­neurs, and now, we’re offer­ing Gov­er­nors Island as the ide­al loca­tion to host this exis­ten­tial work,” said Deputy May­or Vic­ki Been. ​“This com­pe­ti­tion will fos­ter diverse ideas and per­spec­tives on how to cre­ate a world-class cli­mate solu­tions cen­ter, and I look for­ward to see­ing insti­tu­tions from across the globe pro­pose con­cepts for this once-in-a-gen­er­a­tion opportunity.” 

“As our city emerges from the COVID-19 cri­sis, we have a crit­i­cal oppor­tu­ni­ty to address the glob­al cli­mate cri­sis in a way that cen­ters equi­ty, pre­pares our com­mu­ni­ties, and involves all New York­ers in cre­at­ing solu­tions,” said Clare New­man, Pres­i­dent and CEO of the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island. ​“Sit­u­at­ed at the cen­ter of New York Har­bor, and at the cen­ter of New York City’s glob­al net­work of tal­ent, insti­tu­tions, busi­ness­es and lead­ers in cli­mate action, Gov­er­nors Island offers a vis­i­ble plat­form for edu­ca­tion, research and pub­lic engage­ment to address one of the defin­ing chal­lenges of our time. We look for­ward to work­ing with prospec­tive part­ners to define this impor­tant project for Gov­er­nors Island, and our city.” 

“Just as the Unit­ed Nations was per­suad­ed to locate its head­quar­ters here three-quar­ters of a cen­tu­ry ago, today marks an impor­tant step in bring­ing a world-class insti­tu­tion to New York City to address the defin­ing issue of our time – cli­mate change,” said Ali­cia Glen, Chair of the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island. ​“As we seek to com­bat the dev­as­tat­ing impacts of cli­mate change on our com­mu­ni­ties, this RFEI acknowl­edges and builds upon our his­to­ry as the glob­al cen­ter for inno­va­tion and progress.” 

The RFEI seeks an insti­tu­tion to lease land with­in 33 acres of devel­op­ment sites, and/​or up to one mil­lion square feet of adap­tive reuse oppor­tu­ni­ty avail­able with­in his­toric build­ings on Gov­er­nors Island. The Trust and the City of New York have part­nered to make avail­able up to $150 mil­lion of cap­i­tal fund­ing that may be allo­cat­ed to sup­port this project. 

“A glob­al com­pe­ti­tion to cre­ate a cli­mate-focused research and edu­ca­tion­al hub on Gov­er­nors Island is exact­ly what this city, state, nation and plan­et needs. And what bet­ter place to save the plan­et in a speedy, just and equi­table way than in the very cen­ter of the uni­verse, New York City! We have the human cap­i­tal; we are a mag­net to attract inter­na­tion­al tal­ent; we have the pub­lic sys­tems to sup­port and sus­tain a vital new insti­tu­tion; and we have the pas­sion to tack­le this glob­al chal­lenge in a smart, sci­en­tif­ic and pro­gres­sive way. New York City is the world’s cen­ter for so many activ­i­ties so it is only nat­ur­al that the Big Apple also become the glob­al cen­ter for fight­ing cli­mate change,” said Sen­a­tor Charles Schumer.

“There is no bet­ter place than Gov­er­nors Island to cre­ate a liv­ing lab­o­ra­to­ry focused on cli­mate solu­tions, research, and edu­ca­tion,” said Sen­a­tor Kirsten Gilli­brand. ​“I am excit­ed to see what comes out of this glob­al com­pe­ti­tion and I look for­ward to work­ing with the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island to help real­ize the full poten­tial for this oppor­tu­ni­ty. The Cli­mate Solu­tions Cen­ter will help make sure that New York con­tin­ues to be a leader when it comes to resilien­cy and tack­ling the cli­mate crisis.” 

“The cli­mate cri­sis is the most urgent threat fac­ing our world, our coun­try, and our city. Just as New York City leads the way in busi­ness, tech­no­log­i­cal advance­ment, and inno­va­tion, we should lead the way in devel­op­ing solu­tions to this most exis­ten­tial of chal­lenges,” said Con­gress­man Jer­ry Nadler. ​“Estab­lish­ing a world-class insti­tu­tion on Governor’s Island with the spe­cif­ic goal of find­ing ways to over­come the per­ils of cli­mate change will bring green jobs to our city, pro­vide mean­ing­ful oppor­tu­ni­ties for edu­ca­tion and research, and ensure that any ris­ing tide that lifts all New York­ers is one we have firm­ly under our control.” 

“As the cli­mate cri­sis con­tin­ues to wors­en, it has nev­er been more impor­tant to devel­op new and equi­table solu­tions to pro­tect com­mu­ni­ties from flood­ing, heat­waves, and oth­er forms of extreme weath­er,” said Jainey Bav­ishi, Direc­tor of the May­or’s Office of Cli­mate Resilien­cy. ​“New York City is already a glob­al leader in cli­mate adap­ta­tion and is advanc­ing some of the most com­plex resilien­cy projects any­where in the world. Cre­at­ing this new Cli­mate Solu­tions Cen­ter will build on our exist­ing exper­tise and will help fos­ter research, inno­va­tion, and design in an icon­ic loca­tion in the heart of New York Harbor.” 

“New York­ers are on the front­line of the cli­mate cri­sis and will be at the cen­ter of equi­table cli­mate solu­tions,” said Ben Fur­nas, Direc­tor of the May­or’s Office of Cli­mate and Sus­tain­abil­i­ty. ​“The cap­i­tal invest­ment and glob­al com­pe­ti­tion to build a Cli­mate Solu­tions Cen­ter right here on Gov­er­nors Island will bring togeth­er the bright­est minds around the city and the world. Togeth­er, we’ll devel­op cli­mate research and edu­ca­tion that empow­ers us to take action on cli­mate, while improv­ing dai­ly life and cre­at­ing a clean­er, health­i­er, and fair­er future for all.” 

Respon­dents should artic­u­late a vision that address­es the City’s and the Trust’s goals as out­lined in the RFEI. In addi­tion to advanc­ing cli­mate-relat­ed fields, respon­dents’ plans should make a pos­i­tive con­tri­bu­tion to Gov­er­nors Island’s phys­i­cal cam­pus and exist­ing com­mu­ni­ty of part­ners and vis­i­tors, while cre­at­ing broad­er oppor­tu­ni­ties for New York­ers who already enjoy the island. Respons­es to this RFEI are due on Sep­tem­ber 29, 2021. 

A cen­ter for cli­mate solu­tions on Gov­er­nors Island is pro­ject­ed to cre­ate over 7,000 direct new jobs and near­ly $1 bil­lion in eco­nom­ic impact for New York City, both on Gov­er­nors Island alone. 

“I’m hap­py that the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island is con­duct­ing a RFEI process for the planned cli­mate research cen­ter on the island.” said Man­hat­tan Bor­ough Pres­i­dent Gale A. Brew­er. ​“Com­mu­ni­ty input and pub­lic engage­ment in this selec­tion process will help ensure that the Cen­ter will be occu­pied by the orga­ni­za­tion that is not only best suit­ed to address the cli­mate cri­sis, but also responds to the com­mu­ni­ty’s needs.” 

“Gov­er­nors Island has a long and sto­ried past and I am pleased that the next chap­ter will include a cen­ter for inno­v­a­tive work on one of the great chal­lenges of our time, cli­mate change,” said State Sen­a­tor Bri­an Kavanagh. ​“As the RFEI process moves for­ward, it will be impor­tant to ensure that the appli­cant select­ed and the pro­posed devel­op­ment align with the val­ues of the com­mu­ni­ty and all New York­ers who trea­sure Gov­er­nors Island as a green, pub­lic open space. We also look for­ward to ongo­ing sup­port for the essen­tial work of the envi­ron­men­tal and edu­ca­tion­al orga­ni­za­tions already on the Island, includ­ing the Bil­lion Oys­ter Project, Har­bor School, and Earth Mat­ters. I am excit­ed to con­tin­ue to work with the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island, my col­leagues in elect­ed office, our Com­mu­ni­ty Boards in Man­hat­tan and Brook­lyn, and the many New York­ers who care deeply for the Island.” 

“Ris­ing tides are an imme­di­ate threat to New York City, and our coast­line com­mu­ni­ties are depend­ing on us for solu­tions to our cli­mate cri­sis. This Cli­mate Solu­tions Cen­ter is an oppor­tu­ni­ty to address glob­al warm­ing and bring a world-class insti­tu­tion to Gov­er­nors Island,” said Coun­cil Mem­ber Mar­garet Chin. ​“I am so proud to have worked with the Trust for Governor’s Island to get us to this next phase, and I am thrilled that the Cli­mate Solu­tions Cen­ter is one step clos­er to being ful­ly actualized.” 

“Cities can­not address cli­mate change with­out ensur­ing that envi­ron­men­tal jus­tice is embed­ded into our deci­sion-mak­ing, poli­cies, and solu­tions,” said Lisa Gar­cia, Direc­tor of FIX, Grist’s Cli­mate Solu­tions Lab and mem­ber of the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island’s Board of Direc­tors. ​“Gov­er­nors Island is an inspir­ing exam­ple of a place that offers unpar­al­leled oppor­tu­ni­ties for pub­lic engage­ment in cli­mate action, and for col­lab­o­ra­tion and co-cre­ation of equi­table solu­tions with lead­ers in front­line com­mu­ni­ties, which is what makes it such a com­pelling place for a Cli­mate Solu­tions Center.” 

“As the impact of cli­mate change on our com­mu­ni­ties accel­er­ates, we must focus on adapt­ing our urban envi­ron­ments and enhanc­ing resilien­cy in addi­tion to sharply cur­tail­ing car­bon emis­sions,” said Michael Oppen­heimer, Albert G. Mil­bank Pro­fes­sor of Geo­sciences and Inter­na­tion­al Affairs in the Prince­ton School of Pub­lic and Inter­na­tion­al Affairs (SPIA), the Depart­ment of Geo­sciences, and the High Mead­ows Envi­ron­men­tal Insti­tute at Prince­ton Uni­ver­si­ty and mem­ber of the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island’s Board of Direc­tors. ​“The vision for the Cen­ter for Cli­mate Solu­tions comes at a time when the need for a cross-dis­ci­pli­nary approach to research, edu­ca­tion, and com­mu­ni­ty engage­ment could not be more urgent. I applaud the City for pro­vid­ing the space, vision, and financ­ing to cre­ate a first of its kind cen­ter ded­i­cat­ed to advanc­ing cli­mate sci­ence, cli­mate solu­tions, and cli­mate policy”. 

“From super storms to extreme heat, New York­ers have grap­pled with the impacts of cli­mate change first hand,” said Nathanael Greene, Senior Renew­able Ener­gy Advo­cate at NRDC (Nat­ur­al Resources Defense Coun­cil). ​“The cre­ation of a world-class cen­ter for cli­mate solu­tions on Governor’s Island will help fos­ter new approach­es to fight the cli­mate cri­sis and pro­tect front­line com­mu­ni­ties. This is anoth­er exam­ple of how New York City can help lead the way towards a safer and equi­table future for all of us.”

“Over the past 19 years, Gov­er­nors Island has been trans­formed from an aban­doned Coast Guard Base into a mag­nif­i­cent urban park draw­ing one mil­lion vis­i­tors each year,” said Tom Wright, Pres­i­dent and CEO, Region­al Plan Asso­ci­a­tion. ​“Such vision was cham­pi­oned by a broad alliance of orga­ni­za­tions when we began this jour­ney. Now the Gov­er­nors Island Trust has demon­strat­ed its abil­i­ty to exe­cute and improve upon that vision. Today’s announce­ment will help secure the right part­ners to cre­ate a col­lab­o­ra­tive research plat­form and advance cli­mate change solu­tions for the region and beyond.” 

“Gov­er­nors Island is the per­fect New York City loca­tion for a research cen­ter tasked with tack­ling one of the world’s great­est cri­sis,” said Alliance for Down­town New York Pres­i­dent Jes­si­ca Lap­pin. ​“This pro­gram will give our city and its inhab­i­tants an incred­i­ble oppor­tu­ni­ty to con­tribute direct­ly to solu­tions for our glob­al community.” 

“New York City’s water­fronts are core to the City’s eco­nom­ic recov­ery and to cli­mate change adap­ta­tion. We com­mend The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island for the Cli­mate Solu­tions Cen­ter pro­pos­al which can bring solu­tions to the cli­mate cri­sis and make for a more liv­able and green­er city,” said Cort­ney Koenig-Wor­rall, CEO and Pres­i­dent, Water­front Alliance. ​“We also look for­ward to a future of expand­ed fer­ry ser­vice at Gov­er­nors Island, com­mit­ments to a net-zero car­bon island, invest­ment in new dock and boat­ing infra­struc­ture, and local green and blue job cre­ation. New oppor­tu­ni­ties for peo­ple to touch the water and enjoy recre­ation­al boat­ing will also meet increased demand for recre­ation in the City.” 

“The Asso­ci­a­tion for a Bet­ter New York (ABNY) is pleased to see this RFEI move for­ward. Estab­lish­ing a world-class cli­mate cen­ter on Gov­er­nors Island presents an oppor­tu­ni­ty for renew­al in the after­math of the COVID-19 pan­dem­ic and pur­sues solu­tions for the dev­as­ta­tion of anoth­er extreme threat to human­i­ty, and specif­i­cal­ly, to our most vul­ner­a­ble pop­u­la­tions: cli­mate change,” said Mel­va M. Miller, Chief Exec­u­tive Offi­cer, Asso­ci­a­tion for a Bet­ter New York. ​“By incor­po­rat­ing exist­ing com­mu­ni­ty part­ners and vis­i­tors into the RFEI’s require­ments along­side broad­er goals for research, edu­ca­tion, and eco­nom­ic devel­op­ment, the City and the Trust show com­mit­ment to advanc­ing pos­i­tive eco­nom­ic and social out­comes for all New Yorkers.” 

“Cli­mate change is one of the most per­sis­tent and crit­i­cal chal­lenges our Earth faces today, and we can­not afford to wait anoth­er sec­ond to turn the tide,” said Dr. Dune Ives, sus­tain­abil­i­ty expert, CEO of ocean con­ser­va­tion non­prof­it, Lone­ly Whale, and co-found­ing part­ner of Ocean Heroes Net­work. ​“The cross-sec­toral liv­ing plat­form of The Cen­ter for Cli­mate Solu­tions on Gov­er­nors Island would sus­tain not just our future, but my son’s future, all of our children’s future, and every­one and every liv­ing thing in between. Now more than ever, the voic­es of youth are influ­enc­ing glob­al cul­ture, and it is on all of us to answer their call by dri­ving for­ward glob­al action and awareness.” 

“The Urban Assem­bly New York Har­bor School, that inhab­its this awe-inspir­ing island, will be fur­ther sup­port­ed by a Cli­mate Solu­tion Cen­ter by enhanc­ing our abil­i­ties to pro­vide excep­tion­al, hands-on Mar­itime Edu­ca­tion cur­ricu­lum to our diverse stu­dent pop­u­la­tion. Our school’s unique Career and Tech­ni­cal Edu­ca­tion pro­gram­ming, which strives to break down bar­ri­ers for young peo­ple enter­ing into the Mar­itime Indus­try, will be strength­ened by pro­vid­ing NYC stu­dents the oppor­tu­ni­ty to engage with the uni­ver­si­ty and/​or research cen­ter that will occu­py this pro­posed Cen­ter,” said Jef­frey Che­tirko, Prin­ci­pal of the Urban Assem­bly New York Har­bor School on Gov­er­nors Island. ​“It is clear that the devel­op­ment on Gov­er­nors Island aligns with our school’s mis­sion in edu­cat­ing our city’s cit­i­zens about cli­mate change. This aware­ness of, and move­ment toward, cli­mate solu­tions allows us to con­tin­ue our envi­ron­men­tal restora­tion work all around the New York Har­bor with our stu­dents and staff along­side the Bil­lion Oys­ter Project.” 

“This ini­tia­tive rep­re­sents an extra­or­di­nary oppor­tu­ni­ty for glob­al cli­mate lead­er­ship with a focus on equi­ty, com­mu­ni­ty, and civic action – a nec­es­sary scale-out of the mean­ing­ful work the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island has already been doing,” said Miran­da Massie, Direc­tor of the Cli­mate Muse­um. ​“We’re proud­er than ever to be part of the cul­tur­al ecosys­tem the Trust has cre­at­ed, and very excit­ed for all that’s to come.” 

“The peo­ple of Man­hat­tan Com­mu­ni­ty Dis­trict 1 know about the worst impacts of cli­mate change,” said Tam­my, Meltzer, Chair of Man­hat­tan Com­mu­ni­ty Board 1. ​“While this process appears to be mov­ing quick­ly and we have not yet seen the RFEI, we look for­ward to estab­lish­ing robust engage­ment oppor­tu­ni­ties as part of our respon­si­bil­i­ty to the pub­lic and we hope that the Trust does the same. We encour­age those insti­tu­tions who intend to respond to the RFEI to bal­ance the world class research with the simul­ta­ne­ous pro­tec­tion of the bucol­ic nature of the grounds and incred­i­ble view that make Gov­er­nors Island so unique.”

“The Nation­al Park Ser­vice is proud to wel­come vis­i­tors to the Gov­er­nors Island Nation­al Mon­u­ment to explore Gov­er­nors Island’s rich his­to­ry each year,” said Shirley McK­in­ney, Man­hat­tan Sites Super­in­ten­dent for the Nation­al Park Ser­vice. ​“We share the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island’s mis­sion in expand­ing access to this jew­el of New York Har­bor, and are thrilled that the City of New York is fur­ther invest­ing in this remark­able place.” 

“The pro­posed Cen­ter for Cli­mate Solu­tions rep­re­sents the cul­mi­na­tion of com­mu­nal efforts we helped ini­ti­ate 25 years ago to turn an aban­doned mil­i­tary base into a vibrant pub­lic resource,” said Mer­ritt Birn­baum, Exec­u­tive Direc­tor of the Friends of Gov­er­nors Island. ​“We com­mend the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island and the City for the work they’ve already accom­plished in cre­at­ing an extra­or­di­nary park and pub­lic des­ti­na­tion – and for this game-chang­ing next step. Beyond its envi­sioned con­tri­bu­tions to the cli­mate field, the Cen­ter will bring huge advan­tages for every­day New York­ers, includ­ing increased pub­lic access, more week­day ameni­ties, new long-term uses for his­toric build­ings and a con­tin­ued focus on learn­ing, inno­va­tion, sus­tain­abil­i­ty and pub­lic engagement.” 

“For over a decade, Low­er Man­hat­tan Cul­tur­al Coun­cil (LMCC) has served artists and the pub­lic at our Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island through dynam­ic pro­gram­ming that encour­ages cre­ative and crit­i­cal inquiry around issues of ecol­o­gy, sus­tain­abil­i­ty, and social prac­tice. A Cli­mate Solu­tions Cen­ter will offer rich oppor­tu­ni­ties for LMCC and the Island’s cul­tur­al and envi­ron­men­tal orga­ni­za­tions to col­lab­o­rate on ground­break­ing ideas and cross-dis­ci­pli­nary projects, all while dri­ven by our shared com­mit­ment to equi­ty and civic par­tic­i­pa­tion,” said Lili Chopra, Exec­u­tive Direc­tor, Artis­tic Pro­grams, and Diego S. Segali­ni, Exec­u­tive Direc­tor, Finance & Admin­is­tra­tion, Low­er Man­hat­tan Cul­tur­al Coun­cil (LMCC).

All pho­tos © Ed Reed/​Mayoral Pho­tog­ra­phy Office

Jun 3 12:06 pm

NEW YORK (June 3, 2021)—The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island announced today the expan­sion of week­end late night hours on the Island for sum­mer 2021. From Inde­pen­dence Day week­end through Labor Day week­end, Gov­er­nors Island will be open to vis­i­tors until 10:00 p.m. on all Fri­days and Sat­ur­days, adding near­ly four extra hours on Fri­days and three extra hours on Sat­ur­days for vis­i­tors to explore the spec­tac­u­lar open spaces, attrac­tions, vis­tas and ven­dors the Island has to offer. 

Gov­er­nors Island will be acces­si­ble dur­ing these expand­ed evening hours with fer­ry ser­vice from the Bat­tery Mar­itime Build­ing at 10 South Street in Man­hat­tan. This expand­ed fer­ry ser­vice will allow vis­i­tors to enjoy the Island on Fri­day and Sat­ur­day nights between July 2 and Sep­tem­ber 4. Com­plete fer­ry sched­ules can be viewed at www​.gov​is​land​.org, with tick­ets for late Fri­days and Sat­ur­days in July avail­able start­ing today. 

“As the city reopens and New York­ers spend more time out­doors, we are excit­ed to offer expand­ed week­end hours to give every­one the oppor­tu­ni­ty to enjoy all that Gov­er­nors Island has to offer lat­er into the evening,” said Clare New­man, Pres­i­dent and CEO of the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island. ​“We can’t wait to wel­come vis­i­tors back to enjoy the icon­ic sky­line sun­sets and twin­kling lights of the city from here in the heart of the Har­bor once again.” 

“Whether you’re look­ing for a live­ly cock­tail scene, a casu­al din­ner under the stars, or a just tran­quil spot to watch the sun­set, late nights on Gov­er­nors Island offer a much-need­ed sum­mer escape for every­one,” said Mer­ritt Birn­baum, Exec­u­tive Direc­tor of the Friends of Gov­er­nors Island. ​“We’re delight­ed to wel­come all New York­ers to enjoy this evening oasis in the heart of our city.” 

Many of Gov­er­nors Island’s beloved food ven­dors will offer evening eats and drinks as part of the expand­ed night­time hours, includ­ing the James Beard Foun­da­tion Award-nom­i­nat­ed restau­rant Island Oys­ter; wood-fired piz­za out­post Piz­za Yard; Taco Vista, home to some of the best views and tacos in New York City; Mak­i­na Café, an eatery famous for its Ethiopi­an and Eritre­an cui­sine; sum­mer­time grilled fare mae­stros Lit­tle Eva’s and Sea Bis­cuit; the brews-and-burg­ers part­ner­ship between Threes Brew­ing and The Meat Hook; and for dessert, Melt Bakery’s entic­ing ice cream sand­wich­es. Blaz­ing Sad­dles bike rentals will also expand bicy­cle avail­abil­i­ty until sun­set, allow­ing Island vis­i­tors a chance to enjoy twi­light rides. Addi­tion­al late-night ven­dors, activ­i­ties and spe­cial pro­grams will be announced through­out the season. 

GET­TING TO GOV­ER­NORS ISLAND

Gov­er­nors Island fer­ries run dai­ly between the Bat­tery Mar­itime Build­ing at 10 South Street in Man­hat­tan and Sois­sons Land­ing on the Island. This year Gov­er­nors Island fer­ries also serve two Brook­lyn loca­tions on week­ends: Pier 6 in Brook­lyn Bridge Park and Atlantic Basin in Red Hook. These routes run direct­ly to Gov­er­nors Island from each loca­tion every Sat­ur­day, Sun­day and hol­i­day Mon­day all sea­son long. 

Vis­i­tors must reserve fer­ry tick­ets in advance of their trip to Gov­er­nors Island, and face cov­er­ings are required while board­ing and rid­ing fer­ries. Tick­ets are avail­able through an online reser­va­tion sys­tem at www​.gov​is​land​.org. Gov­er­nors Island fer­ries are always free for chil­dren 12 and under, seniors 65 and up, res­i­dents of NYCHA hous­ing, IDNYC hold­ers, cur­rent and for­mer mil­i­tary ser­vice­mem­bers and Gov­er­nors Island mem­bers. Fer­ries before noon on Sat­ur­days and Sun­days are free for all. Round-trip fer­ry tick­ets cost $3 for adults at all oth­er times. There is no sur­charge for bicy­cles or strollers at any time. The Trust also offers waived fares for non-prof­it com­mu­ni­ty-based orga­ni­za­tions, youth camps, and senior cen­ters through­out New York City. To inquire about group vis­its, orga­ni­za­tions may email groupvisits@​govisland.​org.

NYC Fer­ry also offers addi­tion­al con­nec­tions to Gov­er­nors Island’s Yan­kee Pier via a ded­i­cat­ed week­end shut­tle from Wall Street/​Pier 11. Tick­et­ing infor­ma­tion and full sched­ules are avail­able at www.ferry.nyc.

Apr 28 12:04 pm

Get ready to enjoy all of your favorite things to do on Gov­er­nors Island — we reopen to vis­i­tors on Sat­ur­day, May 1! Below you’ll find every­thing you can dis­cov­er dur­ing this year’s open­ing week­end. Plan your trip, book fer­ry tick­ets, and ship out for a packed (or relaxed) day on our shore. 

The park, open space, and recre­ation:

120 acres of open space pro­vide ample room to spread out with a pic­nic, play games, or just watch the clouds float by. Head to the Island’s park to relax in Ham­mock Grove​’s cozy ham­mocks (and say hel­lo to the sheep!), find breath­tak­ing 360-degree views in The Hills, get mov­ing on the Play Lawns, and camp out in an Adiron­dack chair at Pic­nic Point.

Kids and fam­i­lies will love play­grounds like the Ham­mock Grove Play Area, the water fea­ture at Liggett Ter­race, and Slide Hill​’s col­lec­tion of twist‑y, turn‑y slides. Head to the south end of Nolan Park on week­ends 12 – 4pm to play at play:groundNYC’s The Yard, NYC’s only adven­ture play­ground where kids can unleash their imag­i­na­tions and build their own fun. 

Sev­en miles of car-free paths make Gov­er­nors Island a pedaler’s par­adise. Bring your bike on the fer­ry for no charge or rent bikes, sur­reys, ped­al cars, scoot­ers and more from Blaz­ing Sad­dles Bike Rentals, or from three Citi Bike sta­tions across the Island. 

Adven­tures at Gov­er­nors Island also returns to entice thrill seek­ers of all ages. Vis­i­tors can pur­chase tick­et pack­ages to fly down a zipline, chal­lenge a climb­ing wall, puz­zle through a prob­lem-solv­ing maze, and play a round of mini-golf just steps from Liggett Terrace. 

Free arts, culture and science activ­i­ties:

See pub­lic art­works by world-renowned artists across Gov­er­nors Island. Before step­ping ashore, vis­i­tors depart­ing from Man­hat­tan can see a new mur­al by Duke Riley in the Gov­er­nors Island Fer­ry Wait­ing Room at the Bat­tery Mar­itime Build­ing. This new com­mis­sion by the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island, Not for Nut­ten, is a rich­ly pig­ment­ed homage to nau­ti­cal tra­di­tions and the Island’s his­to­ry that draws atten­tion to mod­ern cli­mate con­cerns. Pre­vi­ous com­mis­sions on view include Shantell Martin’s Church on Colonels Row, Rachel Whiteread’s Cab­in on Dis­cov­ery Hill, and Mark Handforth’s Yan­kee Hang­er at Liggett Terrace. 

Arts, cul­ture and sci­ence pro­grams return in and around the his­toric hous­es of Nolan Park and Colonels Row. This week­end, see PHREAT­IC!, an exhi­bi­tion of works by inter­dis­ci­pli­nary artists explor­ing sym­bi­ot­ic ecolo­gies, mul­ti­species inter­ac­tions and earth­li­ness at points of dis­rup­tion pre­sent­ed by NYU’s Gal­latin School at the New York Vir­tu­al Vol­cano Obser­va­to­ry house, Nolan Park 11, 11AM – 5PM. On view out­side West Harlem Art Fund at Nolan Park 10, see two pub­lic art instal­la­tions: Regat­ta III/8 Can­dy Blue & Teal by Gilbert Boro and Gar­den Sen­tinel by Michele Brody. More exhi­bi­tions open next week­end, includ­ing works by stu­dents and fac­ul­ty at Pratt Institute’s Grad­u­ate Archi­tec­ture and Urban Design pro­gram, a group exhi­bi­tion of pho­tog­ra­phy, film and more at Pro­tocin­e­ma, and New Art Deal­ers Alliance​’s NADA House, which includes works by over 50 artists across five hous­es on Colonels Row. 

The Urban Farm also reopens 12 – 4PM this week­end for vis­i­tors to engage with envi­ron­men­tal learn­ing pro­grams at GrowNYC’s Teach­ing Gar­den, a work­ing urban farm with rows of crops, green­hous­es and more, and Earth Matter’s Com­post Learn­ing Cen­ter and Soil Start Farm, a ful­ly func­tion­ing com­post cen­ter that turns mate­r­i­al from all over the city into nutri­tious com­post for use on the Island and elsewhere. 

Vis­i­tors can also take guid­ed tours of the Island with Friends of Gov­er­nors Island vol­un­teer docents, leav­ing from Sois­sons Land­ing on Sat­ur­days and Sun­days at 11:30AM, 1:30PM, and 3:30PM. Or, embark on a self-guid­ed tour through the Island’s his­to­ry with stun­ning archival pho­tographs on Urban Archive​’s app or web­site, with a vari­ety of tours available. 

Food and drink:

Gov­er­nors Island’s ven­dors serve up a wide vari­ety of cuisines to sat­is­fy any crav­ing. From drinks, snack and sweet treats to more sub­stan­tial options, find our food and bev­er­age ven­dors across the Island: 

• At Sois­sons Land­ing, find Island Oys­ter​’s sum­mer fare and trop­i­cal­ly inspired cock­tails, and Taco Vista​’s tasty tacos and cool drinks with a view 
• Piz­za Yard dish­es out wood-fried Neapoli­tan-style piz­zas at the south end of Colonels Row 
• On the west­ern shore, grab small plates and drinks at Sea Bis­cuit or stop by Three Peaks Lodge at Col­lec­tive Retreats for cock­tails and take­away options 
• Liggett Ter­race fea­tures many options includ­ing Fauzia’s Heav­en­ly Delights’ Jamaican fusion cui­sine; cof­fee, tea and treats from Joe Cof­fee; Kore­an-inspired tacos, bowls and snacks at Kim­chi Taco; eclec­tic takes on clas­sic grill fare at Lit­tle Eva’s; Mak­i­na Café​’s mod­ern Ethiopi­an and Eritre­an cui­sine; Melt Bak­ery​’s arti­sanal ice cream sand­wich­es; Ter­ry and Yaki​’s teriya­ki bowls with veg­an and halal options; and Threes Brew­ing​’s tasty brews and The Meat Hook​’s sat­is­fy­ing sand­wich­es in a shared shad­ed garden 
• Keep an eye out for People’s Pops’ unique­ly fla­vored pops and shave ice and Mai Bpen Rai​’s Thai-style green papaya sal­ad rov­ing across the Island 

If you’d rather cook up your own meal, grills are avail­able by reser­va­tion. Reser­va­tions are required, with grilling sta­tions avail­able at Pic­nic Point and near Nolan Park. 

You can expect all of this and more this open­ing week­end. There’s plen­ty more to see and do on Gov­er­nors Island in 2021 — check back here and fol­low us on social media for the lat­est updates. See you on the ferry!