Blog

In 2021, Gov­er­nors Island pro­vid­ed vital open space for New York­ers as the city con­tin­ues to respond to the evolv­ing COVID-19 pan­dem­ic. We wel­comed vis­i­tors from every sin­gle res­i­den­tial zip code in the five bor­oughs, pre­sent­ed a robust cal­en­dar of free events, part­nered with 23 local food and bev­er­age ven­dors, wel­comed a his­toric num­ber of vol­un­teers and cared for our unique land­scapes with a stead­fast com­mit­ment to sus­tain­able solutions. 

Cul­tur­al expres­sion is at the core of Gov­er­nors Island’s iden­ti­ty, engag­ing hun­dreds of thou­sands of vis­i­tors each year through inno­v­a­tive arts and cul­tur­al inter­ven­tions that inter­act with and respond to the Island’s unique con­di­tions. From the cross-dis­ci­pli­nary cul­tur­al hubs in Nolan Park and Colonels Row to sin­gu­lar pub­lic art expe­ri­ences com­mis­sioned by the Trust, vis­i­tors and cul­tur­al prac­ti­tion­ers alike engaged with the arts in myr­i­ad new ways in 2021. 

Gov­er­nors Island is home to a diverse mix of edu­ca­tion­al and envi­ron­men­tal non-prof­it orga­ni­za­tions and busi­ness­es draw­ing inspi­ra­tion from the Island’s unique resources. From oys­ter restora­tion to mar­itime edu­ca­tion, Island ten­ants made progress on long-term goals in 2021, with announce­ments of a new mul­ti-ten­ant sus­tain­abil­i­ty hub and a glob­al com­pe­ti­tion to cre­ate a cli­mate-focused research and edu­ca­tion­al cen­ter demon­strat­ing a ded­i­cat­ed com­mit­ment to address­ing the glob­al cli­mate cri­sis head-on. 

Thanks for read­ing. In a year filled with mile­stones, our vis­i­tors were with us every step of the way, and we are thrilled for even more peo­ple to expe­ri­ence the Island in the years to come. We look for­ward to con­tin­u­ing to grow our com­mu­ni­ty, stew­ard­ing the Island and wel­com­ing vis­i­tors in every season.

Click here to view the full 2021 Year in Review.