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Stay safe in the heat: Drink plenty of water, spend time in the shade, and visit the first aid station at Soissons Landing if you feel unwell. Click here for important warm weather visitor information.

Stay safe in the heat: Drink plenty of water, spend time in the shade, and visit the first aid station at Soissons Landing if you feel unwell. Click here for important warm weather visitor information.

May­or de Bla­sio, Trust for Gov­er­nors Island Announce Gov­er­nors Island to Reopen on May 1st

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NEW YORK — May­or de Bla­sio and The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island (The Trust) today announced the sea­son­al reopen­ing of Gov­er­nors Island on May 1st, 2021. Gov­er­nors Island will return to its pre-pan­dem­ic sea­son cal­en­dar, open to vis­i­tors every day from May 1 through Octo­ber 31. In addi­tion to dai­ly Man­hat­tan fer­ry ser­vice, for the first time Gov­er­nors Island fer­ries will serve two Brook­lyn loca­tions for week­end ser­vice at Pier 6 in Brook­lyn Bridge Park and Atlantic Basin in Red Hook, allow­ing easy access to the Island for a wider range of Brook­lyn res­i­dents than ever before. 

New York­ers can vis­it the island to enjoy open space and car-free nat­ur­al sur­round­ings, unmatched views of New York Har­bor and sur­round­ing sky­lines, his­toric set­tings, dozens of free pub­lic art exhi­bi­tions, cul­tur­al pro­grams and activ­i­ties, and diverse selec­tion of food and bev­er­age vendors. 

Gov­er­nors Island is one of New York City’s crown jew­els. It’s the kind of beau­ti­ful, open pub­lic space that we will rely on to dri­ve our recov­ery this spring and sum­mer,” said May­or Bill de Bla­sio. I’m grate­ful to the Trust for mak­ing the Island more acces­si­ble than ever this year, and the return of their full sea­son will give more New York­ers than ever a chance to enjoy every­thing the island has to offer.” 

We are thrilled to be able to open Gov­er­nors Island for its full, six-month pub­lic sea­son again this year, and with more access from Brook­lyn than ever before,” said Clare New­man, Pres­i­dent and CEO of the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island. As the City reopens, Gov­er­nors Island will pro­vide an afford­able des­ti­na­tion for New York­ers to enjoy open space, arts and cul­ture, and every­thing that makes it such a remark­able place. One of the Trust’s main goals is to pro­vide equi­table access to the Island, and we’re proud to con­tin­ue to deliv­er on that mis­sion this year. We can’t wait to see every­one on the ferry.” 

The begin­ning of the Gov­er­nors Island sea­son is a great day for New York­ers to play, explore and relax in what is tru­ly one of our City’s hid­den gems,” said Con­gress­man Jer­ry Nadler. And I’m pleased that start­ing on May 1st there will be fer­ry ser­vice between Pier 6 and Red Hook to Gov­er­nors Island, which will open up the Island to more and more vis­i­tors, who will have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to enjoy this great New York attraction.” 

It is won­der­ful that Gov­er­nors Island will soon open for the sea­son, pro­vid­ing New York­ers with an afford­able option to enjoy the out­doors safe­ly as we embark on the sum­mer sea­son,” said Con­gress­woman Nydia M. Velázquez. I am even more thrilled that week­end fer­ry ser­vice will be pro­vid­ed at two key Brook­lyn loca­tions, Pier 6/​Atlantic Avenue and Red Hook/​Atlantic Basin, and that NYCHA res­i­dents, IDNYC hold­ers, vets, seniors and chil­dren and local com­mu­ni­ty groups ride free, allow­ing more Brook­lynites than ever quick access to all that Gov­er­nors Island has to offer. I salute the May­or and the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island for their hard work in mak­ing this return a reality.” 

Gov­er­nors Island is home to one of our city’s most cher­ished parks, and an afford­able place to expe­ri­ence free art, recre­ation­al activ­i­ties and his­to­ry,” said Man­hat­tan Bor­ough Pres­i­dent Gale A. Brew­er. I encour­age all New York­ers to take a fer­ry, free for seniors, res­i­dents of NYCHA, IDNYC hold­ers and com­mu­ni­ty groups across the city, and enjoy this spe­cial place start­ing on May 1.” 

Gov­er­nors Island is a great des­ti­na­tion for Brook­lynites and New York­ers look­ing to spend time in nature, take in great arts and cul­ture, or sim­ply enjoy a beau­ti­ful day with friends and fam­i­ly. The new week­end fer­ry ser­vice at Pier 6 and Red Hook will ensure Brook­lynites of all back­grounds can take advan­tage of our prox­im­i­ty to this nat­ur­al jew­el. I applaud the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island for their com­mit­ment to equi­table access, and can’t wait to plan my vis­it!” said Brook­lyn Bor­ough Pres­i­dent Eric Adams.

The reopen­ing of Gov­er­nors Island is one of New York’s great rites of spring,” said Sen­a­tor Bri­an Kavanagh. This past year, we have been more aware than ever of just how impor­tant pub­lic open space is for New York­ers. The wide range of arts pro­gram­ming and cul­tur­al events for peo­ple of all ages and the Island’s expans­es of park­land will be a wel­come reprieve after the time we’ve spent indoors and dis­tanced from what makes New York great. I have advo­cat­ed for more fer­ry ser­vice for years, so I’m par­tic­u­lar­ly hap­py that there will now be two depar­ture points from Brook­lyn, and ser­vice start­ing ear­li­er on week­end morn­ings, allow­ing more New York­ers to make the trip and to stay longer. As we con­tin­ue to feel the effects of the COVID-19 pan­dem­ic, it’s vital that we keep invest­ing in equi­table access to park­land in gen­er­al and espe­cial­ly to the great resources Gov­er­nors Island offers.” 

Reopen­ing Gov­er­nors Island is a much-need­ed vic­to­ry for New York­ers, espe­cial­ly many in low­er Man­hat­tan where Gov­er­nors Island rep­re­sents their only green space,” said New York State Assem­bly­mem­ber Yuh-Line Niou. Gov­er­nors Island is one of my favorite places, and for many in our com­mu­ni­ty this is like hav­ing our own back­yard back. This reopen­ing marks an incred­i­ble oppor­tu­ni­ty for our city to begin heal­ing after the dis­rup­tions brought on by the pandemic.” 

Gov­er­nors Island is one of our city’s top sum­mer des­ti­na­tions, and I’m so excit­ed to vis­it the island again in cel­e­bra­tion for its reopen­ing,” said Coun­cil Mem­ber Mar­garet Chin. I encour­age every­one to expe­ri­ence its beau­ti­ful green open spaces and take advan­tage of its car-free path­ways to walk or bike around with friends and fam­i­ly. There are so many won­der­ful things to do and see on Gov­er­nors Island, and tak­ing the fer­ry is a fun and relax­ing way to get there!” 

I vis­it­ed Gov­er­nors Island last year when it reopened on a mod­i­fied sched­ule to give New York­ers access to one of our safest and largest open park spaces. That year, the Island pre­viewed what is now per­ma­nent: a fer­ry stop at Atlantic Basin in Red Hook, which will run Sat­ur­days and Sun­days. This will not only pro­vide free fer­ries for NYCHA res­i­dents — in Red Hook, one of the largest in the bor­ough — but will also bring New York­ers to Red Hook and sup­port local busi­ness­es on the week­ends. I believe that the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island cares about serv­ing all New York­ers and look for­ward to the pro­gram­ming again this year,” said Coun­cil Mem­ber Car­los Men­cha­ca.

It’s great that there will be two fer­ry stops that will allow our com­mu­ni­ty res­i­dents quick access to Gov­er­nors Island this year,” said Brook­lyn Com­mu­ni­ty Board 6 Dis­trict Man­ag­er Michael Raciop­po. If res­i­dents haven’t been, I rec­om­mend jump­ing on a fer­ry from Red Hook or Pier 6 and chang­ing that ASAP.” 

I’m pleased to wel­come vis­i­tors back to Gov­er­nors this sea­son,” said Nation­al Park Ser­vice Man­hat­tan Sites Super­in­ten­dent Shirley McK­in­ney. We will con­tin­ue to allow self-guid­ed pub­lic tours of the his­toric forts. Park Rangers will be on site to answer ques­tions and pro­vide infor­ma­tion to our guests.” 

This year made clear how crit­i­cal green spaces like Gov­er­nors Island are to the health and well-being of our city,” said Mer­ritt Birn­baum, Exec­u­tive Direc­tor of the Friends of Gov­er­nors Island. Every­one needs the abil­i­ty to escape the con­crete jun­gle and recharge after such a hard win­ter, and we can’t wait to wel­come New York­ers back to enjoy the spring blooms, fresh Har­bor breezes and plen­ty of room to bike, stroll, pic­nic and relax. We’re espe­cial­ly grate­ful to our vol­un­teers and sup­port­ers who stepped up in big ways over the past year to ensure Gov­er­nors Island remains a beau­ti­ful and wel­com­ing place for everyone.” 

VIS­I­TOR INFOR­MA­TION & FERRIES

Gov­er­nors Island will be open dai­ly between May 1‑October 31 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on week­days and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on week­ends and hol­i­day Mon­days includ­ing Memo­r­i­al Day, July 5, Labor Day, and Indige­nous Peo­ples’ Day. Gov­er­nors Island fer­ries will run dai­ly between the Bat­tery Mar­itime Build­ing at 10 South Street in Man­hat­tan and Sois­sons Land­ing on the Island. 

For the first time, Gov­er­nors Island fer­ries will serve two Brook­lyn loca­tions this year: Pier 6 in Brook­lyn Bridge Park and Atlantic Basin in Red Hook. These routes will 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. Tick­ets will be avail­able soon through an online reser­va­tion sys­tem at www​.gov​is​land​.org. Round-trip fer­ry tick­ets will cost $3 for adults. Gov­er­nors Island fer­ries are always free for chil­dren 12 and under, seniors 65 and up, res­i­dents of NYCHA, IDNYC hold­ers, cur­rent and for­mer mil­i­tary ser­vice­mem­bers and Gov­er­nors Island mem­bers. Fer­ries before noon on Sat­ur­days and Sun­days are free for all. There is no sur­charge for bicy­cles or strollers at any time. The Trust will also offer 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 will offer addi­tion­al con­nec­tions to Gov­er­nors Island’s Yan­kee Pier via a ded­i­cat­ed week­end shut­tle from Wall Street/​Pier 11. Tick­et­ing infor­ma­tion and full sched­ules will be avail­able soon at www.ferry.nyc.

The Island’s food and bev­er­age ven­dors will return on May 1. For a full list of ven­dors, please vis­it gov​is​land​.org/​v​i​s​i​t​-​t​h​e​-​i​s​l​a​n​d​/food.

OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION

Vis­i­tors can enjoy Gov­er­nors Island’s over 120 acres of award-win­ning open space. The Island’s park offers rolling lawns and plen­ty of room for New York­ers to spread out for pic­nick­ing and recre­ation, includ­ing over 7 miles of car-free bike paths. Ham­mock Grove’s 40+ pub­lic ham­mocks nes­tled into the foliage pro­vide a relax­ing retreat. The Hills fea­ture unpar­al­leled views of the Har­bor and land­marks like the Stat­ue of Lib­er­ty as well as the sur­round­ing Low­er Man­hat­tan and Brook­lyn skylines. 

Activ­i­ties, includ­ing bike rentals with Blaz­ing Sad­dles and CitiBike, vis­its to the Gov­er­nors Island Nation­al Mon­u­ment, self-guid­ed his­to­ry tours, free kayak­ing, grill reser­va­tions and more will be avail­able for vis­i­tors begin­ning May 1. More infor­ma­tion on activ­i­ties can be found at gov​is​land​.org/​t​h​i​n​g​s​-​to-do.

ARTS, CUL­TURE AND EDUCATION

Ongo­ing Arts, Cul­ture and Sci­ence Pro­grams
Over two dozen arts, cul­ture and edu­ca­tion orga­ni­za­tions will uti­lize space inside the his­toric hous­es of Nolan Park and Colonels Row this year to present a robust slate of ongo­ing free pub­lic pro­grams, host artist res­i­den­cies, engage vis­i­tors in spe­cial activ­i­ties for all ages, and more. Ongo­ing pub­lic pro­grams will include indoor and out­door exhi­bi­tions, instal­la­tions and inter­ac­tive exhibits. The Urban Farm, home to GrowNYC’s Teach­ing Gar­den and Earth Mat­ter NY’s Com­post Learn­ing Cen­ter and Soil Start Farm will also be open week­ends from 12 – 4pm. Par­tic­i­pat­ing orga­ni­za­tions are list­ed at gov​is​land​.org/​t​h​i​n​g​s​-​to-do and pro­gram­ming sched­ules will be avail­able soon. 

Pub­lic Art Com­mis­sions and Instal­la­tions
Pub­lic art instal­la­tions includ­ing Rachel Whiteread’s Cab­in and Mark Handforth’s Yan­kee Hang­er will remain on view, as will Shantell Martin’s The May Room. The Trust will announce new com­mis­sioned pub­lic art instal­la­tions and projects to debut on the Island in 2021 through­out the season. 

LMCC’s Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island
Curat­ed and pro­grammed by Low­er Man­hat­tan Cul­tur­al Coun­cil (LMCC), the Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island will reopen to the pub­lic June 12 through Octo­ber 31 with two large-scale, site-spe­cif­ic solo exhi­bi­tions; a par­tic­i­pa­to­ry sculp­ture; and the return of the Take Care pub­lic pro­grams series. Appro­pri­ate COVID-19 health pro­to­cols will be in place for vis­i­tors enter­ing the Arts Cen­ter, with exhi­bi­tions and pre­sen­ta­tions free and open to all. More details about the 2021 sea­son at the Arts Cen­ter will be announced soon on LMC­C’s web­site, www​.LMCC​.net.

SPE­CIAL EVENTS

Gov­er­nors Island will host a lim­it­ed cal­en­dar of social­ly dis­tanced out­door events in 2021. Dates and more details on these and oth­er spe­cial events will be avail­able at gov​is​land​.org as they are announced over the com­ing weeks and months. All events will adhere to the lat­est local, state and fed­er­al health and safe­ty guidelines. 

About The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island

The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island is the non-prof­it cor­po­ra­tion cre­at­ed by the City of New York that is respon­si­ble for the rede­vel­op­ment and oper­a­tion of 150 acres of Gov­er­nors Island. The Trust’s mis­sion is to real­ize the full poten­tial of Gov­er­nors Island for the inspi­ra­tion and enjoy­ment of all New York­ers, demon­strat­ing a bold vision for pub­lic space. For more infor­ma­tion, vis­it www​.gov​is​land​.org.

About Gov­er­nors Island Nation­al Monument

The Nation­al Park Ser­vice man­ages Gov­er­nors Island Nation­al Mon­u­ment, which con­sists of twen­ty-two acres, includ­ing the his­toric for­ti­fi­ca­tions Cas­tle Williams and Fort Jay. The Mon­u­ment is one of twen­ty-two sites oper­at­ed by the Nation­al Park Ser­vice in the New York City area. Its pur­pose is to pre­serve and pro­tect Cas­tle Williams and Fort Jay, and to inter­pret them and the harbor’s rich his­to­ry and ecol­o­gy for the pub­lic. For more infor­ma­tion, vis­it www​.nps​.gov/gois.