Record Breaking Season
Oct 13, 2010 7:30 pm
[caption id=“attachment_3927” align=“aligncenter” width=“300” caption=“Some Island visitors enjoying the views from the Island”]
[/caption] This season, Governors Island welcomed more visitors than ever before — an incredible 443,000, which is a 60% increase over last year. Visitors enjoyed Free Bike Fridays, miles of car free biking, dozens of art exhibits, performances, concerts, programs with the National Park Service and more. The Island was open for a total of 56 days this year and closed for the season this past Sunday. Free ferries to Governors Island were full and popular. The number of riders taking the free ferry from Brooklyn tripled. This year, more than 100,000 riders used that service, compared to 30,000 last year. Ferries ran every Saturday and Sunday between the Island and Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 6. We are so pleased that the Island is attracting as many visitors as some of New York City’s great attractions. On an average Saturday or Sunday, the Island welcomed as many visitors as Ellis Island. On peak days, the same number of visitors came to Governors Island as visit the High Line and the Statue of Liberty. On the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, the Island had its largest number of public access visitors, with 18,600 visiting. We hope that you had a chance to ride a bike, swing in a hammock, take part on hands on arts programs, hear a concert, or take a tour here this season. If you already miss it, or didn’t get a chance to enjoy what more than 400,000 of our visitors did, don’t worry — the Island will reopen in the spring of 2011.