In an agreement announced yesterday, the city will assume full control of Governors Island from the state, enabling the Bloomberg administration to move forward with a $41.5 million plan to give the island a face lift. Bloomberg has been pushing for full control of the 172-acre site for over a year, and until now the city has been unable to release the $41.5 million without matching funds from the state. "It was getting to the point where the city had the resources and wanted to develop the island," Governor Paterson told reporters at City Hall yesterday. "We could not match that money at the time and ... it was obfuscating the development of the island."
The island, which has received over $150 million for redevelopment since it was reopened for public use, has been co-owned by the city and state since they bought the former Coast Guard installation for $1 from the federal government in 2003. Last year the state's budget crisis held Governors Island hostage, making it difficult for the island to plan events because the state didn't commit funding until the last minute. Last summer, more than 275,000 visitors took the free ferry service to the island to attend concerts and art festivals, such as Figment and the New Island Festival.
As part of the new deal, the mayor will appoint 9 of the 13 members of a new Governors Island Operating Entity; the rest will be appointed by the governor, state legislators and a Manhattan community board. The operating costs will be shouldered by the city alone, except for the national monument at the center of the island, which will remain under the control of the National Park Service. According to the Times, operating Governors Island is expected to cost about $20 million over the next five years, officials said, on top of the $40 million the city has already set aside. And the city will also pick up the full tab for the ambitious rehabilitation project, estimated to cost $200 million, which will include a new 2.2-mile promenade along the water’s edge.
Officials announced yesterday that The Harbor School, a New York City public high school, will open in September with 400 students in attendance. And NYU is considering building a satellite campus on Governors Island, with dorms and faculty housing. Governors Island will be open every Friday to Sunday from June 5th to October 10th this year, and is accessible by ferry from Manhattan and Brooklyn.
