Governors Island & Brooklyn Bridge Park Returned to New York City - How About Roosevelt Island?

Aerial View of Governors Island From GIPEC

The NY Post and NY Times are reporting that New York City will take back control of Governors Island from the State of New York. From the NY Post:

The city is taking control of Governors Island from the state and can now move forward with plans to turn the prime, if underused, real estate into a lush park and major destination for tourists and New Yorkers alike.
Under a deal with Albany, the city will put up $41.5 million for the initial work on the island and in return will control nine of 13 appointments to the Governors Island Operating Entity...

The NY Times adds that not only will NYC take back control of Governors Island from NY State but also:

... Last month, the city reached a similar deal with the state to take over Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Other prospective deals being discussed in the Bloomberg administration include exercising the city’s right to buy Battery Park City from the state and negotiating a takeover of the state-run City University of New York system, according to city officials...

Now can anyone think of another piece of land or neighborhood in New York City controlled by the State Of New York which should be returned to the City of New York? Come on, you can do it.

That right, the answer is Roosevelt Island, which while technically part of New York City, is leased to the State of New York through the year 2068 and run by our friends at the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp., a NY State Public Benefit Corporation created under these NY State Governing Statutes.

In 1999 former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani

Image From Main Street WIRE

visited a Roosevelt Island Town Hall Meeting and seemed to support the liberation of Roosevelt Island from the State of New York as recounted in this 2007 post:

... returning control of Roosevelt Island from the State of New York to the City of New York. This may not be as far fetched as it first appears. Politicians rarely give up power to others but remember that Mayor Bloomberg was able to gain control of the City's school system when most observers thought that it would be impossible. Perhaps the Mayor can accomplish the same thing for Roosevelt Island that he did for the NYC Public school system - return it to the control of the City of New York where it belongs!

As reported in the Main Street WIRE, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani took some baby steps toward the liberation of Roosevelt Island in 1999 during a Roosevelt Island Town Hall Meeting when he proclaimed:

"I'm very much in favor of the City controlling our own destiny... Ultimately, you'll be better off when you can touch it, scream at it, deal with it. The Commissioners are accessible... You're much better off moving more of this back to the City. We'll try."

According to the same article this comment from a Roosevelt Island Resident:

"What we're looking for here is democracy," and an escape from the "bureaucratic quagmire" that is RIOC.

drew this response from former Mayor Rudy Giuliani

"I would be very happy to work with you to liberate Roosevelt Island."

Will Mayor Bloomberg take on this challenge.

Some in RIOC assert that liberation from New York State would be detrimental to Roosevelt Island residents. They say we are much better off being governed by RIOC due to RIOC staff being intimately aware of our local problems and concerns which would not be addressed in the larger NYC bureaucracy.

City Of Water Day This Saturday July 26 - Come Join The Festivities And Sign Up To Help on Governors Island

"City of Water" trailer from MAS on Vimeo.

The indispensable waterfront advocacy group, Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, (MWA) is inviting all Roosevelt Islanders and others living in the tri-state area to celebrate City of Water Day at Governors Island on Saturday July 26 from 10 AM - 4PM and will provide free ferry service from lower Manhattan. Here is the invitation:

CITY OF WATER DAY

Celebrate the Waterfront and Waterways!
Saturday, July 26, 2008* - from 10:00am to 4:00pm on Governors Island

On July 26th, paddlers, sailors, mariners and many others from around the region will converge on Governors Island to eat, drink and have fun.
Highlights of the day will include:
• A symbolic and inspirational convergence of kayakers, boaters, sailors and ferry-riders onto Governors Island. New York Waterway and the New York Water Taxi will pick kids from across the city and bring them to the Island for this special day of fun, education and adventure.
• Boat parade of working vessels past and present including the retired fireboat John J. Harvey and the Seaport Museum's tug W.O. Decker.
• Eco-tours of indigenous bird habitats hosted by NYC Audubon (click here to
register) and a Hidden Harbor Tour hosted by the Working Harbor Committee (click here to register). Space is limited; sign up today!
• Fishing clinics with I Fish New York.
• Live music by Eric Bibb.
• Lecture on Fuel from Algae by CUNY professor.
• Car free biking. Bring your own wheels or rent.
Photography by Bernie Ente and Paul Margolis. Video Documentation Squad by HABITATS.

FYI - The eco-boat tour as well as a working harbor boat tour require advance reservation.

The Waterfront Alliance may still be looking for volunteers to help out particularly on Thursday at Governors Island between 12 - 5 PM to help arrange floating docks and hold lines. If interested in helping contact Jen at (212) 935-9831 ext. 279 or info@waterfrontalliance.org

And here is an interview from WNYC's Brian Lehrer show with MWA's Roland Lewis and City of Water's co-director Jasper Goldman (two very good and effective waterfront advocates) discussing issues related to the New York City waterfront.



City of Water from Brian Lehrer live on Vimeo.

Take Normal Roosevelt Island F Train Weekend Subway Service to a Wild Ride on the Coney Island Cyclone!

You Tube video of Roosevelt Island F Trains running in both directions

According to the MTA there will be regular F Train service to and from Roosevelt Island this weekend. That makes it two in a row for normal weekend subway service but be aware there is a Roosevelt Island Tram advisory for Sunday. From RIOC:

On Sunday, June 1st, The Tramway will be operating on a rush-hour schedule from 6:00 AM to noon to accommodate passengers during a film shoot.

There are two theater productions taking place here this weekend, including Roosevelt Island's version of Shakespeare in the Park right here on the Rivercross Lawn. Here's some more information from RIOC:

Shakespeare in the Park Series on Roosevelt Island
"Much Ado About Nothing"
Where: Rivercross Lawn
When: May 31st- June 1st
Time: 2:00pm

And:

Once Upon a Mattress
presented by the Main Street Teen Theatre
When: Friday May 30 at 7:30 pm.
Sat May 31 at 2pm and again at 7:30 pm.
Sun Jun 1 at 2 pm and again at 7 pm.
Mon Jun 2 at 7 pm.
Where: Howe Theatre, Main Street Theatre and Dance Alliance, 548 Main St. (entry behind video store).
Evening performances $15 (Seniors and students $10), matinees $12 ($8).
Reservations and information call 212-371-4449.

There are plenty of other things to do this weekend including the Third Annual Governors Island Island Family Day. Our friends at the Governors Island Alliance sent the following information:

On Saturday May 31, the Governors Island Alliance hosting its Third Annual Family Festival. It’s an afternoon of FREE fun events including music, theatre, and dance performances, circus clowns, tours with National Park Service rangers, and harbor explorations. The event takes place on the green lawns of beautiful Governors Island.

There is free ferry service from Manhattan and a Polo match as well. Check out Newyorkology for a listing of many other things to do in NYC this weekend.

Or, take the F Train down to Coney Island and ride the Cyclone. Wheeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!

You Tube video of Coney Island Cyclone

Governors Island Says No Way to Louis Kahn/FDR Memorial! Why Can't Roosevelt Island Residents Do Same?

I have made the suggestion in earlier post that Governor's Island would be a more appropriate venue for the proposed Louis Kahn/FDR memorial than the current proposed site at the southern tip of Southpoint Park on Roosevelt Island. From that earlier post:

Maybe supporters of Governor's Island development would like the honor of being the site for the Louis Kahn's memorial. In fact, a memorial based upon FDR's Four Freedom's speech (here is transcript and audio) is far more appropriate at a location facing downtown Manhattan and the World Trade Center/Freedom Tower site than on Roosevelt Island where it is not wanted and detracts from a real, green, waterfront park. A memorial to FDR, who overcame many health difficulties, on Governor's Island would also be a fitting tribute that complements Mayor Bloomberg's International Public Health Center proposal for Governors Island.

Roosevelt Island would be glad to cede the Louis Kahn Memorial to Governor's Island. To paraphrase the great, all knowing and wise Henny Youngman - Take the Louis Kahn memorial ... PLEASE!

Apparently Governors Island does not want the Louis Kahn memorial either.

I attended a recent meeting concerning the NYC waterfront. At the meeting were representatives of waterfront neighborhoods, City planners, public officials and others interested in the future development of NYC's waterfront. I had a conversation with a representative of the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC) about the proposed Louis Kahn/FDR memorial and asked that person's opinion on whether GIPEC would be interested in including the Kahn memorial in the plans for Governors Island. The response was that there was NO WAY they wanted that thing on Governors Island and that the 1970's concrete and granite design was not appropriate for a modern park.
So I ask again. Why does Roosevelt Island get stuck with the Louis Kahn/FDR memorial for Southpoint Park instead of the Trust for the Public Land's Wild Gardens/Green Rooms plan that is favored by the residents of Roosevelt Island and that retains these fantastic views that will be blocked by the Kahn design?

One of the arguements made in favor ot the Louis Kahn design by its advocates is that some sort of committment or binding obligation had been made by New York State to have it built. However, there is no mention at all of the Louis Kahn design in the Roosevelt Island General Development Plan (GDP) but there is a specific mention of a park at Southpoint. Had there in fact been such a committment for the Kahn memorial it would have been included in the GDP which outlines the approved development of Roosevelt Island. Since the Kahn design is not in the GDP please stop making such arguments.

Image of No Way sign is from Image Chef.
Governors Island image is from GIPEC.
Image of Louis Kahn/FDR memorial is from Architectural Record.

UPDATE: 12/23/ - NY Times article from 12/20/ describing the plan chosen for Governors Island development:

The design, commissioned by the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation, calls for transforming much of the flat, sober island, which is roughly a half-mile from Lower Manhattan, into green space. That includes a two-mile promenade at the water’s edge, a new park on the southern flat expanse of landfill — where abandoned Coast Guard buildings are to be demolished — and an improved park in the island’s northern historic district. The architects proposed using the detritus from the buildings that are to be destroyed to form hills that would exploit the island’s views, which include the Statue of Liberty.

And:

... one of the architects, said: “We tried to establish different ecological zones with the park. Topography, shoreline, freshwater places for migratory birds to land because they use the Hudson River as their compass.”

Gee, doesn't that sound like the Trust for the Public Land's Wild Gardens/Green Rooms design for Roosevelt Island's Southpoint Park? I don't see any concrete or granite memorial for Governors Island Park but that is what is planned for Roosevelt Island's Southpoint Park.

Governor's Island - A Great Place for the Louis Kahn Memorial!!!!

An article in the NY Sun describes various plans for the re-development of Governor's Island but warns against following the same path as that taken for Roosevelt Island.

Concerning Roosevelt Island:

Consider that Roosevelt Island is only a stone's throw from Manhattan and Queens. And yet, to visit the place, something that most tourists and most inhabitants of the five boroughs seldom do, is to travel back in time — specifically to the 1970s, when the island, for better or worse, was extensively reconceived.

And providing a cautionary tale for developing Governor's Island:

Even if the parkland is successfully achieved, and even if the development of other parts of the island prove as extensive as many in the real estate community now hope, great care must be given that the island not be — literally — isolated from the rest of the city. This is the fate that has largely condemned Roosevelt Island to the status of a backwater, despite its being far closer to Manhattan and Queens than Governors Island is to Brooklyn or anywhere else.

This sums up many of the problems encountered on Roosevelt Island - being thought of as a backwater. Out of sight out of mind.

Maybe supporters of Governor's Island development would like the honor of being the site for the Louis Kahn's memorial. In fact, a memorial based upon FDR's Four Freedom's speech (here is transcript and audio) is far more appropriate at a location facing downtown Manhattan and the World Trade Center/Freedom Tower site than on Roosevelt Island where it is not wanted and detracts from a real, green, waterfront park. A memorial to FDR, who overcame many health difficulties, on Governor's Island would also be a fitting tribute that complements Mayor Bloomberg's International Public Health Center proposal for Governors Island.

Roosevelt Island would be glad to cede the Louis Kahn Memorial to Governor's Island. To paraphrase the great, all knowing and wise Henny Youngman - Take the Louis Kahn memorial ... PLEASE!

Image is from the Governor's Island Preservation and Education Corporation.

Alternative Aerial Tramway Transport System for Roosevelt and Governors Island?

The NY Times reports that:

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s philanthropic foundation is considering using Governors Island to house a public health institute where scholars from around the world could come to study and exchange ideas.

“It’s tranquil, you have these beautiful old buildings,” the mayor said this morning on his weekly radio appearance on WABC-AM.

The federal government sold the 172-acre island to the state and city for a nominal fee in 2002. But what should go there has long been a matter of debate. Thoughts have included a casino and an extension of the City University of New York campus.

With the RIOC Board of Directors meeting set to decide the future course of the Roosevelt Island Tram scheduled for this Thursday, I thought it an opportune moment to revisit Santiago Calatrava's proposed tramway transit system for Governor's Island. According to Gothamist, transportation to and from Governor's Island could be accomplished by a Roosevelt Island Tram like gondola system at a cost of $125 million.

Leave it to Santiago Calatrava, the golden boy of rebuild NYC design at the moment for his beautiful Port Authority transit hub planned for Ground Zero, to design a gorgeous tramway between lower Manhattan and Governor's Island. (The tramway isn't a certainty, but it's a great, flashy "This is what our future could be" symbol.) The city and state announced that they are looking for "visionary ideas for the redevelopment of Governor's Island"...
This tramway-gondola system would cost $125 million and the three stations would be in Battery Park, at Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, and at Governor's Island.

More on the Gondola plan for Governor's Island here and critical opinion here.

How about the Coaster below as a temporary substitute if the Roosevelt Island Tram is out of service for an extended period of time, as a transit option for getting to Governors Island or as the Curbed Hudson Yards Roller Coaster? Wheeee!


You Tube video of the Dopplemayr Mountain Glider is here. Dopplemayr is also the manufacturer of the Roosevelt Island Tram.
Governors Island image is from NY Times.