Over 100 people turned out for the National Park Service's March 18 "Listening " session at Federal Hall - the recently refurbished historic site on Wall Street. Maria Burks, Commissioner of the National Parks of New York Harbor, introduced the National Park Centennial Initiative, a 10-year project to "invigorate" the park system by 2016, the centennial of its creation in the administration of President Woodrow Wilson. Sandy Walter, Acting Director of the Northeast Region (from Maine to Virginia) reported that the President's budget for fiscal year 2008 proposes up to $3 billion for investment in parks, trails, memorials and historic sites that will help start the process.
The object of this session, and others like it around the country, was to gather people's thoughts about the parks ten years from now. The audience had more thoughts about programs than projects - such as better educational collaboration between schools and national parks, and greater inter-connection among the parks in
the New York region. The Island was represented by Linda Neal, superintendent of the Governors
Island National Monument - one of 13 superintendents on hand from 13 NPS sites in the tri-state area. The audience was a mix of citizens, school advocates, park enthusiasts, parents with children, and many Alliance members. Suzanne Wertz of AIA New York Chapter and Rob Freudenberg of the Alliance staff spoke for the Island as a signature National Park for all New Yorkers to celebrate our maritime heritage and the historic importance of the several strategic forts. For information about the Centennial Challenge, go to www.nps.gov/partnerships/challenge.htm. Alliance member National Parks Conservation Association is collecting suggestions for new projects, new parks, and new programs for centennial. You can write them at nero@npca.org.
http://www.governorsislandalliance.org/pdf/OnlineOffshorevol2_2.pdf