Summer 2008 - Memorial Day through Labor Day - saw more tens of thousands of visitors to the Island, newcomers "discovering" its charms for the first time, and repeaters who already knew what a special place it is. GIPEC counted 96,683 visits through September 1, up almost eighty percent from last year's 56,000.
As evidence of the Island's growing attraction, $80 tickets sold out in advance for the New Yorker magazine's bike tour next month, guided by park designer Adriaan Geuze, GIPEC President Leslie Koch, archtect Ricardo Scofidio and New Yorker architecture critic Paul Goldberger.
The Island has been open Friday, Saturday and Sunday every week - one day more than last year, and longer hours each day - and remains open a month longer than before, through the citywide Open House weekend, October 4 and 5, and Columbus Day weekend, October 11 and 12.
As evidence of the Island's growing attraction, $80 tickets sold out in advance for the New Yorker magazine's bike tour next month, guided by park designer Adriaan Geuze, GIPEC President Leslie Koch, archtect Ricardo Scofidio and New Yorker architecture critic Paul Goldberger.
The Island has been open Friday, Saturday and Sunday every week - one day more than last year, and longer hours each day - and remains open a month longer than before, through the citywide Open House weekend, October 4 and 5, and Columbus Day weekend, October 11 and 12.
In 2007, the average number of visitors for a typical Saturday was 1,400. It doubled this year, and then some, to 2,900.
The biggest day was Saturday, July 26, when 7,200 people came out. The main attractions was City of Water Day, a new annual celebration afloat on Buttermilk Channel, sponsored by the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance.
In June, the FIGMENT festival drew almost 10,000 visitors over three days. Other big draws were the Alliance's Family Fest on opening day, the Jazz Age Festival weekend in June, five Saturdays of Folks on the Island! concerts sponsored by Trinity Wall Street and the Alliance, weekly lectures on ecology and the environment by CUNY faculty and a strong run of debuts - the African Film Festival, a Battery Dance Company performance and the Pulse Theatre's Twelfth Night in August. The National Park Service sponsored an Army Heritage Weekend in June and weekends devoted to a Civil War reenactment and the Battle of Brooklyn in August.
A first-ever Island concert by the New York Philharmonic was cancelled by threatening weather, but the former site of the Super 8 Motel has been cleared and can now accommodate a stage for future occasions - including the Philharmonic, already scheduled for next summer.
Another new feature was a spanking new onshore waiting room in the Battery Maritime Building. Other firsts included rental bikes on the Island - free on Fridays - and five food stands with menus ranging from hotdogs to knishes, tyropita and gourmet sandwiches - and coffee!
The Bike and Roll Company had 100 bikes for rent on weekends; on Fridays they were free, thanks to Alliance-member Transportation Alternatives. The island saw over 20,000 riders - on both rented and personal bikes - throughout the summer. In August, the Department of Transportation distributed 280 free helmets. Free kayaks were also available for rent thanks to the Downtown Boathouse.
Despite rain and thunder, the Family Festival on Memorial Day weekend brought out 1,200 of the young and old for an abundance of entertainment and a presentation on oyster beds by New York Harbor School interns.
This year's Folks on the Island! season was extended to five weekends, responding to the popular response last summer. The two-day Jazz Age Festival in June - to be repeated this month - featured dance lessons and period costumes, so stylish that it rated a photo feature in the New York Times one Sunday. August brought the African Film Festival and the Battery Dance Company, which held its 27th Annual Downtown Dance Festival on the island for the first time.
In sum, the Island was busier this summer than at any time since the Coast Guard left, jam-packed with a broader scope of activities.
The biggest day was Saturday, July 26, when 7,200 people came out. The main attractions was City of Water Day, a new annual celebration afloat on Buttermilk Channel, sponsored by the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance.
In June, the FIGMENT festival drew almost 10,000 visitors over three days. Other big draws were the Alliance's Family Fest on opening day, the Jazz Age Festival weekend in June, five Saturdays of Folks on the Island! concerts sponsored by Trinity Wall Street and the Alliance, weekly lectures on ecology and the environment by CUNY faculty and a strong run of debuts - the African Film Festival, a Battery Dance Company performance and the Pulse Theatre's Twelfth Night in August. The National Park Service sponsored an Army Heritage Weekend in June and weekends devoted to a Civil War reenactment and the Battle of Brooklyn in August.
A first-ever Island concert by the New York Philharmonic was cancelled by threatening weather, but the former site of the Super 8 Motel has been cleared and can now accommodate a stage for future occasions - including the Philharmonic, already scheduled for next summer.
Another new feature was a spanking new onshore waiting room in the Battery Maritime Building. Other firsts included rental bikes on the Island - free on Fridays - and five food stands with menus ranging from hotdogs to knishes, tyropita and gourmet sandwiches - and coffee!
The Bike and Roll Company had 100 bikes for rent on weekends; on Fridays they were free, thanks to Alliance-member Transportation Alternatives. The island saw over 20,000 riders - on both rented and personal bikes - throughout the summer. In August, the Department of Transportation distributed 280 free helmets. Free kayaks were also available for rent thanks to the Downtown Boathouse.
Despite rain and thunder, the Family Festival on Memorial Day weekend brought out 1,200 of the young and old for an abundance of entertainment and a presentation on oyster beds by New York Harbor School interns.
This year's Folks on the Island! season was extended to five weekends, responding to the popular response last summer. The two-day Jazz Age Festival in June - to be repeated this month - featured dance lessons and period costumes, so stylish that it rated a photo feature in the New York Times one Sunday. August brought the African Film Festival and the Battery Dance Company, which held its 27th Annual Downtown Dance Festival on the island for the first time.
In sum, the Island was busier this summer than at any time since the Coast Guard left, jam-packed with a broader scope of activities.