Up to a dozen volunteers came out for each session - morning, midday and afternoon on both days. They came in great variety - landscape designers, architects, urban planners, bikers, some parents (with one youngster), a Little League organizer, a Harbor School director and four representatives of the Alliance. Most had been to the Island before, even frequently. The range of their thoughts showed the breadth of the Island's potential.
Sessions began with a guided tour around the southern half of the Island by tram, circling the Coast Guard that is being cleared for park space. Along the way, it passed piles of rubble extracted from demolition already, showing that work is really underway, and a plot of grass laid out by the workshop organizers with markers, showing what an acre is.
Then, participants were split into three groups for sit-down huddles with discussion leaders from West 8 and GIPEC. Each huddle was asked to plan two visits to the Island - What do you visualize for your first visit? What would make you come back?
For the first visit, one huddle worked on the idea of a family reunion - let everyone do what they want, walk around, absorb the unique harbor environment, soak up some history, relax, get together for a picnic. For the return visit: bring fishing rods, bring paints and easels, bring sunblock for tanning, bathing suits and tennis rackets.
Another huddle put a strong focus on keeping the Island natural, with minimal commercialization and infrastructure. This group also suggested "island-centric" food, such as a clam shack. In at least two of the groups the Island's safety got a lot of attention; it's a safe place for kids to run free without parents worrying about them. Pretty much everyone mentioned the unbeatable experience of being out on the harbor.
GIPEC's new blog dubs the whole exercise "1000 Days on Governors Island" and underscores some of the ideas it heard: "family reunions, first dates, kids running free and days packed with music, movement, good food and good friends." Some of those ideas are to be featured on the blog.
Then, participants were split into three groups for sit-down huddles with discussion leaders from West 8 and GIPEC. Each huddle was asked to plan two visits to the Island - What do you visualize for your first visit? What would make you come back?
For the first visit, one huddle worked on the idea of a family reunion - let everyone do what they want, walk around, absorb the unique harbor environment, soak up some history, relax, get together for a picnic. For the return visit: bring fishing rods, bring paints and easels, bring sunblock for tanning, bathing suits and tennis rackets.
Another huddle put a strong focus on keeping the Island natural, with minimal commercialization and infrastructure. This group also suggested "island-centric" food, such as a clam shack. In at least two of the groups the Island's safety got a lot of attention; it's a safe place for kids to run free without parents worrying about them. Pretty much everyone mentioned the unbeatable experience of being out on the harbor.
GIPEC's new blog dubs the whole exercise "1000 Days on Governors Island" and underscores some of the ideas it heard: "family reunions, first dates, kids running free and days packed with music, movement, good food and good friends." Some of those ideas are to be featured on the blog.