The Harbor School is ready for students!
Murray Fisher dreamed of a school oriented to the harbor nearly 10 years ago. Umpteen hurdles later, it opened in 2004 in the middle of Brooklyn, far from the harbor. On September 8 it starts new life on the waterfront, where it was always meant to be - in the totally remodeled hospital building on Governors Island.
Continue reading "Three R's and H for Harbor " »
Led by members Margaret Chin of Manhattan and James Gennaro of Queens, Council Education Committee Chair Robert Jackson and Speaker Quinn, the City Council has voted funds for the Harbor School's Marine Science and Technology Center in a city building on Buttermilk Channel. Student-led programs at MAST, its adapted acronym, will teach the students themselves and the public about the Harbor and its ecology, aquaculture and serve as a boat shop. The Council's funding matches privately raised money to rehab the building. The Alliance is working with the National Park Service, Harbor School and other partners to identify possible interpretive programs for Island visitors - programs that can use this valuable new facility.
Cannon fire on Civil War Weekend
The National Park Service has put Island history on display this summer with three undertakings - Army Heritage in June, a Civil War weekend in August, and ongoing free "Biking Through History" tours led by NPS Rangers.
Continue reading "The NPS's History Hat Trick" »
Added Value Farmers Market at Picnic Point
You've been able to grab lunch or a snack on the Island for several summers, but not since the Coast Guard left could anyone shop for groceries. This year the Added Value Farm at Picnic Point has a stand selling selling fruit, vegetables, yogurt drinks, juice and flowers. It's open from 11 to 4 on Saturdays and Sundays.
Continue reading "Offshore Farmers' Market " »
Changes are afoot at the Governors Island Alliance. Liz Case, who has been the glue that holds us together for three years, has left the Island to make her way upriver to law school. She will enter the Pace University School of Environmental Law in White Plains this fall. Taking her place will be Maya Borgenicht, who started as a summer intern last year. She liked the Island so much that she commuted from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie during the school year to continue her internship. After graduating with a B.A. in Urban Studies, Maya has moved to New York City, and now ferries between the office and the Island full time.
Resources by VolunteerMusic
Mark Foley, the one-man band who created the Governors Island Trilogy describes this final instalment as "a playful mash-up" of Island activities:
Walk, run, bike, tram, get around how you can
Chaise, gaze, daze, phase, pick a spot to sit and laze....
Continue reading "Island Trilogy: Part 3" »
The newly appointed directors of the newly established Trust for Governors Island held their inaugural meeting on July 13 - appropriately on the Island in Pershing Hall. With the city now in control, nine of the new board's 13 members are Bloomberg appointees, including three holdovers from the previous GIPEC board and a high-powered selection of newcomers. The other four are named, one apiece, by Governor Paterson, Speaker Silver, State Senator Squadron and Manhattan Community Board 1.
Continue reading "A New Crew to Steer the Island" »
Yankee Pier at 2009's City of Water Day
City of Water Day, the fantastic annual celebration of New York City and its harbor, returns to Governors Island on Saturday, July 24. It's a watery field day for the thousands who converge from near and far, but it needs volunteers. Check the website for how to sign up:
cityofwaterday.org/volunteer.
Continue reading "Sign Up for the Water" »
From top left: Caroline Stern, Derek Thompson,
Cesar Gutierrez, August Doyle, Alex Sage,
Emma Hartung, Christina Twomey, and Maya Borgenicht
Maya Borgenicht: Vassar College 2010, B.A. in Urban Studies: When I first took the ferry out for a school project in the fall of 2008, I fell in love with this magical, mysterious place. I count myself lucky to introduce the Island to others, working to make it one of the most exciting new public spaces in New York. This is my second summer as a GIA intern.
Continue reading "Our Interns Speak" »
