Governors Island
Join us for our first-ever member-funded GovIsland After Hours this Friday! Want to help us stay open late on more days? Become a member today at govisland.com/membership Memberships are good for one year, so you can enjoy the fall, spring and summer at NYC's favorite Island Getaway.
Governors Island
As a member, you'll get the best of Governors Island, including free ferries, discounts, special events and more! Plus, for a limited time, your membership will support our campaign to keep the Island open 'til 10pm on Fridays! govisland.com/membership
Governors Island
As a member, you'll get the best of Governors Island for a whole YEAR, including free ferries, discounts, special events and more! Plus, for a limited time, your membership will support our campaign to keep the Island open 'til 10pm on Fridays! govisland.com/membership
Only 7 days left to help keep minigolf on Governors Island this summer! Contribute to Figment's Kickstarter campaign to ensure minigolf returns to GI this summer: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1572848429/figment-artist-designed-minigolf-course-on-governo
This year, due to rising costs, Figment’s artist-designed minigolf course is at risk of not coming back for its 10th season and there are only 7 days left to bring it back. Your contribution will keep minigolf on Governors Island, so all New Yorkers can enjoy it for free, seven days a week, all summer long!
Do you love playing minigolf on Governors Island in the summer? Help keep minigolf on Governors Island next summer by contributing to Figment’s Kickstarter campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1572848429/figment-artist-designed-minigolf-course-on-governo/updates
This year, due to rising costs, Figment’s artist-designed minigolf course is at risk of not coming back for its 10th season. Your contribution will keep minigolf on Governors Island, so all New Yorkers can enjoy it for free, seven days a week, all summer long!
Governors Island
Searching for a last minute holiday gift? #GiveGI this year, and adopt your own piece of Governors Island! Whether you choose a rose bush, a hammock, an Adirondack chair or a bench, your gift is essential to making the Island what it is: a vibrant shared space for art and play.
Pledge your gift by December 21 and we will make sure you receive it before the holidays!
Friends of Governors Island
Vote once a day, every day at voteyourpark.org/gois to help #saveoureagle
Fun fact: Matthew Bradly's photo, which was taken in 1864 is the earliest known photo of the Fort Jay Eagle. Don't forget to Vote daily to help preserve The Eagle for years to come at VoteYourPark.org/gois #saveoureagle
Great to see so many children from last weekend's Family Festival excited to #saveoureagle. Don't forget to vote once a day, everyday at voteyourpark.org/gois
Learn more about our project to Save the Eagle at Fort Jay. Please vote at www.voteyourpark.org/gois and visit us this opening weekend to climb the scaffolding and meet the eagle up close. You can reserve spots on our website!
The 18th century sculpture above the gateway to Fort Jay on Governor's Island is up for a piece of $2 million in preservation funds.
The sandstone eagle sculpture atop Fort Jay’s monumental arch on Governor’s Island is a one-of-a-kind national treasure and work of art, but two centuries of water, ice and pollution have damaged this national symbol.
To help save this unique piece of history, Fort Jay’s eagle statue was selected a part of a national competition through a partnership between the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express who will award $2 million in grants to historic sites in need of preservation as decided by popular vote.
Out of 20 parks, only a quarter will receive funding! To #SaveOurEagle, you can vote once a day, every day at VoteYourPark.org/gois. Help save a piece of New York’s forgotten military history!
Friends of Governors Island
Introducing the Friends of Governors Island! Governors Island Alliance has a new name and many exciting changes in store. As part of our efforts to streamline the communications you receive from us, please like our new shared page, "Governors Island," on Facebook.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook. You can even follow the adventures of the Island’s working dog, Max, on Instagram.
We are excited to hear more about the exciting plans for Governors Island in tonight's State of the City address!
In his State of the City address, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to announce plans to transform Governors Island and to bring a streetcar to the East River waterfront.
Our Executive Director Merritt Birnbaum co-authored this New York Times article on why we must end the 56,000 annual helicopter tourist flights that destroy the environment on Governors Island and our other City parks. Please share this post!
Tourist helicopters are ruining the city’s few oases of peace and quiet.
Check out these amazing interactive photos showing current views of The Hills alongside renderings of what they will look like covered in new trees and plants!
When Governors Island reopens to the public this summer, it'll have one very new, big attraction: the Hills, four sloping slabs of land totaling 10 acres, each of which...
Governors Island
The #govislandhills are opening this summer - a whole year ahead of schedule! Get excited to climb, scramble, slide, and picnic with stellar views! https://govisland.com/blog/the-hills-are-opening-in-2016
Happy New Year! There's still time to make your 2015 gift and support Governors Island in the coming year. Please consider an online donation to keep us blooming in 2016. http://ow.ly/WuUuw
Read about one remarkable student's job on Governors Island. And please consider a year-end gift to Governors Island Alliance. Your support makes this internship and our other programs possible.
TODAY at 12PM - Please join our Online Rally to ban the harmful tourist helicopters that destroy our parks and open spaces. More info on how you can help in just 5 minutes: http://goo.gl/jAqs4e
We love Billion Oyster Project. Governors Island won't be the same without them! We are sure oysters feel the same way. Governors Island, NYC
The Billion Oyster Project wants to plant a billion oysters in the New York Harbor. Learn why! #StartWith1Thing
An article in The Broadsheet on the issue we deeply care about:
Spare the Blade
Proposed Law to Ban Helicopter Tours Moves
Ahead in City Council
Last Thursday (November 12), the City Council heard testimony on a package of bills, cosponsored by Margaret Chin (who represents Lower Manhattan), that intend to ban helicopter tourists flights in the five boroughs of New York City. (In practice, these measures would primarily affect Lower Manhattan, because that is the only location anywhere in New York City from which such flights still operate.)
As the hearing, before the Council's Environmental Protection Committee, opened, Ms. Chin said, "for the first time, New Yorkers dealing with the persistent and growing problem of helicopter noise have the opportunity to voice their concerns in an official forum. I ask that my colleagues in government hear their pleas for action and support our legislation to clear the skies over our homes, parks, and waterways of tourist helicopter flights."
"This is a crucial first step in solving a problem which the City has long ignored and indeed created -- the horrible noise and air pollution from nonessential tourist helicopter flights operating out of the City-owned Downtown Heliport," said John Dellaportas, president of Stop the Chop, a grassroots coalition of waterfront residents in Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and New Jersey that is lobbying to scale back the tours.
Helicopter tourism flights have become a source of controversy for Lower Manhattan residents in recent years, who see a detriment to quality of life as well as a hazard to health and safety in the hundreds of flights that originate each day from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport (on South Street, near Coenties Slip) and ferry tourists up and down the Hudson River waterfront.
State Senator Daniel Squadron testified that, "nonessential tourist helicopters have become increasingly concentrated in a few neighborhoods in the city. Under a 1997 decision by then-Mayor Giuliani, upheld by a 1998 court ruling, the East 34th Street Heliport eliminated tourist helicopter operations. In 2010, a lawsuit settlement also eliminated nonessential tourist helicopter operations from the 30th Street Heliport on the West Side. Because of both of these developments, all tourist helicopter flights in Manhattan originate and conclude at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport."
"In other words," Senator Squadron continued, "Downtown and the neighborhoods in the chop zone now endure the entire impact of tourist flights, even though only a fraction as much chop was unacceptable in other neighborhoods as far back as 1997."
Critics of helicopter tourism point out that the City's own 1999 Heliport and Helicopter Master Plan (which made permanent the East 34th Street Heliport's tourist helicopter ban), said "Air tours... are not viewed as transportation and will not be supported at City-owned facilities."
The measures under consideration by the City Council aim to ban the two categories of helicopters that are deemed to be the loudest and emit the highest levels of air pollution. (These are called "Stage 1" and "Stage 2" helicopters.) A second bill would also ban the use of so-called "Stage 3" helicopters, subject to approval by the federal government's Secretary of Transportation. These bills would affect only the helicopter tourism business, and flights related to public safety, including those operated by police, fire, and other emergency services, would be unaffected by the legislation.
"We should not be protecting a single tourist experience at the expense of the quality of life and safety of New York residents along the tourist helicopter flight paths," said U.S. Congressman Jerry Nadler.
"When sightseeing helicopters buzz over our streets, a handful of people are inflicting a ton of extra noise and pollution on tens or even hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers," said Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.
"The Downtown Manhattan Heliport continues to plague our community with noise, air quality and threat to safety. Of all the communities in the country, we are the most sensitive to the danger of low-flying aircraft. Residents have seen up to eight helicopters landing and taking off simultaneously in the restricted small area of Pier 6 making it one of the most heavily congested heliports in the country," said Catherine McVay Hughes, chair of Manhattan Community Board 1.
Matthew Fenton
Photo Courtesy of William Alatriste/ New York City Council
Photos:
City Council member Margaret Chin (at podium), U.S. Congressman Jerry Nadler (center) and Community Board 1 chair Catherine McVay Hughes at a City Hall rally held last Thursday to demand an end to helicopter tourism in local skies. After the rally, the City Council heard testimony on a proposed measure that would permanently ground the flights.
Gorgeous colors! Much work... Sad you are not here.
Gorgeous colors! Much work... Sad you are not here.
Congratulations to Christopher Verdon, the lucky winner of a cool #iWatch in Governor's Island, Ny Alliance raffle this season.
Christopher, a resident of Fort Lee, NJ came for his first visit to @Governors with his brother on a perfect summer day. The weather was glorious; the @JazzAgeNYC Lawn Party was in full swing. The brothers went on a bike ride and checked out the food vendors and the party-goers dressed in The Roaring Twenties style. "Beautiful day, beautiful weather... My brother was smiling the whole time", recalls Chris.
Chris, we hope you set a reminder on your new watch to come visit us again next season!
NYC COUNCIL'S COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION HEARING TO BAN TOURIST HELICOPTERS
On November 12th the City Council's Committee on Environmental Protection held a hearing on the proposed legislation to eliminate helicopter tourism at the Downtown Heliport.
There were five hours of testimony!
70 speakers signed up to testify. They represented neighborhoods across the city: lower Manhattan, downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carol Gardens, Red Hook, Sunset Park, Staten Island, Upper West Side, Washington Heights, West Harlem, Chelsea, Tribeca, Battery Park City, northern Queens, and others.
Many elected officials submitted testimony: Jerry Nadler, Daniel Squadron, Letitia James, Joanne Simon, Gale Brewer, and many more attended the rally on City Hall steps before the hearing. DC37 - the city's municipal public employees union - testified as well about the health impacts to their employees.
Governors Island was well represented by GIA, NPS, the National Parks Conservation Association, the Harbor Foundation and Earth Matter. Council Committee members seemed to be on our side. However, we need to keep the pressure on over the next couple of months to keep pushing the Council bills forward. Follow us on Tweeter and re-tweet us! Sign the Stop the Chop Petition at http://chn.ge/1GiLiMI.
READ THE TESTIMONY BY OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CONNIE FISHMAN -- http://www.governorsislandalliance.org/#new-page
READ OP-ED BY NYC PUBLIC ADVOCATE LETITIA JAMES ON HUFFINGTON POST - NO-FLY ZONE http://www.huffingtonpost.com/letitia-james/no-fly-zone_b_8544356.html
Governors Island: Green, Resilient, and Fun!
It’s always exciting when a city builds a new park. More trees! More grass! But recreation isn’t the only thing parks are built for. On Governor’s Island in ...
RSVP: Join us at our NYC City Hall Rally this Thursday!
Radiant FINRA employees took a brake from protecting investors to volunteer on #governorsisland this Wednesday. @governor_max took them to the top of #govislandhills!
Fellow Governors Island Supporters: Please join us at the New York City Council hearing on helicopter noise to express your support for the proposed legislation to eliminate sightseeing flights over Governors Island and the NY Harbor. This may be our only chance to express our opinions and show our support of the Island we all love so much. Imagine a summer without the constant drone of helicopters non-stop, day after day. Help us make this a reality!
The New York City Council’s Committee on Environmental Protection will be having a hearing on tourist helicopters on Thursday, November 12, at 1:00 pm in City Hall Chambers. The bills by Council Members Menchaca, Rosenthal, and Chin will do the following:
· Int. 859-2015 prohibits the operation of Stage 1 and Stage 2 sightseeing helicopters, the loudest and most polluting helicopter types in use.
· Int. 858-2015 prohibits the operation of Stage 3 sightseeing helicopters, subject to approval by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation.
A rally will be held at noon on Thursday, November 12, directly before the hearing in support of regulating the disruptive tourist helicopters. Please RSVP to Sarah Mallory at [email protected].
Fall colors are finally here, on Governors Island.
BNY Mellon volunteers brought sunshine and enthusiasm to Governors Island. They worked to curb the spread of invasive plants and establish a feeding site for monarch butterflies. Thank you, BNY Mellon team!
The view from the top of the Governors Island Hills is spectacular and there a tons of folks available to answer your questions!
Photos of horticultural volunteers on Governors Island. We host both groups and individuals and offer a range of exciting ways for New Yorkers to dig in and get dirty! For information about volunteering on Governors Island please visit www.governorsislandalliance.org/volunteer
Photos of horticultural volunteers on Governors Island. We host both groups and individuals and offer a range of exciting ways for New Yorkers to dig in and get dirty! For information about volunteering on Governors Island please visit www.governorsislandalliance.org/volunteer
Governors Island
New York, NY
10004
Take the 1 to South Ferry, the R to Whitehall Street, or the 4/5 to Bowling Green. Walk South. Catch the Governors Island Ferry at the Battery Maritime Building at 10 South Street.
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Send a message to Friends of Governors Island:
Tourist helicopters taking off from the downtown heliport make so much noise when they fly over #governorsisland! They drive us crazy! Helicopters bugging you? Head on over to http://www.stopthechopnynj.org/ to sign a petition to get rid of tourist helicopters OR let NYC 311 know on Facebook or Twitter! Stop NYC Tourist Helicopters over NJ side of Hudson River
What a gorgeous day for @brooklynkitefest on #governorsisland with @thebrooklynartery! Today and tomorrow are the last days of Governors Island's open season and the weather is perfect. See you soon!! ❤️GI #tygovernorsisland @nycmayorsoffice @nyccouncil
Come on out for NYC Unicycle Fest! These kids are killing it! #unicycles #governorsisland
Join us on #governorsisland this Saturday to #explorenolan with our phigital scavenger hunt from noon to 5!
Michael Arenella & His Dreamland Orchestra!!! #JazzAgeLawnParty #GovernorsIsland
Lower East Side History Project
232 E 11th St
American Literary Historical Society
55 East 77th Street
