On September 3rd, 2016, we went on a walking trip to Governors Island. Governors Island is one of the key sites for the AAP NYC City and Regional Planning workshop course (CRP 5172). It is a 172-acre island, a 10-minute ferry ride from Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York City. Governors Island National Monument manages 22 acres, containing Fort Jay and Castle Williams. The City of New York through the Trust for Governors Island manages the rest of the 150 acres. Our workshop team will be assessing the near term application of Connected and/or Automated Vehicles in this area with NYCEDC’s Ports and Transportation Division and the Trust for Governors Island as their clients.
We boarded a ferry from Battery Maritime Building to reach the Island. We first visited the exhibition at Soissons Landing where our very own director, Bob Balder introduced us to the history and present developments in the Island. Then we took a walk to Nolan Park where we witnessed the 7th Annual Unicycle Festival. There were kids and adults riding unicycles everywhere. It was a fun scene to watch!
Going through the exquisite Colonel’s row housed with old abandoned U.S. Coast Guard housing, we moved towards the Hammock grove and the Hills. Hammock grove is a beautiful parkland with seating places for the visitors and bike paths. The Hills are man-made structures created out of recycled materials and provide unique panoramic views of the statue of Liberty and Manhattan skyline.
The Governor’s Island art fair takes place annually on every weekends in September and we were lucky enough to witness that. It was originally located in the buildings of colonial row but now has extended to Fort Jay and Castle Williams as artist venues. However, the southwestern part of the island is still in the phase of redevelopment.
With this very interesting field trip, we hope our workshop team comes up with pretty good proposals for the island.
Photos by Stephanie Cheung.