Governors Island Revamp: Four Visions of Paradise

1.

How about just privatizing the island, and selling it off to the highest bidder?

2.

I visited the island this August, its so beautiful with such an amazing amount of history. I think it would be a great artist colony, maintainig most of the public space and offering a lot of public art and education programs

3.

So much for an attempt at some affordable housing...

4.

NATIONAL HERITAGE TRIANGLE
Historic New Amsterdam
Living Museum-to-Tolerance on Governors Island
A historical museum-park-to-tolerance on Governors Island recalling the birth and childhood of 17th century NY, NJ and CT
A place of educational significance to the nation and a showcase of the Tri-State’s earliest architectural and material culture

139 East 79th Street, 15th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10021, U.S.A.
Telephone (212) 737-3216 Facsimile (212) 988-6452

October 26, 2005

The Hon. Sheldon Silver
Speaker, New York State Assembly, LOB 932
Albany, NY 12248

The Dynamic Value of Religious, Ethnic and Racial Tolerance
the Lifeblood of American Liberty
Unites Us in Freedom

Dear Speaker Silver,

At last week’s Governors Island “Public Hearing” we observed that, out of seven presenters, NY State was represented only by Deputy Secretary of State Le Melle. Moreover, the four development options that were presented didn’t exemplify New York State’s distinct identity of historical and third-millennium relevance as embodied only by Governors Island.

Does that foretell the disrespect for the State’s inheritance or the abdication of active legislative involvement and interest with respect to the proposed historic tolerance park for the island?

Eight years of work and historical research by city and state appointees, employees and their consultants had culminated into a prominent, public display with the heading “Highlights of the Island History”. The subsequent sentence read: “Before 1698: The Manahatas Indians used the island which they knew as Pagganck to hunt, fish and occasionally as a home.” It then proceeded to enumerate dates past 1698.

This particular statement, with which we can find no fault, is however an error-of-omission which is as serious a mistake as an error-of-comission.

By committing this omission, GIPEC may have justified the exclusion of the island’s national historic significance and its unique symbolism to the nation from the Public Hearing. That oversight therefore eliminates New York State’s thematic legacy to the country and eradicates the geographic, physical source of the State’s emblematic identity.

Furthermore, the statement does not cover Governors Island’s importance as the staging area for shipping operations from 1610 onward and past the construction of Fort Amsterdam on Manhattan Island in 1625 and the creation of a title deed to Manhattan in 1626.

It disregards Governors Island as the place of first settlement in 1624 and as the legally acknowledged locus of New York State’s cultural history, the birthplace of New York State and the origin of American toleration. It was those colonists who had constructed on the island the region’s first fort and windmill and had planted North-America’s vital legal-cultural tradition of tolerance―codified in the settlers’ first instructions**―which to this day is the foundation of American pluralism and defines American liberty as well as signifies New York State’s identity and image.

A Symbolic Island or Tolerance Island―to be created by the proposed tolerance park Historic New Amsterdam―was conspicuously absent from the four options presented; (1) an Iconic Island, (2) a Destination Island; (3) a Minimum Build Island; and (4) an Innovation Island―none of which have any meaning to the American nation or New York State. Nor are they in any way correlated to Governors Island’s immense historic worth in the formation of the Original Thirteen and as the authentic, political-cultural wellspring that became the basis for the statement that “the United Colonies are, and of right ought to be Free and Independent States”.

We are asking you whether you would consider sponsoring a unibill that will reinforce the state’s historic uniqueness and open-minded spirit as personified in “American” liberty on the place of its birth. Only a unibill will accomplish the restoration, conservation, protection and sustainment of the State’s cultural identity and thematic inheritance to America for New York’s perpetual economic and cultural wellbeing.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours truly,

Joep de Koning
www.NationalHeritageTriangle.com

cc: NY State Senators and Assembly Leadership, Governor George E. Pataki; Mayor Michael Bloomberg

**Settlers had to attract, “through attitude and by example”, the natives and non-believers to God’s word “without, on the
other hand, to persecute someone by reason of his religion and to leave everyone the freedom of his conscience.”

5.

I remember when they were talking about making Gov'ns Island a big part of the CUNY system. They were gonna build dorms, new facilities, and along with that of course, wherever you have college students, you need theaters, restaurants, blah, blah, blah, et cetera. I know people may not think that it's the most profitable way to use GI, but i think it could be very beneficial to the city as a whole.

6.

I was excited to hear about a gondola to the Island but after reading the proposals I'm horrified that NONE talk of preserving the gorgeous historic buildings and making these buildings museums or art spaces. Demolish buildings on Governor's Island? Aren't these protected by any landmark commission? Joep de Koning makes many excellent points above. I am an artist so I also agree with Sarah Smith (above) about using some of the space for all of us artists who keep getting the boot when we revive neighborhoods. I have a studio in the meatpaking district in Manhattan and the rent keeps soaring. Also, I own a house in St. George, Staten Island. I'd love to see some other mode of transportation from SI to Manhattan.

7.

I was excited to hear about a gondola to the Island but after reading the proposals I'm horrified that NONE talk of preserving the gorgeous historic buildings and making these buildings museums or art spaces. Demolish buildings on Governor's Island? Aren't these protected by any landmark commission? Joep de Koning makes many excellent points above. I am an artist so I also agree with Sarah Smith (above) about using some of the space for all of us artists who keep getting the boot when we revive neighborhoods. I have a studio in the meatpaking district in Manhattan and the rent keeps soaring. Also, I own a house in St. George, Staten Island. I'd love to see some other mode of transportation from SI to Manhattan.

8.

I grew up on the island, this is killing me.....

9.

I want to see us build a Colonial New Amsterdam on the island. Yes, the historic northern part (the original island) should be kept as is for the most part, but the expanded portiton should be completely overhauled and made into a piece of New York history.
http://petersonfornyc.blogspot.com/2006/05/advocacy-for-colonial-new-amsterdam.html