April 3, 2007
Governors Island, still free, expands access for 2007
Great news for Governors Island, the 172-acre former military outpost between Brooklyn and the southern tip of Manhattan.
 Not only will access to the island remain free this summer, but more of it will be open to the public and for more days, according to the schedule released Monday by the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation.
For the first time, the island's entire 92-acre National Historic District will be open for visitors.
First settled by the Lenape Indians, the island later was the original colonial settlement of New York City. In 1624, Dutch explorers spent their first winter on "Nutten Island," only moving to settle Manhattan the following year. For two centuries it was used as a military outpost, and later by the Coast Guard. It's home to red-brick fort built in the early-1800s, a hospital that once tended to Ulysses S. Grant and was the location of Wilbur Wright's first flight over water (headed toward the Statue of Liberty,) several churches, Victorian and Romanesque Revival homes, and a shuttered Super 8 motel.
It was first opened to the public after 2003, when ownership was transferred to the city and state of New York and the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation.
 The 2007 season will run from June 2 through September 2. Special events will include a Family Festival on June 2, a Saturday concert series in July and August, a cultural festival, musical and theatrical performances -- and other activities to be named later. last summer, they included Civil War re-enactments, art installations and a lecture series.
Also new this year, bicycles are allowed on the island. But still prohibited: alcohol, pets, barbecuing, swimming and fishing.
If you go during the week, it needs to be on a free guided tour, offered through the National Park Service on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays only, 40 people max. If you go on the weekend, there are no tours but you can walk around the island on your own from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ferries hold 400 people per trip. (Unlike past years, the island will remain open on Sundays. However, the island is closed to the public on Mondays and Tuesdays.)
The ferry departs from slip 6 at the Battery Maritime Building, located just north (on the East River side) of the Staten Island Ferry Terminal in Lower Manhattan.
If you go, bring your sunscreen, food and water; even drinking fountains are in short supply. There is a gift shop, but at least in 2006, its offerings were concentrated on books and not any drug-store type of items.
The 2007 ferry schedule:
Wednesday - Friday
Departs Manhattan: 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1:15 p.m., 2:15 p.m. and 3:15 p.m.
Departs Governors Island: 10:45 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Weekends
Departs Manhattan: 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Departs Governors Island: 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Earlier: See more of NewYorkology's 2006 pictures of Governors Island.
April 3, 2007 7:43 AM in Architecture, Cheap Stuff, Downtown, History, Kids, Museums, Out of Manhattan, Sightsology, Sports, Tours
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