City Receives Over $10 Million in Grants to Support Electrification of Governors Island Ferry, Operation of Staten Island Ferry

On December 1, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams announced that the city has received over $10 million from the U.S. Federal Transit Administration to support ferry services to Staten Island and Governor’s Island. The funding includes a $7.5 million grant to install shoreside rapid charging infrastructure for the new hybrid-electric Governors Island Ferry and $3 million to rehabilitate the City’s Department of Transportation offsite storage facility that supports the Staten Island Ferry. 


Mayor’s Office Announces Governors Island Will Be Open Year-Round for the Public Starting in the Fall

The island has seen large growth in visitors over the past several years. On September 28, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Trust for Governors Island announced that Governors Island will now be open year-round to the public starting November 1st. Governors Island, a 172 acre island in New York Harbor, was previously only open seasonally from May to October. 


New Appointments to Governors Island Board of Directors Announced

The six new appointees will help oversee the Trust’s planning , operations, and development decisions. On April 14, 2021, Mayor de Blasio announced new appointments to the Trust for Governors Island Board of Directors. The appointments are Donnel Baird, Alice Blank, Lisa Garcia, Grace Lee, Michael Oppenheimer, and Matthew Washington. The appointed members have a combined wealth of knowledge and backgrounds in the fields of green technology, climate science, environmental justice, architecture, business, government, and … <Read More>


RFP Issued to Develop Climate Solutions Work Hub on Governors Island

The center would be a part of advancing the City’s Recovery Agenda. On October 21, 2020, Mayor de Blasio and the Trust for Governors Island issued a request for proposals to develop a hub for businesses and non-profits working on the climate and the environment in Building 301 – a historic waterfront building located on the Northern section of Governors Island. This project is an early step to establish Governors Island as a leading center … <Read More>


Stuccoing of 19th-Century Governors Island Red-Brick Ordnance Storehouse Approved

In addition to re-facing to prevent further damage to the porous, water-damaged brick, work will aid expansion of tenant artists’ colony. On May 9, 2017, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved an application by the Trust for Governors Island to reclad an 1870s building constructed as an ordnance storehouse in stucco, with other alterations. The 300-foot-long two-and-a-half story building is part of the Governors Island Historic District. The red brick Romanesque Revival storehouse served as … <Read More>


Governors Island signage and landscaping approved

Proposed welcome walls on Governors Island. Image: Courtesy of West 8.

Portions of Trust for Governors Island’s redevelopment plan falling within historic district needed Landmarks approval. On February 7, 2012, Landmarks issued a binding report approving portions of the Trust for Governors Island’s plan for the recreational redevelopment of the 172-acre Governors Island. Landmarks in July 2011 approved the Trust’s proposal to demolish six non-historic structures and landscape an area near the Yankee Pier public … <Read More>