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Governor’s Island Nightmare
Back when I was at City Planning, when the first of several failed plans for Governor’s Island was being framed, there is one nightmare I hoped would be avoided. That at the urging of groups such as the Municipal Arts Society, the island would be parkland alone, and would not have revenues to support its maintenance. And therefore it would drain the budget of the NYC Parks Department, the most under-funded service (relative to average spending) in the New York City. Wealthier New Yorkers would continue to have decent park and recreation facilities, because they would pay for them themselves, in fees and “donations.” But poor and working class New Yorkers, who (unlike suburbanites with their private yards) rely on public parks for leisure and exercise, would lose out. And meanwhile, Governor’s Island would become the preserve of those affluent enough to afford an unsubsidized ferry trip, so the affluent would benefit from those Parks Department tax dollars, now diverted to Governor’s Island, but the less well off would not. My suggestion was to move the U.N. and embassies there and turn it into an “international peace island;’ the Giuliani Administration proposed a casino; a later iteration included CUNY; and still later an amusement park. But I knew as soon as Governor’s Island became the property of the city and state rather than the federal government, we were doomed. And now, according to the New York Observer, the nightmare is coming true.
On the other side of the country, the similar Presidio is a self supporting park, its entire cost (and then some) supported by commercial development. Its historic structures are no longer threatened. The Wikipedia entry about it seems about right based on information available to me, but additional reuse is ongoing, with more proposals being debated. The lead commercial use is Lucasfilm’s Letterman Digital Arts Center (LDAC), “which is now the headquarters of Industrial Light and Magic and LucasArts. The site replaced portions of what was the Letterman Hospital. George Lucas won the development rights for 15 acres (61,000 m²) of the Presidio, in June 1999, after beating out a number of rival plans.” Back here in New York City, one of the first projects I worked on when at NYC Planning was the New York City Farm Colony, a Staten Island facility once used as a working farm to employ the indigent poor. Like Governor’s Island, it has (had?) many historic buildings that were in disrepair and threatened with deterioration without substantial reinvestment. A reuse housing development, with much of the site preserved as parkland, was proposed by the Koch Administration, but rejected by the “forgotten borough,” as were a number of subsequent proposals. A New York Times article from 1991 is here. Want to see the future of Governor’s Island? It will either be what you see here at the Farm Colony or it will destroy the rest of the NYC park system by draining it of funds. According to the Observer “the future these days is indeed looking grim for Governors Island, the city/state-owned former Coast Guard base that officials hope to turn into a grandiose park with accompanying commercial development. With no money in the state budget, the city may well follow with no money; and the nascent revitalization of the island could conceivably be cut short come April 1, when the state budget is due.” And how will people get there? “To add to the travails, the island’s operating agency, the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation, will have to give up its prized acquisition of recent years. At the Monday meeting, it said that the 770-passenger, half-century-old ferry it bought in 2007 for $500,000 has proved to be a lemon; new steel alone will likely cost at least $3 million more than expected, not to mention other deferred maintenance problems in need of money.” So the boat will be sold. Perhaps New York Water Taxi will offer expensive rides there this summer for those affluent enough to afford them. And those opposed to any development on this sacred ground can enjoy the unsullied island proud of having avoided the fate the Presidio. Back in the rest of the city, I only hope the contributions we and our neighbors make to Prospect Park will be enough to ensure it continues to be viable despite the “preservation” of Governor’s Island and the fiscal disaster. East Flatbush? You’re out of luck. If You Want To Read About What is Possible Outside New York Stat
The home page of the Presidio is here.
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What many people seem to have forgotten about Governor's Island is that it is really difficult to get to. This means turning the place into a park is not a good idea, while interesting, it doesn't have anything like the Statue of Liberty to become a tourist destination, while I suspect native New Yorkers would prefer to use parks closer to their neighborhoods, that are reachable by subway and don't involve a twenty minute ferry ride with limited operating times.
I would suggest a closer and more doable model for Governor's Island, the island further upstream, Roosevelt Island. The islands are alike in that they both have historic structures and great views. While in many ways the development of Roosevelt Island is disappointing, it does provide housing for 10,000 or so New Yorkers, is not a money sink for the city, and there still is enough parkland to make it an enjoyable place to picnic or to jog, if you are willing to take the time to get there.
If Governor's Island is to be a park, at least improve access first, maybe by having the ferry run from the Brooklyn piers, near where more people who might use the park actually live, than from lower Manhattan.
We've often heard that industries are getting squeezed out of the city by other uses. What about developing Governor's Island as an industrial park? Clean modern industries are not dirty or offensive like the old smokestack factories. I also would imagine that access would not be quite as big an issue for industries as it would be for some other uses. Schizophrenia Symptoms | Amlodipine BesylateJersey shoreline comes to 8 roommate because they be transferred to the summer show jordan shoes sale, every thing seashore levels, hats, nike shox shoes which are very popular to enjoy summer warm places, offers cheap puma shoes. Jacket shoreline shows sometimes surprising, nike outlet online often amusing and juggle generally over-the-top personas, because they work jordan shoes outlet, worship, night life, camaraderie and the crisis developed. Ultimately, audience, observe gucci outlet there much more to these types of sunscreen and lovers people compared to prada outlet online castles Carbamide Peroxide gel. Within a period of two, the actual roommate of the actual party consider to in Ohio. Doudoune Moncler Femme In the real into after repeating it back on the right track, will be one of the beautiful feather appear delicate the today, in the field of eider down.Doudoune Moncler Homme series of outdoor activities to more time for customers providing Let's moncler together fashion brands and product information, so that kept the mouth becoming a second-tier cities, fashion backbone.Doudoune Moncler Pas Cher Japan, Germany, Australia, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Denmark or exercise those boutiques boutique shop to buymoncler well-known things. Doudoune Moncler continues to open boutique doors in new markets outside of europe,designed by the gilles,& boissier architecture studio.Moncler costruire pi�� forza nel 1999 ha portato come un campo di direttore creativo mostrare Remo Ruffini prima - 2000 la primavera e l'estate della serie. wholesale nfl jerseys Prevalent coach bags online bags is Beautiful coach outlet online Cheap coach outlet store well handbags coach outlet store online cheap and Designer it cheap coach pretty impressive cheap designer bags known brand coach outlet store like coach handbag outlet Excellent stuff authentic nfl jerseys Extremely beautiful cheap authentic nfl jerseys Online here tiffany jewelry charms arrive in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Tiffany charms have turn out to be stylish presents on occasions like birthdays, anniversaries and holidays for each guys and women. If you actually undoubtedly are a style guy, you can possibly understand the fact that traditional.
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