! Alert

New York Harbor will be experiencing planned closures on Wednesday, February 7, 2024. Because of this, Governors Island ferry service may be impacted between 12:30-1:30pm and 6:30-7:30pm on February 7. Times are subject to change; click here or follow us on Twitter for updates.

New York Harbor will be experiencing planned closures on Wednesday, February 7, 2024. Because of this, Governors Island ferry service may be impacted between 12:30-1:30pm and 6:30-7:30pm on February 7. Times are subject to change; click here or follow us on Twitter for updates.

Gov­er­nors Island Will Open to the Pub­lic Year-Round Begin­ning This Fall

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May­or Bill de Bla­sio and the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island announced today that Gov­er­nors Island will be open to the pub­lic year-round, begin­ning this fall. Start­ing Novem­ber 1, New York­ers will be able to access Gov­er­nors Island’s open space, cul­tur­al pro­gram­ming, and recre­ation­al resources beyond its tra­di­tion­al May through Octo­ber sea­son for the first time.

May­or de Bla­sio, the Trust, and the New York City Eco­nom­ic Devel­op­ment Cor­po­ra­tion (NYCEDC) also announced today that NYC Fer­ry will serve Gov­er­nors Island dai­ly, year-round begin­ning with the launch of the Coney Island Route this fall. NYC Fer­ry will serve Gov­er­nors Island’s Yan­kee Pier via the South Brook­lyn Route, expand­ing direct access from Red Hook, Atlantic Ave/​Brooklyn Bridge Park-Pier 6, DUMBO/​Fulton Fer­ry, and Cor­lears Hook in the Low­er East Side for Gov­er­nors Island vis­i­tors and grow­ing com­mu­ni­ty of tenants.

The COVID-19 pan­dem­ic has cre­at­ed an unprece­dent­ed oppor­tu­ni­ty to reimag­ine pub­lic space in this city – and now, we’re proud to keep the crown jew­el of our har­bor open to New York­ers all year round,” said May­or Bill de Bla­sio. From expand­ed fer­ry ser­vice, to more ameni­ties than ever, to year-round vis­i­tors from all over the city, there’s no bet­ter time to expe­ri­ence and invest in Gov­er­nors Island.”

Gov­er­nors Island has been an oasis for New York­ers for near­ly two decades, and I’m so pleased that it will now become a des­ti­na­tion in all sea­sons,” said Vic­ki Been, Deputy May­or for Hous­ing and Eco­nom­ic Devel­op­ment. The Gov­er­nors Island team has been work­ing hard to expand the type and num­ber of part­ner orga­ni­za­tions on the Island – not to men­tion the Cli­mate Solu­tions Cen­ter we have in the works – and this year-round pub­lic fer­ry access is a crit­i­cal part of real­iz­ing our full vision for this green, cul­tur­al, and edu­ca­tion­al hub.”

Over the past two decades, a vision­ary idea to put Gov­er­nors Island on the map as a pub­lic des­ti­na­tion was out­lined, and today we are proud to announce that Gov­er­nors Island will now be open for New York­ers to enjoy year-round,” said Clare New­man, Pres­i­dent and CEO of the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island. This announce­ment is an excit­ing moment in real­iz­ing our vision to increase equi­table access to this remark­able resource and is an impor­tant step in real­iz­ing Gov­er­nors Island’s full poten­tial. I thank May­or Bill de Bla­sio and NYCEDC for their part­ner­ship in this extra­or­di­nary achieve­ment, as well as Coun­cil Mem­bers Mar­garet Chin, Car­li­na Rivera, State Sen­a­tor Bri­an Kavanagh and all of our elect­ed lead­ers for their advo­ca­cy and support.”

We are pleased to sup­port Gov­er­nors Island as it opens year-round to the pub­lic with our expand­ed NYC Fer­ry ser­vice lat­er this year. Water­way trans­porta­tion is key to our recov­ery and open­ing Gov­er­nors Island 12 months of the year is anoth­er illus­tra­tion of New York City’s won­der­ful future,” said Rachel Loeb, Pres­i­dent and CEO of the New York City Eco­nom­ic Devel­op­ment Cor­po­ra­tion. Con­grat­u­la­tions to the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island and every­one who has made this vision become a reality.”

Today’s announce­ment marks a sig­nif­i­cant mile­stone in the trans­for­ma­tion of Gov­er­nors Island into a remark­able resource for New York­ers. Fol­low­ing its trans­fer from fed­er­al to local con­trol in 2003, the City of New York and the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island have worked to invest in expand­ing pub­lic access to Gov­er­nors Island, which has tra­di­tion­al­ly wel­comed vis­i­tors in the sum­mer months but has long been envi­sioned as a des­ti­na­tion acces­si­ble year-round.

Over the years, Gov­er­nors Island has grown into a beloved spot for New York­ers to play, explore, and relax, and I am proud I played a role in con­vert­ing this gem in the har­bor into a pub­lic ameni­ty for New York­ers,” said Sen­a­tor Chuck Schumer. Open­ing Gov­er­nors Island to vis­i­tors year-round rep­re­sents an impor­tant step in reach­ing its full poten­tial as a pub­lic resource.”

Expand­ing access to Governor’s Island is an excit­ing mile­stone for New York­ers, who vis­it it to enjoy a stroll through nature with loved ones, to see state-of-the-art research facil­i­ties, or to just enjoy a fer­ry ride through the har­bor,” said Sen­a­tor Kirsten Gilli­brand. I am pleased to wel­come year-round ser­vice to this unique and dynam­ic loca­tion that every sin­gle New York­er can access at their convenience.”

Gov­er­nors Island is tru­ly one of our city’s hid­den gems, and I’m pleased that final­ly after 20 years after I worked on reac­quir­ing the island from the fed­er­al gov­ern­ment, New York­ers will final­ly have year-round fer­ry ser­vice and access to Gov­er­nors Island,” said U.S. Rep. Jer­ry Nadler. That means New York­ers and vis­i­tors alike will have more oppor­tu­ni­ty to play, explore and relax and enjoy this great New York attraction.”

It is won­der­ful that Gov­er­nors Island will soon be open year round for the pub­lic sev­en days a week,” said U.S. Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez. I am even more thrilled that reg­u­lar week­day fer­ry ser­vice will be pro­vid­ed through a NYC Fer­ry route from Low­er East Side Cor­lears Hook and three key Brook­lyn loca­tions, DUMBO/​Fulton Fer­ry, Pier 6/​Atlantic Avenue and Red Hook/​Atlantic Basin to allow more Low­er East Siders and Brook­lynites than ever quick access to all that Gov­er­nors Island has to offer and more open space recre­ation­al options. I salute the May­or and the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island for their hard work in mak­ing year-round access a reality.”

The exten­sion of the Gov­er­nors Island sea­son from six months to year-round is great news for all New York­ers,” said Man­hat­tan Bor­ough Pres­i­dent Gale Brew­er. The addi­tion­al fall, win­ter, and spring months of oper­a­tion, along with the planned addi­tion­al fer­ry ser­vice, will give hun­dreds of thou­sands more the oppor­tu­ni­ty to vis­it this tru­ly unique pub­lic space. I look for­ward to fur­ther afford­able oppor­tu­ni­ties to expe­ri­ence out­door recre­ation­al activ­i­ties, the arts, and oth­er cul­tur­al pro­gram­ming. I espe­cial­ly encour­age seniors, res­i­dents of NYCHA, and IDNYC hold­ers to take advan­tage of free fares on the Gov­er­nors Island ferry.”

In recent years, Gov­er­nors Island has become an invalu­able pub­lic space in New York, offer­ing a need­ed respite from the hus­tle and bus­tle of city life, as well as a wide array of recre­ation­al oppor­tu­ni­ties for the whole fam­i­ly to enjoy. That’s why I’m thrilled that it will be open to the pub­lic year-round, with fer­ry ser­vice sev­en days a week to make it acces­si­ble for Brook­lynites from every back­ground. I thank The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island for this ground­break­ing step, and look for­ward to work­ing with them and oth­er enti­ties across the city to make sure all New York­ers have equi­table access to all our parks,” said Brook­lyn Bor­ough Pres­i­dent Eric Adams.

This is an excit­ing step for Gov­er­nors Island as this unique New York City gem grows its capac­i­ty to wel­come vis­i­tors from all five bor­oughs,” said Coun­cil Mem­ber Mar­garet Chin. Year-round access com­bined with fer­ry ser­vice expan­sion will allow more New York­ers to spend the day enjoy­ing the island’s beau­ti­ful open space and fam­i­ly-friend­ly activ­i­ties. I can’t wait to vis­it after the city’s first snow­fall to expe­ri­ence island in a com­plete­ly new way!”

For years, we have been call­ing for expand­ed trans­porta­tion to Gov­er­nors Island that would allow more New York­ers to expe­ri­ence this unique space, espe­cial­ly as the city invests in resilien­cy and cli­mate infra­struc­ture. This announce­ment of year-round access to the island and direct NYC Fer­ry ser­vice from the Low­er East Side and Brook­lyn is a real com­mit­ment to cre­at­ing more inclu­sive nat­ur­al areas and recre­ation­al oppor­tu­ni­ties for the whole city. Thank you May­or de Bla­sio, the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island, and NYCEDC for your respon­sive­ness to com­mu­ni­ties seek­ing addi­tion­al options for open space,” said Coun­cil Mem­ber Car­li­na Rivera.

I am thrilled to see that Gov­er­nors Island will now be avail­able for our neigh­bors and our city to enjoy year-round,” said Assem­bly Mem­ber Yuh-Line Niou. Gov­er­nors Island rep­re­sents some­thing spe­cial in my dis­trict, where there are rel­a­tive­ly few oppor­tu­ni­ties to enjoy expan­sive green space and open park­land. Expand­ing fer­ry access to Gov­er­nors Island means that res­i­dents of our com­mu­ni­ty will have more oppor­tu­ni­ties to enjoy the green spaces that make our city spe­cial. I’m excit­ed to vis­it in the win­ter and see every­one there!”

Man­hat­tan Com­mu­ni­ty Board 1 is excit­ed about Gov­er­nors Island open­ing its doors for year-round vis­i­tors,” said Tam­my Meltzer, Chair­per­son, Man­hat­tan Com­mu­ni­ty Board 1. This will awak­en the oppor­tu­ni­ty for more peo­ple to enjoy the bucol­ic nat­ur­al beau­ty and pub­lic pro­gram­ming that Gov­er­nors Island has through all sea­sons of the year. We look for­ward to work­ing with the Trust to con­tin­ue enhanc­ing the pub­lic’s access and expe­ri­ence of this price­less resource through sun, snow and beyond.”

Gov­er­nors Island has under­gone a tremen­dous trans­for­ma­tion over the last decade, includ­ing the cre­ation of a resilient 43-acre park, a grow­ing arts and cul­tur­al pro­gram and remark­able growth in audi­ence. Near­ly one mil­lion vis­i­tors have come to the island in 2019.

In June 2021, May­or Bill de Bla­sio and the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island announced a com­pe­ti­tion to estab­lish a Cen­ter for Cli­mate Solu­tions on Gov­er­nors Island. The City is cur­rent­ly seek­ing an anchor uni­ver­si­ty and research insti­tu­tion through a Request for Expres­sions of Interest.

The NYC Fer­ry ser­vice announced today will sup­ple­ment dai­ly fer­ries run by the Trust that departs from Low­er Man­hat­tan, and peak sea­son week­end ser­vice from Brook­lyn Bridge Park Pier 6 and Red Hook. NYC Fer­ry will add addi­tion­al ser­vice to Gov­er­nors Island on week­days and non-sum­mer week­ends via the South Brook­lyn route. On peak sum­mer week­ends, NYC Fer­ry will serve Gov­er­nors Island via ded­i­cat­ed shut­tle to Yan­kee Pier from Wall St./Pier 11. A launch date for week­day NYC Fer­ry Ser­vice to Gov­er­nors Island will be announced soon. For more infor­ma­tion on cur­rent fer­ry ser­vice to Gov­er­nors Island, vis­it gov​is​land​.org.

Gov­er­nors Island has served as a promi­nent gate­way to New York Har­bor for cen­turies, and now it serves as an even greater role as a cul­tur­al and his­toric resource for New York­ers, acces­si­ble year-round for the first time,” said Shirley McK­in­ney, Super­in­ten­dent of Man­hat­tan Sites at the Nation­al Park Ser­vice. We’re thrilled that today’s announce­ment will bring expand­ed pub­lic access to Gov­er­nors Island, and we look for­ward to work­ing with our part­ners at the Trust on expand­ed access to the Gov­er­nors Island Nation­al Monument.”

The launch of year-round pub­lic access to Gov­er­nors Island is a game chang­er,” said Mer­ritt Birn­baum, Exec­u­tive Direc­tor of the Friends of Gov­er­nors Island. Since our found­ing in the mid-nineties, our pri­ma­ry goal has been to see Gov­er­nors Island acti­vat­ed as one of our city’s most extra­or­di­nary pub­lic places – a goal that was nev­er ful­ly real­iz­able with­out 365-day access. With the intro­duc­tion of year-round pub­lic fer­ry ser­vice from Man­hat­tan and Brook­lyn, the city and the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island are open­ing up a whole new world for pub­lic pro­gram­ming, ameni­ties and events that will enable the Island to be ful­ly inter­wo­ven into the fab­ric of every­day New York­ers’ lives.”

The expan­sion of fer­ry ser­vices and year-round access to Governor’s Island is anoth­er step towards ful­fill­ing bold goals and curat­ing a promis­ing future for one of our most valu­able pub­lic assets,” said Tom Wright, Pres­i­dent of the Region­al Plan Asso­ci­a­tion. After a long his­to­ry that goes back to plan­ning the first few trips to Gov­er­nors Island, RPA is excit­ed about what these steps mean for the future of Gov­er­nors Island.”

As we enter the fall and win­ter months, New York­ers will be look­ing for new ways to meet out­side, and open­ing Gov­er­nors Island for year-round use will mean more oppor­tu­ni­ties for res­i­dents to enjoy that unique and beau­ti­ful pub­lic open space,” said Carter Strick­land, New York State Direc­tor for The Trust for Pub­lic Land. We’re thrilled to see the City of New York and the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island invest­ing in expand­ed pub­lic access.”

Low­er Man­hat­tan’s back­yard’ being open year-round is fan­tas­tic news for New York­ers from every bor­ough as well as for vis­i­tors to our city from near and far,” said Jes­si­ca Lap­pin, Pres­i­dent of the Alliance for Down­town New York. To have access to this amaz­ing place in every sea­son with fun and excit­ing things to do is a game changer.”

Gov­er­nors Island is the jew­el of New York Har­bor, and its ongo­ing trans­for­ma­tion into a year-round pub­lic space is a major mile­stone for restor­ing New York­ers’ con­nec­tion with their water­front. Year-round access and greater inte­gra­tion into the NYC Fer­ry sys­tem send a sig­nal of the island’s future poten­tial as a revi­tal­ized, resilient, acces­si­ble, and inno­v­a­tive water­front com­mu­ni­ty,” said Karen Imas, Vice Pres­i­dent of Pro­grams, Water­front Alliance.

The Urban Assem­bly New York Har­bor School’s com­mu­ni­ty of stu­dents, fac­ul­ty and fam­i­lies, as well as the 1.1 mil­lion stu­dents of the New York City Depart­ment of Edu­ca­tion, will ben­e­fit immense­ly from year-long access to the envi­ron­men­tal class­room known as Gov­er­nors Island,” said Jeff Che­tirko, Prin­ci­pal of the Urban Assem­bly New York Har­bor School. Addi­tion­al­ly, NYC Fer­ry-route access from Brook­lyn is the much need­ed first step for more equi­table avail­abil­i­ty for NYC res­i­dents to our city’s great­est resource of open spaces, artis­tic exhibits, and cli­mate solu­tion research and imple­men­ta­tion – all avail­able and hap­pen­ing on Gov­er­nors Island every day. We look for­ward to con­tin­u­ing our con­ver­sa­tions with the NYC Fer­ry sys­tem in pro­vid­ing equi­table access from Brooklyn.”

In a year of unprece­dent­ed change, we couldn’t be more thrilled to hear that Gov­er­nors Island is now a year­long home for all New York­ers. For over a decade, Low­er Man­hat­tan Cul­tur­al Coun­cil (LMCC)’s res­i­den­cy and free pub­lic pro­grams at The Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island have pro­vid­ed oppor­tu­ni­ties for hun­dreds of thou­sands of artists and vis­i­tors to explore the cre­ative process. As active par­tic­i­pants of the Island’s diverse work­ing com­mu­ni­ty, we look for­ward to new part­ner­ships and pos­si­bil­i­ties that will engage the pub­lic, serve artists, and advance our col­lec­tive vision of cul­tur­al and envi­ron­men­tal stew­ard­ship, sus­tain­abil­i­ty, and cli­mate jus­tice,” said Lili Chopra and Diego S. Segali­ni, Co-Exec­u­tive Direc­tors of Low­er Man­hat­tan Cul­tur­al Coun­cil (LMCC).

Year-round pub­lic access and fer­ry ser­vice from Brook­lyn brings Gov­er­nors Island clos­er to ful­fill­ing its poten­tial as a spec­tac­u­lar site for learn­ing, exchange and explo­ration for all NYC youth,” said Bri­an Cohen, Exec­u­tive Direc­tor of Beam Cen­ter.