New York's Governors Island
A community-submitted Section 106 Success Story in New York, New York.
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photo by: Rhododendrites via Wikimedia CC BY-SA 4.0
A view from Governors Island with the skyline of New York City in the background.
Thanks to Section 106, New Yorkers have 172 acres of car-free expanse but minutes from the heart of downtown Manhattan where visitors can enjoy outdoor concerts, learn about composting and marine life, glamp, and so much more. Governors Island, previously a military fort (but so much more before its military history), became a park this century.
Fully opening to the public all year round in 2021, the city is much improved because of it. This site simultaneously preserves the city's and the country's history by conserving the architectural structures still on the island and maintaining undeveloped spaces. It offers residents and tourists alike a respite from the hustle and bustle of NYC.
This oasis, but a short ferry ride away from Manhattan, would not have been possible without Section 106. It has become a global destination given its successful preservation. Governors Island was a fishing and hunting ground for the Lenape. It later became a landing site for the Dutch, and a retreat for British governors.
It was a military base for years after that and was slowly turned over to the public, ultimately becoming part of the NYC Parks and Recreation Department, the crown jewel of the city.
When the U.S. Coast Guard closed its base on Governors Island in 1996, this triggered a formal process to establish long-term protection for the Island’s historic resources under the aegis of New York State, New York City, and the Trust for Governors Island. The Trust has led an ongoing initiative to introduce new cultural, recreational, and educational uses to Governors Island, all integrated within the historic landscape and adaptively reusing the historic buildings.
What Would Have Been Lost
Had Section 106 existed in the proposed altered state, the government might have deemed Governors Island useless as it no longer served its original purpos. To imagine that no new life can be fostered in older places is a mistake. There is much to learn from historic sites and they hold emotional value to people living entire life times with them.
The purpose of adaptive reuse means valuing sites that otherwise would be destroyed, and we are much better for having Section 106 to safeguard our historic sites.
Not only does New York City greatly benefit from tourist dollars which are bolstered by the preservation of critical sites like Governors Island, but residents get to enjoy these places and make use of them in creative and mundane ways. Workers are employed at these sites, historians and archaeologists get to study them, and everyone gets to enjoy what they now have to offer.
Visit Section 106 Under Threat for more success stories, information, and to take action.
