Governors Island National Monument

Infobox Protected area
name = Governors Island National Monument

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caption = Governors Island National Monument is located in New York Harbor in southeast corner of New York.
locator_x = 254
locator_y = 60
location = New York, New York, USA
nearest_city = New York, NY
lat_degrees = 40
lat_minutes = 41
lat_seconds = 29
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 74
long_minutes = 0
long_seconds = 58
long_direction = W
area = 22 acres (89,000 m²)
established = January 19, 2001
visitation_num = 55,000
visitation_year = 2007
governing_body = National Park Service

Governors Island National Monument is located on 22 acres of Governors Island, a 172 acre island located few hundred yards off the southern tip of Manhattan, at the confluence of the Hudson and East Rivers in New York Harbor.

Transformation from Post and Base to Public Benefit

In October 1995, the United States Coast Guard announced it would close its largest base in the United States located on Governors Island, as a cost savings measure. The Coast Guard had established it base on the island in 1966 after the U.S. Army, which maintained Fort Jay on the island as a post since 1794, left the island in 1965. In 1996, the Coast Guard closed the base and conveyed it as surplus property to the federal government's General Services Administration for disposal through transfer or sale.

The closure was at the initiative of the Coast Guard, then a bureau of the U.S. Department of Transportation, which was seeking to close a 400 million dollar budget gap. The closure of the base represented an estimated 30 million dollar savings. Since the closure was an initiated action by the Coast Guard, it was not subject to the Base Realignment and Closure process.

At the time of the closure announcement in October 1995, President William J. Clinton and New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan reached an informal agreement to convey the island to the city and state of New York for $1 dollar if a plan for public benefit could be developed.

In August 1997, as part of legislation to balance the budget, Congress directed that the entire island be sold with a right of first offer to the State and City of New York.

Establishment of the Monument

As President Clinton left office, with no resolution of the island's future eminent and at the urging of members of the New York congressional delegation, he established a Governors Island National Monument by Presidential Proclamation 7402 of January 19, 2001. The Justice Deparment under President George W. Bush concluded the proclamation possessed technical errors, but did not revoke or invalidate the proclamation.

In a April 2002 White House meeting with city and state officials President Bush announced his intention to sell the island to the city and state of New York. Through the next several months, negotiations with city, state and federal officials resolved outstanding issues.

On January 31, 2003, the island was conveyed to an intermediary, the National Trust for Historic Preservation which in turn conveyed the island to two parties: 22 acres was conveyed to the U.S. Department of the Interior to form a national monument; and 150 acres to the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation, formed jointly by the State and City of New York. Presidential Proclamation 7647 of February 7, 2003 formally established the Governors Island National Monument.

Today, city, state and federal agencies are in the planning stages of converting this former military installation into new public parkland and a spectacular destination in New York Harbor.

ignificance

Both presidential proclamations noted that the island located at the confluence of the Hudson River and East River, served as an outpost to protect New York City from sea attack. Between 1806 and 1811, Castle Williams and Fort Jay were constructed as part of the First and Second American Systems of Coastal Fortification. The fortifications represent two of the finest examples of defensive structures in use from the Renaissance to the American Civil War and played important roles in the War of 1812, the American Civil War, and World Wars I and II.

The fortifications were built on the most strategic defensive positions on the island. Fort Jay, constructed between 1806 and 1809, is on the highest point of the island from which its glacis, originally an open landscape, slopes down to the waterfront on all sides. Castle Williams, constructed between 1807 and 1811, occupies a rocky promontory in the harbor channels and served as the most important strategic defensive point in the upper bay of New York Harbor.

Since the island was managed by the United States Army and the United States Coast Guard for nearly 200 years, and no longer required for defense or Coast Guard purposes, the establishment of the monument provided an excellent opportunity for the public to observe and understand the harbor history, its defense, and its ecology.

The island and monument, currently under development, has been open on a seasonal basis during the summer months since 2003. In 2008, nearly 126,000 visitors came visited the island and monument.

References

*Citation
last =Van Natta, Jr.
first =Don
author-link =
title =Coast Guard Plans to Leave Governors Island
newspaper =New York Times
pages =
year =1995
date=October 17, 1995
url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D06EED91039F934A25753C1A963958260

*Citation
last =Lueck
first =Thomas J.
author-link =
title =Clinton Offer of Island to New York Is Stalled
newspaper =New York Times
pages =
year =1997
date=March 27, 1997
url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E07E4D8173AF934A15750C0A961958260

*Citation
last =Hernandez
first =Raymond
last2 =Stewart
first2 =Barbara
author-link =
title =Clinton, With Time Running Out, Protects Part of Governors Island
newspaper =New York Times
pages =
year =2001
date=January 21, 2001
url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E02E3D7123CF932A15752C0A9679C8B63

*Citation
last =Stewart
first =Barbara
author-link =
title =Governors Island Must Be Sold, A Justice Department Memo Says
newspaper =New York Times
pages =
year =2001
date=May 16, 2001
url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9507E0DB123AF935A25756C0A9679C8B63

*Citation
last =Pristin
first =Terry
author-link =
title =White House to Hand Over Governors Island to New York
newspaper =New York Times
pages =
year =2003
date=January 31, 2001
url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E5DE1738F932A05752C0A9659C8B63

* [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030131-1.html] Statement by the President on the Transfer of Governors Island, January 31, 2003

* [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/02/20030207-4.html] Establishment of the Governors Island National Monument, February 7, 2003

* [http://www.nps.gov/gois| National Park Service: Governors Island National Monument]