by Robert Pirani, Director of Environmental Programs, RPA, and Executive Director of the Governors Island Alliance
Stories about planning for Governors Island have a certain déjà vu all over again quality. Since 1996, when the Coast Guard announced it was quitting the 172-acre Island, the public has borne witness to a number of positive pronouncements. From early floaters about casinos to suggestions of CUNY campuses, government statements about the future of the Island have been great for demonstrating progress but short on concrete commitments.
So the recent announcement of four conceptual plans and a new decision-making schedule by the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC) -starting with a public meeting the evening of October 19th - has met with some skepticism on the part of media and civic pundits. Still, hope springs eternal. And there are some positive signs that things are moving forward and that election season meetings will lead to post-election budget and real estate commitments.
Helping build momentum for action is the simple fact that Governors Island is a truly spectacular place. No visitor to its shady paths, monumental stone forts, or Harbor sunsets comes away feeling the same about New York. Five minutes from Lower Manhattan or Brooklyn, the Island is a world apart.
This near-yet-far quality both endears and challenges prospective tenants. The trick has always been to come up with the right set of uses that match its island charm, the 1.2 million square feet in the Island's National Landmark and City Historic District, and public commitments to parkland, including a minimum 40-acre City/State park and a 22-acre National Monument.
The essential program for the Island, developed and refined through a half dozen public and private planning studies (including one by Regional Plan Association in 1998), is well established. The Island is to become a great civic space, with a suite of hospitality, education/research, recreation, and cultural uses. Private residential use is prohibited for policy, fiscal, and legal reasons (i.e. prospects of privatization, expensive demands for public services, and the $1 valuation by federal appraisers). This overall concept and the political consensus it represents is memorialized in the federal/city/state memorandum of understanding and the deed restrictions that accompanied the Island's transfer from the federal government. Its latest expression is in the "Development Framework" and the four conceptual plans developed by a team led by Robert Charles Lesser Company in association with Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects and Urban Strategies, Inc (see (http://www.govisland.com/development_framework.htm).
What has always been missing is some substantial political and financial certainty. Without this roadmap, it has been difficult to realize any real private sector interest. According to GIPEC, the 90 proposals garnered by its recent Request for Expressions of Interest delivered some good ideas and some potential partners but no real answers, exactly what one might expect from a solicitation that carried with it no actual commitments by either government or the private respondents.
What the Island needs is for the City and State to set and deliver on specific political, financial, and planning milestones. More than just about any other development project in this city, and with its historic structures subject to coastal conditions and decay, Governors Island demands that government instill some confidence in the private sector. Finding that right anchor tenant is surely important; but it is worthwhile remembering that Battery Park City and scores of other large successful development projects took a generation or so to build out, requiring a little faith and some risk-taking on the part of their public stewards. What was especially critical to the success of Battery Park City was the front-end investment by the State in parks, infrastructure and the waterfront esplanade.
The recent movement by GIPEC contains some positive news in this regard. There is a welcome recognition that the City and State will have to contribute to the Island's infrastructure up front in order to attract private sector capital. A realistic timetable has been set out, with a draft plan due this winter, and a developer RFP in the spring. Perhaps most importantly, Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff has assumed the duties of Chairman of GIPEC, promising that his energetic style and the Mayoral support he enjoys will galvanize the three parties at the helm of GIPEC (Mayor's office, Governor's office, Empire State Development Corporation).
But having confidence that recent declarations are not just election-year promises requires more. The Mayor and Governor need to memorialize their political and financial commitment to redeveloping the Island, much in the same way that this Governor and the past Mayor stood up and committed to building Hudson River Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park. This positive affirmation must be followed by a substantial budgetary commitment in FY 07. The City and State must deliver not just the $30 million more that they recognize is needed to prevent historic structures from falling into ruin, but a substantial down payment on the $300 million or so estimated to be needed to recreate the Island's public infrastructure. A good place to start spending this money is on building the parks and public spaces required by the memorandum of understanding signed with the federal government. As with Battery Park City, these public spaces can articulate and enhance development opportunities while providing for public open space and even revenue producing interim activities.
Finally, landing some early uses - like the existing public Harbor High School, educational programs, and special events - will keep Governors Island in the public's eye while helping to rehabilitate its structures. Just as important, this vitality and associated services will make the Island more, not less attractive, to other prospective tenants. As Yogi Berra might say in his famously confused way, this should make planning for the future move forward faster.
Stories about planning for Governors Island have a certain déjà vu all over again quality. Since 1996, when the Coast Guard announced it was quitting the 172-acre Island, the public has borne witness to a number of positive pronouncements. From early floaters about casinos to suggestions of CUNY campuses, government statements about the future of the Island have been great for demonstrating progress but short on concrete commitments.
So the recent announcement of four conceptual plans and a new decision-making schedule by the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC) -starting with a public meeting the evening of October 19th - has met with some skepticism on the part of media and civic pundits. Still, hope springs eternal. And there are some positive signs that things are moving forward and that election season meetings will lead to post-election budget and real estate commitments.
Helping build momentum for action is the simple fact that Governors Island is a truly spectacular place. No visitor to its shady paths, monumental stone forts, or Harbor sunsets comes away feeling the same about New York. Five minutes from Lower Manhattan or Brooklyn, the Island is a world apart.
This near-yet-far quality both endears and challenges prospective tenants. The trick has always been to come up with the right set of uses that match its island charm, the 1.2 million square feet in the Island's National Landmark and City Historic District, and public commitments to parkland, including a minimum 40-acre City/State park and a 22-acre National Monument.
The essential program for the Island, developed and refined through a half dozen public and private planning studies (including one by Regional Plan Association in 1998), is well established. The Island is to become a great civic space, with a suite of hospitality, education/research, recreation, and cultural uses. Private residential use is prohibited for policy, fiscal, and legal reasons (i.e. prospects of privatization, expensive demands for public services, and the $1 valuation by federal appraisers). This overall concept and the political consensus it represents is memorialized in the federal/city/state memorandum of understanding and the deed restrictions that accompanied the Island's transfer from the federal government. Its latest expression is in the "Development Framework" and the four conceptual plans developed by a team led by Robert Charles Lesser Company in association with Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects and Urban Strategies, Inc (see (http://www.govisland.com/development_framework.htm).
What has always been missing is some substantial political and financial certainty. Without this roadmap, it has been difficult to realize any real private sector interest. According to GIPEC, the 90 proposals garnered by its recent Request for Expressions of Interest delivered some good ideas and some potential partners but no real answers, exactly what one might expect from a solicitation that carried with it no actual commitments by either government or the private respondents.
What the Island needs is for the City and State to set and deliver on specific political, financial, and planning milestones. More than just about any other development project in this city, and with its historic structures subject to coastal conditions and decay, Governors Island demands that government instill some confidence in the private sector. Finding that right anchor tenant is surely important; but it is worthwhile remembering that Battery Park City and scores of other large successful development projects took a generation or so to build out, requiring a little faith and some risk-taking on the part of their public stewards. What was especially critical to the success of Battery Park City was the front-end investment by the State in parks, infrastructure and the waterfront esplanade.
The recent movement by GIPEC contains some positive news in this regard. There is a welcome recognition that the City and State will have to contribute to the Island's infrastructure up front in order to attract private sector capital. A realistic timetable has been set out, with a draft plan due this winter, and a developer RFP in the spring. Perhaps most importantly, Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff has assumed the duties of Chairman of GIPEC, promising that his energetic style and the Mayoral support he enjoys will galvanize the three parties at the helm of GIPEC (Mayor's office, Governor's office, Empire State Development Corporation).
But having confidence that recent declarations are not just election-year promises requires more. The Mayor and Governor need to memorialize their political and financial commitment to redeveloping the Island, much in the same way that this Governor and the past Mayor stood up and committed to building Hudson River Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park. This positive affirmation must be followed by a substantial budgetary commitment in FY 07. The City and State must deliver not just the $30 million more that they recognize is needed to prevent historic structures from falling into ruin, but a substantial down payment on the $300 million or so estimated to be needed to recreate the Island's public infrastructure. A good place to start spending this money is on building the parks and public spaces required by the memorandum of understanding signed with the federal government. As with Battery Park City, these public spaces can articulate and enhance development opportunities while providing for public open space and even revenue producing interim activities.
Finally, landing some early uses - like the existing public Harbor High School, educational programs, and special events - will keep Governors Island in the public's eye while helping to rehabilitate its structures. Just as important, this vitality and associated services will make the Island more, not less attractive, to other prospective tenants. As Yogi Berra might say in his famously confused way, this should make planning for the future move forward faster.
@RegionalPlan