New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Monday announced an agreement that gives the city long-term planning and development control of Governor’s Island, a 172-acre chunk of largely undeveloped real estate in New York Harbor.
The announcement of the agreement preceded the mayor’s unveiling of a sweeping redevelopment plan for the one-time military base that includes the creation of a new, 87-acre public park and a waterfront promenade and public space. The city also has plans to build a high school on the island, while also setting aside more than 30 acres for additional private development, which could include a satellite campus for New York University, which NYU officials recently proposed.
The redevelopment would be overseen by the newly created Governors Island Operating Entity. The park and public space master plan was designed by New York-based landscape architecture firm West 8. Design and environmental review is scheduled to begin later this year with construction expected to start in 2012.
