Governors Island Blog » Things people do in parks

Spend Your Weekend Listening to Poetry on the Island!

Nina Quattrocchi — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 19:51:03 +0000

Poetry is usually heard in dark bars and small coffee shops, but we’re excited to present poetry in a new venue – outdoors on Governors Island! We are proud to host the first annual New York Poetry Festival, a free celebration of the poetry world of NYC. The festival is this Saturday, July 30^th and Sunday, July 31^st, starting at noon each day and going until 5pm.

The New York Poetry Festival is this Saturday and Sunday from noon - 5pm

There will be over 30 reading series and 100 poets on the Island! For the poetry schedule, click here. There will also be food, wine, and beer vendors on site to keep you happy all afternoon.

For those of you who prefer your poetry at night, there will be a Pre-Fest Party and Fundraiser at the Bowery Poetry Club on Thursday, July 21^st, 8pm-2am. Tickets to this event are $10 and help support the free festival. Listen to poetry and dance the night away to live jazz with Shawn Randall and tracks from DJ Eliel Lucero.

Whether you’re an avid poetry lover or don’t know the difference between a sonnet and a haiku, come enjoy the day in the middle of the New York harbor.

Molly Brown is now a City-Wide Phenomenon!

Nina Quattrocchi — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:39:19 +0000

Molly Brown's head shot

Although it was just three months ago when Molly Brown swam across the Buttermilk Channel to Governors Island, she has already made a name for herself. Time Out New York calls her one of New York City’s animal mascots. Molly Brown is honored to be included among the mascots, which also include the Brooklyn Brewery’s cat, Monster, and Make Workshop’s Chihuahua, Rita.

The article shares some of Molly Brown’s tips for enjoying a day on Governors Island. She suggests chasing the chickens at the Earth Matters compost center and taking a nap under a tree at Picnic Point. She wants me to let you know that she also loves to dig for worms at the Added Value farm and build sandcastles at Water Taxi Beach.

On your next visit, make sure to look out for Molly Brown hanging out in one of her favorite places!

Island Archives: A Look at Governors Island’s Picturesque Past

Claire — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 15:52:08 +0000

Oldies But Goodies

As the 2010 season on Governors Island draws to a close, it is fun to look back at all the events and activities that this summer brought. While on the Island, have you ever paused to wonder how it would have been to spend a day recreating on Governors Island 100 years ago? Despite being a hard working Army headquarters, recreation did occur. Wonder no more, the following illustrates Governors Island’s lengthy history of fun!

Governors Island garden parties then.

1908 Garden Party. All images Courtesy of Library of Congress.

And now.

Garden party at the Polo Classic

Military drills then:

Military Drills on the Parade Grounds

And now.

Drills during Army Heritage Weekend

Fanciful costumes then:

Fun at the garden party, 1908.

And now.

Fun with costumes and hats at Jazz Age Festival

Musical interludes then:

Island concert.

And Now.

Concert during Figment Festival

For all the exciting change on Governors Island, maybe some things remain the same…..

Farm fresh

Claire — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:24:01 +0000

Fresh berries for sale at Picnic Point

On Saturday and Sundays from 11 AM to 4PM down at Picnic Point the Added Value Farmstand is open for business. Fresh seasonal fruit and juices and jams from Red Jacket Orchards (Geneva, NY) are on offer as well as beautiful cut flowers from the Added Value Farm at Governors Island just across the lawn.

As the season continues, the farm stand plans to stock a variety of products from Regional Producers Honey, pickles, jams, maybe some breads, crackers, cheese and more. Just as soon as they are ready, you’ll also be able to pick up tomatoes from the Governors Island farm.

Last week when one of the wonderful food vendors on the Island purchased zucchini from the farm and served it on the menu the same afternoon. The remainders from the food prep were composted across the street at the Earth Matters compost site. Local sustainable agriculture doesn’t get more local or sustainable than that.

All images courtesy of Ian Marvy, Added Value.

New York dads (among others) ferry out to Governors Island

Christopher — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:09:01 +0000

TIis past weekend a gang on nine dads took their children out to Governors Island, and we could not be more please that they have discovered the Island as a great free place to bring their kids and relax. And one of the guys put it: “The moment you ship out, you’re docking. You could hit the island with a rock but you won’t find a place more different from Manhattan.” And he’s right! Though Governors Island is so close to both Manhattan and Brooklyn it couldn’t be more different from either.

This past Friday, Governors Island was also host the a bunch of other visitors. This group of women had a blast with their free bikes (Bike and Roll rents bikes for free for one hour every Friday!). They where in the process of traveling around checking out all of the different Creative Time exhibits. They are pictured down on Picnic Point listening to the Susan Philipsz piece. Our maps located around the Island list all of the Creative Time art exhibits on the Island, the food vendors, FIGMENT*’s City of Dreams, and all of the other on-going events on Governors Island. They were just about to jump on their bikes again and head over to mini golf designed by FIGMENT*.

This group of people were enjoying our recently added swings. The views are amazing, and visitors has a great time swinging with a view of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Jersey City directly in front of them. Every fifteen minutes or so a large Staten Island Ferry passes by, along with barges, sailboats, and all types of sea-fairing vessels. The view was so good that this group below (even though thew are New Yorkers) took a family photo in front of the Statue of Liberty.

Come out this Friday, Saturday and Sunday to enjoy the summer.

Office Space

Ellen — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:16:06 +0000

Office Space, Governors Island

Originally uploaded by governors_island

Just so you know, it’s not all fun and games out here. We spied this chap working through the drizzle we had this afternoon.

Governors Island Adds Sustainable Farm at Picnic Point

Elizabeth — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:24:28 +0000

Governors Island has added a sustainable farm at Picnic Point! Added Value has planted a three acre farm on the newly created green space. The plants include tomatoes, squash, eggplant, sunflowers, and much more. The farm uses a drip watering system which uses a fraction of the water that sprinklers use but still keeps the plants happy and healthy. Added Value is a non-profit organization that promotes sustainable development by nurturing a new generation of young leaders. They work towards this goal by creating opportunities for the youth of South Brooklyn to expand their knowledge base, develop new skills and positively engage with their community through the operation of a socially responsible urban farming enterprise. We are so happy that they have crossed the Buttermilk to begin farming on Governors Island!

Added Value staff and volunteers will provide Governors Island visitors with educational programming, teaching visitors about sustainable farming. The farm will also be open for “farm days” which will allow local children’s groups and camps to visit the farm and learn about how it works. In addition, during the harvest months, Added Value will operate a farm stand, selling produce grown on Governors Island. Produce grown will also be sold to Water Taxi Beach, Governors Island’s newest tenant. Water Taxi Beach will use the greens and produce in their food concession.

Ian Marvy, director and co-founder of Added Value, said that they could probably expect around $25,000 could be generated from the farm this year, and in a few years down the line, the farm could steipend 25 students $1,400 each for their work.

Volunteer at Governors Island

Christopher — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:33:33 +0000

Governors Island needs help! We would love Friday and weekend volunteers to help out on the Island. If you have time and would like to get out of the house, we would love to have you. Please fill out an application and fax (the number is on the form) or email (volunteer-gipec@empire.state.ny.us) it in. There are plenty of opportunities, mostly we are looking for ‘Island Ambassadors’ to help direct and greet visitors as well as collect zip codes, but there are other possibilities available.

So come out, volunteer, and spend your day with the best view in the city!

Views!

Survey Says….

Betty — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:27:51 +0000

Earlier this summer, we conducted a survey of Island visitors. Most New Yorkers avoid eye contact when approached by a stranger with a clip board. We were amazed at all the visitors who were kind enough to help us, and were very enthusiastic in the process. We interrupted your Scrabble game, your boat-watching, your miniature golf game – a big “Thank You” to the 472 people who took the time to fill out our survey and then go back to their fun.

These survey responses, along with all the other feedback we’ve received, are helping to shape the park master plan. We wanted to find out how people use the Island now and to gauge their interest in a variety of potential activities in the future park.

Here’s what you told us…

“Percent of respondents who are very likely or likely to participate in potential future activities in a new 40-acre park”

“Percent of respondents who are very likely or likely to participate in potential future activities along the new 2.2-mile waterfront promenade”

“Percent of respondents who report that these potential improvements are very important or important”

Some of the interesting findings from the survey were:

While 1 in 4 current visitors ride a bicycle during their visit, 80% of those surveyed said they would be likely or very likely to bike in the future
Favorite activities included walking along the waterfront and riding a rental bike
People are interested in passive and active recreation (league sports, pick-up sports, lawn activities, kayaking, and boat-watching)
Among suggested improvements to Governors Island, diverse natural areas, places to get up high for views, and more places to eat were the most popular
People requested more open-air concerts, public art, places to enjoy the views, interpretation of history, and kid-friendly activities

From pogo sticks to pumpkin patches…

Betty — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:17:32 +0000

Many summer visitors have been stopping by the “What’s Happening on Governors Island?” exhibit and giving us great ideas for the future park. Over 500 people have done drawings or left notes. Here’s a sampling:

Salsa music jam
Butterfly garden
Movies on the lawn
Yoga under the trees
A place for all ages to get wet
Camping
Viewing telescopes
BBQ grills
and the everpopular “ICE CREAM!”

Anyone else interested in a wading pool or lockers and showers? Keep those ideas coming. We read every one of them and will share them with the park designers. Kids have been loving this activity. Some leave festooned with stamps on their hands, legs and faces – a souvenir of their day on Governors Island.