• Michael M. Samuelian
    News

    Mayor Picks Architect & Planner Samuelian as Next President of Governors Island

    The city announced yesterday it is tapping an architect and urban planner as the next president of the Trust for Governors Island. Michael M. Samuelian is a vice president at the Related Companies, one of the nation’s biggest privately owned real estate firms, and he teaches at Cooper Union. He will step into the role vacated by Leslie Koch, the visionary leader of the Island for ten years, who stepped down last month after The Hills opened. By naming someone who comes from a strong real estate and construction background, the city signals that it wants to develop the two empty development zones on the south end, which featured prominently…

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  • Mayor Bill de Blasio
    News

    Mayor Bill de Blasio Eyes Economic Growth and Development on Island

    On February 4, 2016, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the city is going to make economic development on Governors Island a high priority. He made the announcement during his State of the City speech. While he offered no specifics or timelines, he said that preserving the Historic District was paramount, but hinted that the two Development Zones on both sides of the Island will now be getting more attention. The statement by de Blasio said in full: Governors is a 172-acre oasis in New York Harbor that has a history as long as New York City itself. It was a fishing camp for the very first…

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