• Quarters 409
    Tour

    Take a Free Island History Walking Tour, May 28-29

    To celebrate the fourteenth public season of Governors Island opening, there will be free history walking tours on Saturday, May 28, and Sunday, May 29. The walks will meet at 12:15 p.m. at Soissons Dock on the Island (see below). A free walking tour will focus on the three hundred years of island history. Learn about the people and stories that shaped Governors Island. Stops explore the military life, Civil War and World War I events, aviation pioneers, and even where the tiny railroad once ran. The tour is led by Kevin C. Fitzpatrick, author of The Governors Island Explorer’s Guide (Globe Pequot Press). • See 50 locations on the…

  • News

    Big Changes for 2012 on Island

    I’m back to writing about Governors Island as the new season is upon us. The 2012 season will feature drastic cuts in programs and access to the island, which is only open on Saturdays and Sundays (plus Memorial Day and Labor Day) beginning May 26. Visitors must make do with 30 days this season to see the island. The National Park Service provides limited access to the island on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays (June-Sept.), but a ranger accompanies visitors at all times. No Friday afternoon solo bike rides to Picnic Point this year. A limited amount of construction work on the island took place in the off-season, however, no old…

  • Cannonball
    News

    Vintage Cannonball Found by Ferry Dock

    A bit of the island’s past came to life and brought scores of emergency responders to investigate a 14-inch, 350-pound cannonball found this week. It was discovered by workers underwater outside the seawall at the ferry dock, as construction continues to rebuild the access point for the 2012 season. According to The Post, the 19th Century projectile was found February 2 by workers doing construction near Soissons Dock, where the ferries from Manhattan access the island, said Elizabeth Rapuano,‎ chief of staff for the city-run Trust for Governors Island. A member of the New York Police Department said, “They were digging in the water with a backhoe, removing muck and mud, when this thing…