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Defend Governors Island
On September 26 I attended a public hearing on the phased development of Governors Island South Island Development Zones. It was held by the city and the Trust For Governors Island get public feedback on the planned rezoning of the South End of the Island for use by hotels, convention center, technology center, and other purposes. All of the project plans and proposals are found here. It was at times raucous crowd, as reported by the New York Times, to speak out about the future of the Island. This is the first of many nights that are brought forth by the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Coordination. Among the two in…
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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…
