Streetsblog New York City

A couple of weekends ago, FIGMENT, a non-profit art and culture festival, held its 2008 event on Governors Island. Streetfilms contributor Nick Whitaker was there.

Partnering with Governors Island, the producers of FIGMENT hope to increase the enjoyment of art by placing it in an under-utilized public space just minutes from downtown.

FIGMENT is free to the public. More info, including submission guidelines and volunteer opportunities, is available here.

Last Friday marked the first free bike share day on Governors Island, and Streetfilms' Elizabeth Press was on hand:

Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC), Transportation Alternatives and Bike and Roll have joined forces to create what they are calling New York City's first sustained bike share program. Every Friday between June 6th and October 4th, Governors Island visitors can rent adult and children's bikes at no charge. On Saturdays and Sundays bikes can be rented at cost.

Bike share specifics may be found here. And check out this 2007 Streetfilm for a virtual tour of the island.

Visitors to Governors Island will get to ride these bikes for free on Fridays this summer.

Last December Streetsblog noted that a new park planned for Governors Island would include a bike-share fleet, scheduled to debut in 2012. Turns out the wait for free bikes will be a lot shorter. Starting this week, 250 bikes at the island's rental outfit, Bike and Roll, will be available to visitors at no charge on Fridays, thanks to sponsorship from Transportation Alternatives.

While it may not measure up to Vélib, "Free Bike Fridays" is vying with a new NYU student program for the distinction of launching New York's first bike-share. The Governors Island initiative may also have a lasting impact on the rest of the city. According to a press release, the results will be watched intently by DOT:

"Spaces like Governors Island serve as great training areas for the next generation of New York City cyclists," said City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. "This summer the Island will also serve as a great testing ground -- we'll be evaluating the bike share program to see if it is something that may be successful in other parts of the city."

Today, Governor's Island. Tomorrow, the East Village?

It ain't the Velib, but yesterday it was announced that Dutch team West 8 would design a 40-acre park for Governors Island, which will include a fleet of 3,000 wooden bicycles free for use by island visitors.

The Times reports:

The design, commissioned by the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation, calls for transforming much of the flat, sober island, which is roughly a half-mile from Lower Manhattan, into green space. That includes a two-mile promenade at the water's edge, a new park on the southern flat expanse of landfill - where abandoned Coast Guard buildings are to be demolished - and an improved park in the island's northern historic district. The architects proposed using the detritus from the buildings that are to be destroyed to form hills that would exploit the island's views, which include the Statue of Liberty.

The Post, which says the Governors Island Gondola could also become reality, had a somewhat dispiriting quote from Mayor Bloomberg on the bike share feature, particularly when juxtaposed with designer Adriaan Geuze's comments.

Adriaan Geuze, founder of West 8, said the company's Dutch background made including bicycles in the plan a no-brainer.

"I am from Holland, where bicycles are an important part of street life, and everybody bikes," he said. "You could never walk the entire island, but the bikes will help get people to experience more of the island and go anywhere they want to."

Bloomberg said he was particularly impressed by the bike theme, joking "it's a great idea; you don't have to worry about them being stolen" because "you can't take them anyplace" off the island.

The Times says the park is expected to be completed by 2012.

Rendering: West 8/Rogers Marvel Architects/Diller Scofidio + Renfro/Quennell Rothschild/SMWM

Go to Governor's Island!
A StreetFilm by Clarence Eckerson Jr. and Trorb Productions
Running Time: 4 minutes 18 seconds

Governors Island is a car-free, New York City paradise and now it's open to the public on weekends from June thru Sept 2nd. Find all the details on the Governors Island Alliance website.

To get there, enjoy a short free ferry ride from lower Manhattan or use new service provided by New York Water Taxi. There are concerts every Saturday throughout the summer, so bring your bike, enjoy a picnic, take historical tours by tram or by foot, and see spectacular views of the city.

Three thousand free wooden bikes would allow for rapid circumnavigation on looping, leafy paths.

New York Magazine features five finalists in a competition to turn Governors Island into an urban paradise:

A large team (composed of landscape architects West 8 and Quennell Rothschild & Partners, architects Rogers Marvel and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and planners SMWM) proposes a hybrid of landscape and architecture, based around a sinuous set of new watercourses and paths. Development would follow the eastern edge and hug a new waterway, with a DS+R ferry terminal. Proceeding south, a visitor would encounter the Vertical Landscape, mountains popping up out of the flat southern tip that would integrate active recreational, cultural, and educational functions. Inside could be snack bars, exhibits, a funicular, and caves for spelunking. Says West 8 partner Jerry van Eyck: "We wanted to give it the attitude of a national park, one with primal nature, robustness, where you don't feel the hand of man." (Although with certain amenities: The plan would also supply 3,000 wooden bicycles and 3,000 wooden armchairs.)

Rendering: West 8/Rogers Marvel Architects/Diller Scofidio + Renfro/Quennell Rothschild/SMWM