Governors Island, nestled snugly between Brooklyn and Manhattan*, is one
of those magical, unreachable places that you get to see from afar for
years and then finally you find a way in (or it's opened to the public
with a ferry on summer weekends only).
And there you discover a place full of abandoned buildings, wild birds, the spirit of all the stories that must have taken place here... and a bunch of New Yorkers yearning for sunshine... oh and really overpriced sad food. That's the only thing: bring your own food!
* For the record: Governors Island is part of Manhattan, even though it's closer to Brooklyn. Until just a few years ago it was a military base, which explains the variety of empty buildings. Today more and more buildings are filled with art.
Memorial Day weekend was the first weekend for the free ferry from Pier 6 in Brooklyn, which together with the amazing, but still-not-quite-finished Brooklyn Bridge Park will from now on be one of my favorite sunset places... anywhere! I got some great shots from there after we left the island that didn't fit into this video...
Throughout the summer they will also open the mini golf, the tree house and eventually (I believe) the larger park that they're developing in the center of the island. Already it had changed a lot since the last time I had been there, which was pre-Berlin in 2009, I suppose.
If you're a New Yorker: definitely make a day trip to Governors Island part of your summer plans. And if you're so inclined: head to taxi beach an hour before the last ferry when the crowds have gone and sip a beer while enjoying the Manhattan and Jersey City skyline vista right before sunset. (Earlier in the day I'd recommend the less crowded and shady Brooklyn-facing side.)
And there you discover a place full of abandoned buildings, wild birds, the spirit of all the stories that must have taken place here... and a bunch of New Yorkers yearning for sunshine... oh and really overpriced sad food. That's the only thing: bring your own food!
* For the record: Governors Island is part of Manhattan, even though it's closer to Brooklyn. Until just a few years ago it was a military base, which explains the variety of empty buildings. Today more and more buildings are filled with art.
Memorial Day weekend was the first weekend for the free ferry from Pier 6 in Brooklyn, which together with the amazing, but still-not-quite-finished Brooklyn Bridge Park will from now on be one of my favorite sunset places... anywhere! I got some great shots from there after we left the island that didn't fit into this video...
Throughout the summer they will also open the mini golf, the tree house and eventually (I believe) the larger park that they're developing in the center of the island. Already it had changed a lot since the last time I had been there, which was pre-Berlin in 2009, I suppose.
If you're a New Yorker: definitely make a day trip to Governors Island part of your summer plans. And if you're so inclined: head to taxi beach an hour before the last ferry when the crowds have gone and sip a beer while enjoying the Manhattan and Jersey City skyline vista right before sunset. (Earlier in the day I'd recommend the less crowded and shady Brooklyn-facing side.)
Luci
No comments:
Post a Comment