The Trust for Governors Island

The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island is the 501(c)(3) non-prof­it orga­ni­za­tion cre­at­ed by the City of New York respon­si­ble for the plan­ning, oper­a­tions and ongo­ing devel­op­ment of Gov­er­nors Island. The Trust’s mis­sion is to real­ize the full poten­tial of Gov­er­nors Island for the inspi­ra­tion and enjoy­ment of all New York­ers, demon­strat­ing a bold vision for pub­lic space.

Since its trans­fer from fed­er­al to local con­trol in 2003, Gov­er­nors Island has under­gone one of the most remark­able trans­for­ma­tions in New York City’s his­to­ry. The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island and the City of New York, work­ing in part­ner­ship with the Nation­al Park Ser­vice and the non-prof­it Friends of Gov­er­nors Island, have worked to build over 43 acres of new, award-win­ning park space, cre­at­ed pub­lic pro­grams and com­mis­sioned art­works to wel­come near­ly 1M vis­i­tors annu­al­ly from all five bor­oughs of New York City, reha­bil­i­tat­ed his­toric build­ings in part­ner­ship with edu­ca­tion­al and cul­tur­al ten­ants, and invest­ed in infra­struc­ture to ready the Island for its next chapter.

Fol­low­ing near­ly two decades of plan­ning and invest­ment, the Trust is embark­ing on a growth strat­e­gy cen­tered on trans­for­ma­tive arts and cul­ture, extra­or­di­nary open space, and edu­ca­tion and research focused on the cli­mate cri­sis. These efforts will togeth­er advance the mis­sion of the Trust to con­tin­ue Gov­er­nors Island’s trans­for­ma­tion as an extra­or­di­nary pub­lic place, sup­port­ing year-round pub­lic access and cre­at­ing a path towards finan­cial sustainability.

The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island is pur­su­ing six goals to ensure that Gov­er­nors Island will be pre­served and enhanced for the enjoy­ment of all New York­ers for gen­er­a­tions to come:

  • Make Gov­er­nors Island a dynam­ic and acces­si­ble pub­lic place year-round, with the same vibran­cy in the win­ter as the summer
  • Cre­ate a path toward finan­cial sus­tain­abil­i­ty through respon­si­ble part­ner­ships with like-mind­ed orga­ni­za­tions and institutions
  • Cel­e­brate and uti­lize Gov­er­nors Island’s unique envi­ron­ment and water­front loca­tion as a pub­lic liv­ing laboratory
  • Pro­mote a diver­si­ty of uses that com­ple­ment and enhance Gov­er­nors Island’s unique character
  • Expand oppor­tu­ni­ties for pub­lic par­tic­i­pa­tion and engagement
  • Main­tain access and afford­abil­i­ty for all New Yorkers

Board Mem­bers

Ali­cia Glen, Chair

Alice Blank

Chris­t­ian Braneon

Wendy Braw­er

Karen Brooks Hopkins

Tim Caw­ley

Car­olee Fink

Gau­rav Kapadia

Ben­jamin Lawsky

James Kel­ly McGowan

Susan Mer­can­det­ti

Daniel Nei­dich

Marc Nor­man

Michael Oppen­heimer

Tokum­bo Shobowale

Daniel Squadron

Carl Weis­brod

Staff

Clare New­man, Pres­i­dent and CEO


The Trust for Governors Island provides presentations to update the public on the Island's public season, open space, arts and culture, and ongoing development. See our public presentations here.


The Public Authorities Accountability Act of 2005, as amended by the Public Authorities Reform Act of 2009 (collectively "PARA") requires public authorities such as The Trust for Governors Island to post on its website specific documents relating to its operations and financial position. See the PARA documents for The Trust for Governors Island here.


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