Blog

Expand­ed Role for the Friends of Gov­er­nors Island

Feb 15, 2017 1:54 pm

The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island and the Friends of Gov­er­nors Island entered into an agree­ment to for­mal­ly align mis­sions and goals for the future in Jan­u­ary, 2017. The agree­ment cre­ates a road map for col­lab­o­ra­tion between the two orga­ni­za­tions to raise Gov­er­nors Island’s pro­file, improve vis­i­tor expe­ri­ences, build its base of sup­port and stream­line operations.

The Trust will con­tin­ue to lead efforts to expand pub­lic access, improve parks and infra­struc­ture, run sum­mer arts and cul­tur­al pro­gram­ming and trans­form the Island into a year-round des­ti­na­tion with non-prof­it, com­mer­cial and edu­ca­tion­al ten­ants. The Trust will also con­tin­ue to man­age all oper­a­tions, cap­i­tal improve­ments and sup­port from the City of New York.

The agree­ment for­mal­izes the role of the Friends in sup­port­ing these activ­i­ties by assum­ing respon­si­bil­i­ty for all fundrais­ing, vol­un­teer coor­di­na­tion, new mem­ber­ship pro­grams and advo­ca­cy. Orig­i­nal­ly known as Gov­er­nors Island Alliance, the Friends has been a cham­pi­on for Gov­er­nors Island since 1995. The group was orig­i­nal­ly formed to advo­cate for the Island’s trans­for­ma­tion from an aban­doned mil­i­tary base to a trea­sured civic resource, lead­ing to the deed trans­fer from the Fed­er­al Gov­ern­ment to New York in 2003. Much like the Island itself, the Friends has trans­formed over the past decade from a small advo­ca­cy group to a mature orga­ni­za­tion that pro­vides crit­i­cal sup­port to meet the Island’s most press­ing needs.

For exam­ple, car­ing for the 44,000 new shrubs and trees that cov­er the Hills is a mas­sive under­tak­ing. The Friends helps meet this chal­lenge by con­tribut­ing thou­sands of vol­un­teer hours each year, and by sup­ple­ment­ing that labor with pri­vate fund­ing for tools, equip­ment and staff. The Friends also spon­sors a free Annu­al Fam­i­ly Fun Day over Memo­r­i­al Day week­end, which brings togeth­er dozens of top tier per­form­ers and artists for a day of fun and learn­ing. Last year, the event drew over 15,000 peo­ple from diverse neigh­bor­hoods all over the city to kick off a sea­son of acces­si­ble, high-qual­i­ty arts pro­gram­ming. All sea­son long, the Friends pro­motes the Island’s pro­grams and ameni­ties through its ​“Island Ambas­sadors” — a com­bi­na­tion of sea­son­al staff and vol­un­teers who serve as vis­i­tor guides.

Going for­ward, the Trust and the Friends will work side-by-side toward a shared goal of mak­ing Gov­er­nors Island a 365-day des­ti­na­tion that is at the heart of New York’s cul­tur­al, recre­ation­al and edu­ca­tion­al life.

Inter­est­ed in get­ting involved with the Friends? Learn how you can lend your voice, time and resources to ensure Gov­er­nors Island remains a vibrant shared space for all.