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Gov­er­nors Island to Extend Hours with Late Fri­day Nights this Summer

Apr 24, 2018 9:27 am

The Island will remain open until 10PM every Fri­day evening from May 25-Sep­tem­ber 14 

Gov­er­nors Island opens for the sea­son May 1, fer­ries will be free open­ing week through May 6 

April 24, 2018. The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island today announced extend­ed hours for the 2018 sea­son. Gov­er­nors Island will stay open late until 10PM every Fri­day begin­ning Memo­r­i­al Day week­end through Sep­tem­ber 14. Nor­mal­ly clos­ing at 6PM on week­days, this year the Trust will expand pub­lic access on 17 nights this spring and sum­mer, cre­at­ing more oppor­tu­ni­ties than ever for New York­ers to enjoy the Island’s park spaces and his­toric set­tings with the back­drop of the city sky­line and sun­sets over the harbor. 

“There is noth­ing like a beau­ti­ful sum­mer night in New York City. Now thou­sands of us will be able to enjoy that mag­ic from Gov­er­nors Island. Every year, our admin­is­tra­tion has made more of this incred­i­ble pub­lic space open and acces­si­ble to the pub­lic. We can’t wait to bring the expe­ri­ence of watch­ing the sun set over New York Har­bor and explor­ing the Island by night to more New York­ers,” said Deputy May­or for Hous­ing and Eco­nom­ic Devel­op­ment Ali­cia Glen. 

Vis­i­tors dur­ing Late Fri­day nights will be able to roam the entire­ty of the Island’s park spaces, His­toric Dis­trict and prom­e­nade dur­ing the spe­cial sum­mer evening hours. Bike rentals will be avail­able to vis­i­tors. Select sea­son-long arts, cul­tur­al and sci­ence pro­gram­ming in the Island’s his­toric for­mer officer’s homes in Nolan Park and Colonels Row will remain open dur­ing late Fri­days. An excit­ing pro­gram of spe­cial evening enter­tain­ment will be announced in the com­ing weeks. 

“Each year, Gov­er­nors Island con­tin­ues to grow as a dynam­ic and beloved des­ti­na­tion in New York City,” said Michael Samuelian, Pres­i­dent of the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island. ​“With longer hours than ever, we invite all New York­ers to join us for unfor­get­table sum­mer nights on the Island in the glow of the sun­set and the sparkling Low­er Man­hat­tan skyline.” 

A diverse array of food offer­ings will also be open late dur­ing Late Fri­days. Island Oys­ter, Gov­er­nors Island’s pop­u­lar water­front restau­rant locat­ed near the Man­hat­tan fer­ry land­ing will remain open until 10PM with easy­go­ing sum­mer fare, a trop­i­cal­ly inspired cock­tail pro­gram and panoram­ic views of New York Har­bor and Low­er Man­hat­tan. Liggett Ter­race beer gar­dens Lit­tle Eva’s and Gov­er­nors’ Beer Co., as well as Blue Mar­ble Ice Cream and Fauzia’s Heav­en­ly Delights will also remain open. Grills on Gov­er­nors Island may also be reserved dur­ing Late Fri­days. To reserve a grill, vis­it www​.gov​is​land​.org/​p​e​rmits.

“Whether you’re look­ing for a live­ly hap­py hour spot or a tran­quil place to relax with the fam­i­ly, Gov­er­nors Island Late Fri­days will offer an excit­ing night out for every­one,” said Mer­ritt Birn­baum, Exec­u­tive Direc­tor of the Friends of Gov­er­nors Island. ​“We are delight­ed to wel­come all New York­ers to this evening oasis in the heart of our city.” 

Fer­ries dur­ing Late Fri­days will run from the Bat­tery Mar­itime in Low­er Man­hat­tan, locat­ed at 10 South Street. Fer­ries will depart Low­er Man­hat­tan at 5:30, 6:30, and 7:30 PM. Fer­ries will return to Low­er Man­hat­tan at 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00 and 10:00 PM. 

Gov­er­nors Island will open for the 2018 sea­son on May 1 and will be open dai­ly until Octo­ber 31. 

The Island is open to the pub­lic from 10 AM to 6 PM week­days, week­ends from 10 AM to 7 PM and Fri­days between May 25 and Sep­tem­ber 14 until 10 PM. Fer­ries will be free dur­ing open­ing week, May 1‑May 6.