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The Friends of Gov­er­nors Island 2017 Gala

Sep 7, 2017 2:08 pm

On Sep­tem­ber 26^th, the Friends of Gov­er­nors Island is host­ing its annu­al Gala. This year’s event hon­ors the six extra­or­di­nary women who led the devel­op­ment of the Island’s new 40-acre park. Adding to the spe­cial­ness of the occa­sion, the Gala will be held after-hours on Gov­er­nors Island! A lim­it­ed num­ber of tick­ets remain avail­able.

The trans­for­ma­tion of Gov­er­nors Island from an aban­doned mil­i­tary base to a vibrant des­ti­na­tion enjoyed by hun­dreds of thou­sands of vis­i­tors each year could not have hap­pened with­out the hard work and ded­i­ca­tion of these six pio­neer­ing leaders: 

• For­mer First Deputy May­or, Pat­ti Harris
• Past Board Chair of the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island, Ron­ay Menschel
• Past Trust Pres­i­dent, Leslie Koch
• Past Trust Board Mem­ber, Wendy Schmidt
• Past Trust Vice Pres­i­dent for Plan­ning Design and Con­struc­tion, Ellen Cavanagh 
• Past Trust Vice Pres­i­dent for Plan­ning and Design, Bet­ty Chen 

Pow­er­ful­ly forg­ing part­ner­ships between gov­ern­ment and phil­an­thropy, these indi­vid­u­als led the plan­ning, con­struc­tion and fundrais­ing efforts to cre­ate the new park. Their work cul­mi­nat­ed in July 2016 with the open­ing of the Hills, an auda­cious feat of engi­neer­ing and design that was deliv­ered under bud­get and near­ly one year ahead of schedule.

The design of the new park focus­es on sus­tain­abil­i­ty and resilience, while ampli­fy­ing Gov­er­nors Island’s spir­it of adven­ture and dis­cov­ery. What was once aban­doned land­fill on the Island’s south­ern end is now beau­ti­ful rolling land­scapes and path­ways filled with vis­i­tors bik­ing, loung­ing and play­ing. A live­ly plaza boasts out­door cafés, hedge mazes and play foun­tains. The ever-pop­u­lar Ham­mock Grove wel­comes vis­i­tors to catch the breeze amid a grow­ing young for­est. And ris­ing up to 70 feet, the Hills offer the longest slide in New York City, a per­ma­nent art instal­la­tion, and 360-degree views of the New York Harbor. 

Now enjoyed by more than 600,000 vis­i­tors annu­al­ly, Gov­er­nors Island’s new land­scapes were designed to thrive for cen­turies. This trans­for­ma­tion would not have been pos­si­ble with­out the com­bined efforts of our six hon­orees. We hope you will join us in cel­e­brat­ing their accom­plish­ments and toast­ing to one of New York City’s most unique pub­lic spaces!

Pro­ceeds from the 2017 Gala will sup­port the Friends of Gov­er­nors Island. A core tenet of the Friends’ mis­sion is to fur­ther the Island’s sus­tain­abil­i­ty and stew­ard its green spaces. Funds raised from the Gala will help care for the more than 2,300 trees and 50,000 shrubs in the new park. Addi­tion­al­ly, the pro­ceeds will sup­port the Friends’ efforts to improve the vis­i­tor expe­ri­ence, cre­ate more pub­lic pro­grams, and extend out­reach efforts across the entire city.

Learn more and pur­chase tickets.