Governors Island National Monument New York

The island located a few hundred meters off the southern tip of Manhattan at the confluence of the Hudson and East Rivers in New York Harbor.

From 1783 to 1966, Governors Island in New York Harbor was an Army post, and from 1966 to 1996 it was a Coast Guard installation. Located on Governors Island are Castle Williams and Fort Jay, which served as outposts to protect New York City from sea attack.

In October 1995 the United States Coast Guard announced it would close its largest base, at Governors Island, as a cost savings measure. The Coast Guard had established the base on the island in 1966 after the U.S. Army closed Fort Jay, an Army post since 1794. Thirty years later, in 1996, the Coast Guard closed the base and conveyed it as surplus property to the federal government's General Services Administration for disposal through transfer or sale.

As President Clinton left office in January 2001, with no resolution of the island's future in hand and at the urging of members of the New York congressional delegation, he established a Governors Island National Monument by Presidential Proclamation 7402 of January 19, 2001. The proclamation did not fully establish the boundaries of the monument, but did set forth a federal intention of preserving the fortifications, Fort Jay and Castle Williams, the oldest and most historic features on the island.

Since the island was managed by the United States Army and the United States Coast Guard for nearly 200 years, and was no longer required for defense or Coast Guard purposes, the establishment of the monument provided an excellent opportunity for the public to observe and understand the harbor history, its defense and its ecology.

The island and monument, currently under development, has been open on a seasonal basis during the summer months since 2003. In 2010, over 400,000 visitors visited the island and monument during a 60-day season.

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