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Gondola Dreams for Governor's Island
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 16, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 16, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Leave it to Santiago Calatrava, the golden boy of rebuild NYC design at the moment for his beautiful Port Authority transit hub planned for Ground Zero, to design a gorgeous tramway between lower Manhattan and Governor's Island. (The tramway isn't a certainty, but it's a great, flashy "This is what our future could be" symbol.) The city and state announced that they are looking for "visionary ideas for the redevelopment of Governor's Island" to promote these goals:
- Enhance New York’s place as a center for culture, business, education and innovation;
- Preserve and adaptively reuse historic structures;
- Create a public place and parkland for all New Yorkers;
- Contribute to the vitality of New York Harbor and link to the surrounding waterfronts;
- Promote environmentally sustainable development;
- Achieve financial self-sustainability and provide maximum return to GIPEC for the purpose of supporting public benefit uses.
The last one is always a bitch. Here is the RFP. This tramway-gondola system would cost $125 million and the three stations would be in Battery Park, at Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, and at Governor's Island. Here's hoping it can happen, given the restrictions on the island's use.
Actually, we know what would be perfect for Governor's Island: Weddings. You get views of the city, people can book ferries to the location, guests who want to leave early take the gondola back to Manhattan or Brooklyn...
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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