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Best Ways To Get To Governors Ball On Randalls Island This Weekend
By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 22, 2012
Modified Jun 22, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 22, 2012
Modified Jun 22, 2012
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The first thing to remember about Governors Ball this weekend is that it's NOT on Governors Island, where it was last year. The two day rock and/or roll fest will take place on Randall's Island, which is nestled up in the East River between Manhattan, Queens, and HELL GATE, which is exactly where this devil-music is gonna send you. Tickets are still available for both days, so if you're making a last-minute decision to attend, here's a rundown of your remaining travel options:
- For starters, the MTA announced that it will be operating X80 express bus service between the 125th Street-Lexington Avenue 4, 5, 6 station and Randall’s Island this weekend. The X80 will operate from 9:30 a.m. to midnight, about every 4-5 minutes during the event. According to the press release, "Customers boarding the X80 toward the island will pay the express bus fare which is $5.50. To expedite the rush at the end of the concerts, no fares will be collected leaving the island; customers pay when they enter the connecting subway. Customers may also take the M35 to and from the Randall’s Island."
- For $30, New York Water Taxi is doing round trip ferry service. As of Friday afternoon, Saturday ferry tickets are sold out, but Sunday is still available. The ferry departs from and returns to 34th Street and FDR Drive, and will run continuously through the day and night.
- Bike/Foot: We're going to give his option a shot, by biking through Queens up to the entrance to the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge in Astoria and walking our bikes over the river to the island. (Here's a map.) We've never done this before, but the Times made that trek last year and has some details. Governors Ball estimates the walk over the bridge takes about a half hour from Queens, and you can also walk across the footbridge from East 103rd Street in Manhattan. But THAT bridge closes at 9 p.m. and you will NOT be able to use it to walk home. Meanwhile, the walk from the Bronx takes an estimated 15 minutes.
There are more details here about how to get there and back again, including driving directions. At this point, the weather forecast looks promising, and, if you're still on the fence, it's worth noting that this is Beck's first NYC gig in four years. And the Sunday run of Fiona Apple>>Modest Mouse>>Beck seems pretty damn appealing to us. As long as Beck doesn't get injured backstage like he did at Field Day back in 2003, it should be a fun show.
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directions
governors ball
randall's island
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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