Governors Island

M and I took the free (yes, free!) ferry across to Governors Island yesterday (thanks for the info weeks ago, KF!), and had a really nice time. Governors Island was finally made open to the public this summer, with ferries running from the Battery Maritime Building in lower Manhattan every hour on the hour during the weekends. This piece of land used to be a military base from the 1700s until the 1960s, when it was transferred to the Coast Guard as a self-contained residential community and a base of operations for the Atlantic Area Command and Maintenance and Logistics Command. The Coast Guard closed its facilities in Governors Island in 1996, and in 2003, it was sold to the people of New York at a nominal cost to be used for public benefit.

Governors Island is a nice place to go if you feel like biking, setting up a picnic, and I think they even have special events like concerts at times. M and I didn't do any of that; we just walked around the island, grabbed an Italian sausage from one of the vendors (which surprisingly, was reasonably priced), and checked out the Sculptors Guild exhibit (available until October 1). I guess I just don't know how to appreciate "art," b/c a lot of the pieces looked pretty freaky to me.

Most of the buildings on the island appeared to be abandoned, padlocked with warning signs posted around them. If everything didn't look so worn out, this place could've easily passed as a college campus (or could be converted to one, but at this point, renovation costs probably wouldn't be worth the investment). If you're bored one of these weekends before October 12 (when it'll be closed to the public once again), I'd recommend making the trip there. Bring a nice picnic basket, a good book, comfortable walking shoes (or a bike -- you can also rent one there), and you'll be all set. Just don't expect tons to do there, otherwise you'll walk away disappointed.