At Sea on Governors Island
October 2nd, 2006
It is once again back to the drawing board at Governors Island as officials last month rejected all the proposals for the land in New York harbor, saying they would require too hefty a public subsidy.
This is the latest setback in plans to develop the island, which the federal government gave to the city and state in 2003. After two years with little progress, Mayor Michael Bloomberg last year handed the job of overseeing the island over to deputy mayor Daniel Doctoroff. But so far Doctoroff is not faring much better in the middle of the harbor than he did with the 2012 Olympics.
In an editorial, the Times says some of the blame for the latest woes lies with the city itself. “Developers are clearly in need of better guidance. The Bloomberg and Pataki administrations should put together a master plan, and then seek private sector proposals for its components,” the paper says.
Polis reports that, rather than looking for a plan for the entire island, the city and state agency entrusted with developing it, will probably ask for proposals for parts of the place. “Probably a good idea,” the blog says. “Given how these massive redevelopment projects have a tendency to get bogged down to the point of total paralysis, taking one chunk — such as a 40-acre park, which is mandated — and making that happen, is probably a good place to start.”
But Curbed expresses doubt about “divvying up the island into smaller, more easily ruined pieces.”
Noting that the problem with Governors Island is getting there, the Built Environment has suggests a bus rapid transit link from Red Hook to the tip of Governors Island to Lower Manhattan. The blog concedes its plan might be flawed but says doing nothing is worse: “The cost of inaction regarding Governors Island is too high for New York to bear. With some new thinking and a willingness to take a chance, Governors Island could become an amazing place.”
By Gail Robinson on October 2, 2006, 1:33 pmIn category: Gotham City, Land Use, Parks, Waterfront | 9 Comments »

The Dubai-based company that bought several US ports pulled out of the deal Thursday. Local newspapers react:
For those bored with the Manhattanization of Brooklyn, welcome to the Manhattanization of Queens.
With President George W. Bush taking a firm stand in favor of a business deal with an oil-rich country, city newspapers condemn the president for threatening to veto any bill that would delay plans for a Dubai-based company to run New York’s port facilities. “Does George W. Bush really mean to use his first veto…on a bill that has Republicans and Democrats marching in lockstep — on national-security grounds?” asks the 
