Governors Island Fire Station Closes
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | Jan. 26, 2009
New York City's Fire Department closed the fire station on Governors Island on Jan. 17, leaving the 175-acre island off Manhattan, and the 22-acre National Historic Monument there, without full-time protection.
Officials say that budget reductions totaling $8.9 million forced the department to reduce evening hours at four stations and close the Governors Island station entirely. It opened in 2004 and has seen no major fires since.
If a fire breaks out in one of the 19th-century buildings on the island, firefighters will now have to respond via ferry. (After warming up the ferry, the 1.5-mile ride takes seven minutes.)
With a National Monument that contains two historic forts and a large National Historic Landmark district of military houses, the island needs protection, says Peg Breen, president of the New York Landmarks Conservancy.
"These are absolutely irreplaceable buildings, and if anything happens to them, the major attraction of Governors Island could be lost."
The island, which opened to the public in 2006, has become a popular summer destination; last year, 128,000 people visited for bike tours, concerts, and Little League baseball games. No one lives on Governors Island, but restoration—which is often a fire hazard—is under way.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation named Governors Island one of America's Most Endangered Places in 1998, after the federal government abandoned the island.
To make matters worse, Breen says, the state has not set aside any money in next year's budget for the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC), which is equally funded by both the city and state.
"They've piqued interest in Governors Island, and it would all come crashing to a halt—and all those historic buildings could be endangered." Breen says. "We don't want to lose this progress."
Read more at
http://www.preservationnation.org/travel-and-sites/sites/northeast-region/governors-island.html
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