Their team also includes New York studios Rogers Marvel Architects, Quennell Rothschild and SMWM. Their project under the motto "The Way" envisages the creation of three interconnected recreational areas on the island: the three-kilometer "Grand Alley", which runs along the coast, a new park, created from scratch in the southern part of Governors Island, and a park combined with a historical "reserve", in the north.
In total, about 36 hectares of green areas will be created for the recreation of New Yorkers. The Grand Alley and the 16-hectare southern park will give them the opportunity to play sports, admire nature and just walk, and in the National Historical Zone in the north of the island, they can also get acquainted with an ensemble of residential and service buildings, the oldest of which date back to 1810.
According to the West 8 project, the island's landscape will be revitalized by hills made from recycled building materials (left over from the demolition of low-value buildings on the territory of Governors Island), and visitors to the park will be able to move around it on environmentally friendly transport - wooden bicycles. The artificial hills will also protect holidaymakers from the winds, which often reach considerable strength at the Hudson Estuary. It is also planned to lay new paths and install benches, the design of which is decided in the spirit of local monuments of architecture and history.
The architects have foreseen free spaces on the island for cultural and educational institutions that should appear there in the future. New Yorkers may get to the island by cable car with a gondola, designed by Santiago Calatrava several years ago: despite the fantastic nature of this option, the city authorities have not yet abandoned its implementation.
A park on Governors Island will cost the City and State of New York about $ 400,000; work on its creation should be completed by 2012.
