Governors Island National Monument - Establishment of The Monument

Establishment of The Monument

As President Clinton left office in January 2001, with no resolution of the island's future in hand and at the urging of members of the New York congressional delegation, he established a Governors Island National Monument by Presidential Proclamation 7402 of January 19, 2001. The proclamation did not fully establish the boundaries of the monument, but did set forth a federal intention of preserving the fortifications, Fort Jay and Castle Williams, the oldest and most historic features on the island.

The Justice Department under President George W. Bush concluded the proclamation possessed technical errors, but did not revoke or invalidate the proclamation.

In an April 2002 White House meeting with city and state officials, President Bush announced his intention to sell the island to the city and state of New York. While the White House intended the transaction to be concluded by September 2002, it took several month of negotiations with city, state and federal officials to resolve outstanding issues.

On 31 January 2003, the island was conveyed to an intermediary, the National Trust for Historic Preservation which attached land use covenents then conveyed the island to two parties: 22 acres (89,000 m2) was conveyed to the U.S. Department of the Interior for use as a national monument; and 150 acres (0.61 km2) to the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation, formed jointly by the State and City of New York for the purpose of administering and redeveloping the island (now The Trust for Governors Island, an instrumentality of the City of New York). Presidential Proclamation 7647 of February 7, 2003 formally re-affirmed the establishment of the national monument.

City and federal agencies are presently in the planning stages of converting this former military installation into new public parkland and a spectacular destination in New York Harbor.