Brooklyn and Downtown in Island Tussle

 by Ronald Drenger

In the 17th century, the Dutch and the British wrestled for control of Governors Island. Later, it was the British and the Americans. Now, it’s Brooklynites and Lower Manhattanites

Jerry Armer, left, chairman of Brooklyn's Community

Brooklyn’s Community Board 6 is making a bid to snatch the 172-acre island from Downtown’s Community Board 1. The Brooklyn board, which claims its borough is some 500 feet closer to the island than its rival, CB1, wants a role in discussions over future activities on Governors Island, and CB6’s chairman, Jerry Armer, sent a letter last month to Mayor Bloomberg, asking him to transfer jurisdiction of the property to his board.

“Without official and formal standing in the redevelopment process by CB6, Governors Island easily could become an exclusive preserve for Manhattan visitors, while Brooklyn residents are left out,” Armer wrote.

The board also wants to make sure that increased traffic and other adverse effects of the island’s redevelopment on the Brooklyn waterfront will be taken into consideration.

Community boards have limited power but play an advisory role in planning and land-use issues. The mayor’s office, as it does every 10 years, is reassessing community board district lines based on data from the most recent census.

CB6 argues that it is not only closer to Governors Island but also that it has three times the population of CB1 and that the island gets its utilities and disposes its sewage through Brooklyn.

CB1, taken by surprise, isn’t about to cede any authority. Citing Manhattan’s 220-year connection to the island and the board’s long involvement with the island’s issues, it passed a resolution urging the mayor to reject the Brooklynites’ request.

“The saddest thing about [CB6’s] letter is that it pits them against us,” said CB1 chairwoman Madelyn Wils.

Last January the federal government transferred Governors Island to New York. Twenty-two acres on the north end of the island, including Fort Jay and Castle Williams, were designated the Governors Island National Monument, to be administered by the National Park Service. A city-state agency, the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC) was created to oversee redevelopment of the rest of the island.

A spokesman for the mayor’s office said that CB6’s letter was being evaluated.

James Lima, president of GIPEC, declined to weigh in on the board’s bid for jurisdiction, but said that Brooklyn would be represented on an advisory council GIPEC was forming.

“I’m delighted that they’re sending the message that that part of Brooklyn is interested in having a voice in the future of the island,” he said. “We want to have a process that’s very inclusive and collaborative.”

If CB6 can’t gain sole jurisdiction over Governors Island, it wants the mayor at least to establish dual control, and it wants representation in all of the island’s planning groups.

“We intend to cajole and hector our way to the table,” said Craig Hammerman, CB6’s district manager.

CB1 said it had no objection to CB6’s participation and had never tried to exclude the Brooklynites.

Rob Pirani, director of environmental programs at the Regional Plan Association and executive director of the Governors Island Alliance, a coalition of civic groups that includes CB1, tried to put the cross-river tussle into perspective. “What’s important to think about is how to make the island a great place for all of New York,” he said, “not whose turf it is.”