By:  Ilana Siyance & Jared Evan

The New York City Council has set its eyes on Governors Island, to serve as the new hub for effecting climate change.

As reported by the NY Times, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on Monday that a $700 million green campus will be added to the Island, devoted to finding solutions for the climate crisis.  Governor’s Island, a 172-acre Island off Lower Manhattan and close to Brooklyn, currently serves as one of the city’s favorite public spaces.

The public park, which is accessible only by ferry, features breathtaking views of Manhattan, along with a peaceful array of vegetable gardens, hammocks, vegan food trucks and the city’s longest slide. Some two decades ago, in 2003, the federal government turned over control of the Island to New York City, with the condition that it shouldn’t be turned into housing developments. The city council has long been deliberating the best use for the space.

As part of the new plan, the Trust for Governors Island will provide ferry service every 15 minutes, with a hybrid electric ferry expected to start service next summer. The campus will also include student and faculty housing and university hotel rooms.

The project follows a similar approach to the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island, a graduate school that opened in 2017 and was championed by former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. But city officials refer to the Governors Island campus as “Cornell Tech on steroids.” The campus will create more than 2,200 jobs, city officials said, and eventually serve 600 college students, 6,000 job trainees and 250 faculty members and researchers every year.

On Monday, the Mayor together with the council, the Trust for Governors Island CEO Clare Newman, and SUNY’s Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis unveiled the “New York Climate Exchange.” The plan aims to transform the island into the first-in-the-nation climate research hub. Led by Stony Brook, an array of universities and private firms will work on the Exchange, to create a state-of-the-art 400,000-square-foot campus.  The “living laboratory” will be dedicated to researching and developing innovative climate solutions, as well as providing training for green jobs.  While construction will begin in 2025, the “green” campus is slated to open in 2028.

“Today, here in the heart of New York Harbor, we are taking a giant leap toward a cleaner, greener, more prosperous future for every New Yorker with the ‘New York Climate Exchange,’” said Mayor Adams. “This first-of-its-kind project will make New York City a global leader in developing solutions for climate change while creating thousands of good-paying green jobs for New Yorkers and infusing $1 billion into our city’s economy. Where some people see challenges, New Yorkers see opportunities, and this team and this project are leading the charge.”

Per the Times, the existing 43-acre park and public amenities in Governor’s Island will remain as is, with the addition of expanded access.   Two new buildings will be erected, on three undeveloped acres of land, for use as classroom and research buildings.  The new climate hub will also make use of some of the old historic buildings currently on site on the island—restoring more than 170,000 square feet of space at Liggett Hall and the Fort Jay Theater.  The $700 million project is expected to create 7,000 permanent jobs and have a $1 billion “economic impact” on the city, Adams’ office said in a press release.  “All New Yorkers will benefit from this major investment that we are making,” Adams said.  “This is where we will protect our city’s air and water. And this is where we will train thousands of students for the next wave of green jobs.”

As per the Post, the extensive cost of the project will be paid for by: $150 million in already allocated city capital funding; $100 million from the Simons Foundation, founded by billionaire hedge fund manager James H. Simons; and $50 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies courtesy of former Mayor Mike Bloomberg.  The remaining $400 million still needs to be raised, per the mayor’s office.  New York residents will not be responsible to foot the rest of the bill, city officials have already said.  Upon completion, the facility will have classrooms and laboratories to accommodate 600 postsecondary students, 4,500 K-12 students, 6,000 workforce trainees and 250 faculty members and researchers each year, the press release said.  Also, student and faculty housing and university hotel rooms will be included on the new campus, as well as auditorium space.

The plan for the New York Climate Exchange was first presented publicly in 2020.  The current plan is the result of a two-year, competitive request for proposal process, and is seen as a key component in fulfilling Mayor Adams’ initiative announced last year entitled, “Rebuild, Renew, Reinvent: A Blueprint for New York City’s Economic Recovery”.  The winning consortium includes SUNY’s Stony Brook University, IBM, Georgia Institute of Technology, Pace University, Pratt Institute, University of Washington, Good Old Lower East Side, and Boston Consulting Group.  Also, an unprecedented group of over 30 nonprofit and community partners have been assigned as part of the team.

“New York City still remains the global hub for innovation — and the investment in Governors Island is another example of the forward-thinking vision our city can deliver on,” said First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright. “From a state-of-the-art education hub to creating thousands of jobs across emerging sectors, the Adams administration is writing a new, exciting chapter in our city’s history. I applaud all of the partners, the cross-sector collaboration, and leadership across multiple mayors that made this announcement possible.”

“The future of climate jobs and leadership is bright,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “The New York Climate Exchange will provide transformational benefits for green job training and increased access and open space in one of New York’s most beloved parks. Together with the recently released PlaNYC, we have the blueprint and investment to execute on the climate action New Yorkers need.”

“With today’s announcement, Governors Island’s role as a historic gateway to New York City enters a new chapter, as a place where ideas come to life and hopeful solutions to the climate crisis become reality,” said Trust for Governors Island President and CEO Clare Newman. “We are honored to select Stony Brook University and the New York Climate Exchange to anchor the Center for Climate Solutions here on Governors Island, creating a global hub for education, research, job training, and public engagement on climate solutions for cities. Thank you to Mayor Adams, Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer, Mayor Bloomberg, and Mayor de Blasio for your commitment to the future of the Island, and thank you to President McInnis and the entire Exchange team for answering our call.”

“We are honored, excited, and proud to partner with the City of New York to build this historic center that will cement New York City as the world leader on climate change, the most pressing issue of our time,” said Maurie McInnis, president, Stony Brook University. “Up until now, the development of climate solutions has been siloed, with world leaders separate from expert scientists separate from the on-the-ground green workforce. As an international leader on climate and as the leading public research institution in New York, Stony Brook University will bring stakeholders together from the academic, government, and business communities to make the Climate Exchange the center of research, innovation, education, and collaboration to address this global crisis.”

To make sure all voices are incorporated, the campus also includes a Citizen Advisory Council composed of local stakeholders.  “There’s no one entity that’s going to be able to solve climate change and come up with the solutions we’re all going to need on its own,” said McInnis.

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has been selected to design the New York Climate Exchange.   As per Arch Daily, it will be a net-zero energy campus, slated to become a model for sustainability, by using energy-positive design strategies including mass-timber construction, on-site solar power generation, and the integration of existing structures.

The project hopes to achieve Tue Zero Waste certification, by diverting 95% of waste from landfills, as well as generating 100% of its non-potable water needs by using rainwater and treated wastewater. The hub will function entirely on solar electricity generated on-site, with plans to produce enough energy to serve the city’s power grid.  The geothermal and heat pump HVAC network will use about 70% less energy than comparable facilities, and finally no red-list chemicals will be utilized during construction.

“Our design for this new campus embodies the stewardship necessary to solve the climate crisis by weaving sinuous mass timber pavilions through the rolling landscape of the park and reusing the historic building fabric of Governors Island. Together, these spaces will cultivate advances in climate research and pilot new technologies that can be deployed across the city, and, eventually, the world,” said Design Partner Colin Koop at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

Like most big projects, the climate hub on Governors Island, had to face a legal challenge from opponents.  As per the Times, a coalition sued to block the efforts, saying the new construction would disrupt the Island’s serene atmosphere.  Last December, a judge dismissed the case.  While an appeal is possible, city officials are confident they would win the case.

The Exchange will focus on themes of environmental justice and inclusion, and among other topics will research the impacts of use of food, water, and energy on climate change; and the sustainability and resilience of cities.  “It will truly be the first of its kind model for advancing research to accelerate the deployment of climate solutions that will help us with what I believe is the greatest threat of our time — the climate crisis,” said Maria Torres-Springer, the city’s deputy mayor for economic and work force development.

(Additional reporting by: Fern Sidman)