By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
LOWER MANHATTAN — The board that has been running Governors Island for the past seven years held its last meeting Wednesday, unanimously voting to turn over the 172-acre island to the city.
The official transfer will likely occur as soon as the public comment period concludes on July 14, said Leslie Koch, president of the state-run Governors Island Preservation and Education Corp.
“This is a bittersweet moment,” said Koch. “This is a chapter closing as [the island] is moving forward."
Mayor Michael Bloomberg decided to acquire the island for the bargain-basement price of $1 so the city could have greater control over the island’s future $270 million development. The city has committed $41.5 million to kick off an overhaul of the island’s public spaces.
While Koch expects she and her staff will keep their jobs under the city’s new Governors Island Corp., many of the board members could lose their positions.
Bloomberg will appoint nine of the 13 members of the new board, and the governor, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, State Sen. Daniel Squadron and Community Board 1 will get one appointment each. GIPEC now has 12 board members, half appointed by the city and half by the state.
Koch said the changes would not disrupt what looks like a record season for the island. 30,000 people visited last weekend and the island is on target to meet its season goal of 400,000 visitors, Koch said.
