World Island: A Permanent World's Fair

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Executive Summary

A World Development Endowment Foundation Project

Governors Island as a World Resource Center

A Vision for the Future Development of New York Harbor as a

Global Cultural Center

World Development Endowment Foundation126 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3DNew York, New York 10011-5606Gerald GreenbergChairman and Co-Founder

Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation

10 South Street, Slip 7New York, New York 10004

Submitted on May 10, 2006

Copyright © 2006 by the World Development Endowment Foundation. All Rights Reserved



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Unifying the Harbor

Over the past decade the World Development Endowment Foundation (WDEF) hasbeen refining a plan for the re-use and development of Governors Island as an

international city within an international city dedicated to public service. In developingour vision we have thought of Governors Island as far more than a real estatedevelopment. It is about people development.

The WDEF envisions a bold, creative, and aggressive urban plan that is realistic andpractical and that will articulate and enhance the development GIPEC has imagined.The Island will both require and support a large number of employees and visitors.We believe such magnitude is necessary if Governors Island is to attain the inspiringobjectives GIPEC has established: “to enhance the role of New York on the worldstage . . . [and] to create an architectural icon,” and serve as a world model for largeself-sustaining developments (Governors Island Development Framework ).

The development of Governors Island gives New York City and New York State anopportunity to create a new international institution that reflects and builds on thepresence of 180 nationalities living in the City. This new institution must have astature comparable to that of the United Nations, renowned universities, andinternational philanthropic and financial institutions. Therefore we propose to developGovernors Island as a home for programs advancing world unity, as a new urbanplanning icon, and as a global destination emphasizing learning. When fully evolved,Governors Island will include a permanent world trade fair, cultural centers, aninternational education and youth leadership center, world wellness and life sciencecenter, arts and entertainment venues, hotels, a world conference center, withcommercial offices, and a world philanthropic center.

Our overall concept is that of a World Cultural Exchange that will be referred to asWorld Island.

It is essential that we recognize the need to unify New York Harbor. Our plan thusinterlaces links in Lower Manhattan, Red Hook, and the Peninsula at Bayonne. It willbe designed to maximize and blend the various waterfront projects (East River,Brooklyn Bridge Park, Brooklyn Piers 7-12, Gateway, etc.), Liberty Island, and EllisIsland into a social and economic dynamo and global hub.

We are convinced that only such a bold and comprehensive initiative can, at one andthe same time, capitalize on and extend New York City’s unique position in the world

and overcome the development barriers presented by deed restrictions, weather,building conditions, and Island access. In particular, we emphasize our intention tocreate a place where multinational corporations, NGOs, EDCs, municipalities,emerging entrepreneurs, philanthropies and not-for-profits from around the world caninteract face-to-face in a social, cultural, and physical environment unmatched byany other in the world. This will give a large number of people a must reason to visitthe Island time and again, thus making it economically self-sustaining. Without such



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a far-reaching and compelling purpose the Island cannot fully maximized anddeveloped in a sustainable way.

The scope of activity on the southern part of the Island will be a magnet for attractingthe world to the many diverse activities, thus constituting the core activity needed toanimate the Island all day and every day of the year. Because this commercialactivity is specifically oriented toward tourism, trade, and economic development, itwill support and enhance the overall educational and cultural goals of the Island.Taken in total, the unique blend of programming on the Island will be host to adiverse population as they experience discovery.

The real estate planning and design of existing and new structures will integratestate-of-the-art environmentally sustainable design concepts, advancedtechnologies, and exciting innovations on a scale and magnitude never beforerealized in a single endeavor. The new Governors Island will stand as a worldwidemodel for a totally integrated, sustainable design development.

The Four Pillars of a CommunityWorld Island will be built upon the four pillars that are embodied in the heart of everyvital community: Commerce, Culture, Education, and Spirituality. The Island is apowerful tourist attraction, naturally suited to cultural and educational uses, andthese in turn will attract a new cohort of international visitors to the city. The Island isan ideal gathering place where people from around the world can interact oncommon ground and share and experience one another’s ideas and ideals. In thecontext of New York City’s unique multi-cultural community the Island will also be akey center for international economic development and education. In order to realizethe full-potential of this unique Island in a unique city,

Commerce: Trade has been critical to cultural and social evolution for over 10,000years. Even while people caravanned great distances to exchange goods andservices, they also learn about one another and gain new and useful ideas. Thedevelopment of the commercial aspect of our plan will include specialized offices,conference and exhibit centers and hotels, specifically targeted at economicdevelopment corporations (EDCs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs),foundations, corporate philanthropists, and many other international entities servingrelated purposes. Our objective is to create a critical mass of organizationsconcerned with economic development (at the municipal and regional levels), trade,tourism, and other community-based initiatives. These organizations will want needto be here because its environment has been created for the express purpose oftransacting international affairs in a public sphere of action and influence.

Culture: Every group, every nation, has customs and ways of life; broadlyconsidered these constitute the group’s culture. Culture exists in its purest form in theexpressive arts of music, painting and sculpture, story telling and literature, in variousforms of entertainment and recreation, and in the distinctive ways people create thethings of every day life and prepare their food. World Island will be a beacon for thebest and brightest in the world’s cultures.



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Education: Culture must be learned, and so education will be central to WorldIsland. A World High School will educate youth from around the world in theprivileges and demands of public service. Distance learning will connect the Island tonations around the globe. Seminars and training programs will educate the businesscommunity and public officials in the ways of trade, equitable dealing, and economicdevelopment. Beyond this, the very nature of the programming means that every tripto the island will have an educational aspect, will give the visitor or employees newinsights. The Island’s cultural and educational programs will make World Island apowerful tourist magnet, attracting a vast eclectic mix of international visitors to it andthe surrounding region. The range of programs on the Island will make every visit aneducational one.

Spirituality: The World Island philosophy is grounded in a simple truth recognizedby all the world’s religions: All we are is what we are to each other. If we are toprosper in the twenty-first century we must each extend that truth to everyone,without exception. And we must extend this reverence and respect to the earth itself.It is our home together. It is in this sense that we must understand World Island’s

design and construction in a spiritual context.

World Island will be a model of environmentally friendly construction and design. Atthe southern tip of the Island we plan to build a futuristic lighthouse, Illumination, thatwill be the focus of spiritual activities on the Island. It will contain inter-faith chapelsand meditation rooms. Beyond this, we regard World Island’s commitment towellness and to green design as fundamentally spiritual in kind.

Organizing our programs around these four pillars will ensure WDEF’s cornerstonemission: establishing a self-sustaining, socially responsible model city that serves asan ideal environment in which to mentor and nurture future leaders in public service.Only in this way can we all understand the practicality of trustworthiness. The

synergies we are exploiting require a unified, comprehensive and complementaryapproach if the total development is to become the icon that defines human potentialin the twenty-first century.

Wisdom Keepers/Wisdom Seekers

World Island is designed as a destination attracting over 12,000,000 tourists a yearto the City. It will be served by over 50,000 employees from the boroughs of the City.This urban plan will be one of the largest private sector employers in New YorkState’s history and will be a model for human rights in human resource development.A mentoring program will be implemented entitled “Wisdom Keepers/WisdomSeekers” partnering senior citizens with our youth as a generational connection. This

initiative will be a stimulus for major social and economic impact benefiting all NewYorkers.

Urban Plan for Unifying the Harbor: Creating CommonGround

While we have explored and developed an abundance of specific features, ourproject is an umbrella development, and our overall program is organized to



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incorporate ideas developed by many other people and organizations, including themany sound initiatives of other RFEI participants. Our overall urban plan consists ofsites in four locations:

• Governors Island – the entire Island• Lower Manhattan – Battery Maritime Building and the Coast Guard building• Red Hook, Brooklyn• Bayonne, NJ – The Peninsula (formerly the Military Ocean Terminal at

Bayonne)Additionally, we propose to lower a prefabricated tunnel into the riverbed connectingLower Manhattan to the Island, running across the Island, and connecting with RedHook. With a peak capacity of 30,000 people per hour, such a transportation systemis the only way to provide the convenient high-capacity access the Island demands.Initial studies indicated that this is a realistic transportation solution, both financiallyand practically.

Governors Island is the focal point of our plan. Red Hook and Bayonne provideaccess to and back room logistics for the Island as well as having “stand-alone”

components. The Battery Maritime Building has components of its own while theCoast Guard building would be reconstructed as the Manhattan-side terminus of thetunnel, where it can link with the subway system.

Lower Manhattan: BMB and Coast Guard Building

We intend to develop the BMB as a part of the overall cultural exchange complexexploiting unparalleled views of the harbor and as the Manhattan-side gateway toGovernors Island. This program element will honor and cherish the history of theBMB, Governors Island and New York, in compliance with GIPEC’s guidelines. Inparticular we seek to enhance the ferry experience so as to strengthen therelationship between the BMB and the Island.

We have been holding preliminary discussions with the U.S. Coast Guard aboutusing their site as the Manhattan terminus of the people-mover tunnel we propose.We would construct the new building at that site that would accommodate both thetunnel and the Coast Guard offices. Additionally, we propose to create an interactivetheatre where the U. S. Coast Guard can host and honor coast guards from aroundthe world. This new structure will enrich and enhance the East River / Battery Parkflow and thereby help unify the harbor.

Historic District

The WDEF will develop the Historical District along the lines of Mystic Seaport andWilliamsburg and as an education and retreat destination. We have met with many

historic preservation specialists, including Charles Rigby, with whom we have formedan alliance to include his New York Time Exchange (an interactive theater-museum)into the Historical District. We will house at least two educational institutes here: 1)the International Institute of Peace through Tourism and 2) the Sustainable LivingInstitute. We will also partner with the Global University System (GUS), an existinginstitution partially funded by UNESCO, GUS is organized to provide distancelearning throughout the world at the secondary and college levels.



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By use of the Island's natural topography and existing structures, the full flavor of theHistorical District will be preserved and distingished from the southern part of theIsland, with Building 400 serving as a natural barrier and transition point from thePast to the Present and to the Future portions of our program. We will developBuilding 400 as an international crafts emporium, Hands Around the World. Workingwith the Aid to Artisans group, a not-for-profit organization that representsinternational artisans, we will invite craftspeople from the villages of the world todemonstrate and teach their skills, and to exhibit and sell their work. When visitorspass from the Historical District into Building 400 they will move from the villages ofthe United States to the villages of the rest of the world.

We will review our plans and proposals with the National Park Service to ensure thatthey are compatible with NPS plans. Additionally, we are establishing theSustainable Living Institute, which can work with the NPS to promote smart planetarystewardship throughout NPS territory.

South Island and Red Hook

Programming for the rest of the Island and Red Hook is explicitly international andwould be housed in new buildings designed by the core design team specificallyselected for this project, as well as signature architects and consultants from aroundthe world. Examples of programming include:

Culture and Education

• Harmony Hall: interactive exhibits presenting the history of world music, andperformance venues, and an Institute for the Study of the Mind, Music, andHealth.

• The entire island will become a world art gallery, representing the creativity ofall nations.

• The Well: a spa and wellness center designed to appeal to all cultures..• Theaters: the Imax World Theatre: international cinemas, virtual reality travel

extravaganzas and state-of-the art technology.• A world sports and recreation center with an emphasis on sportsmanship

rather than sports and with facilities especially for the City’s youth.

Universe City at Red Hook: A Global Educational Classroom and Campus

While the future of our world may rest in the hands of science and technology, itscourse will be charted by the youth of today and tomorrow. The knowledge andwisdom that we place in their hands will determine the destiny of mankind. Throughthe demonstration and promotion of tomorrow's technologies, World Island will beable to play a major role in shaping the future, which we will pass to the children of

tomorrow while providing a training ground for the youth of today.

Developing the 85-acre parcel currently owned by the Port Authority, we will createthis educational campus as an extension of the Brooklyn Bridge Park. We propose tohouse a World High School in Red Hook. An institution dedicated to training theleaders of tomorrow, the World High School will utilize the resources of participatingnations to develop an international student body focused on global issues, as well asconventional academic studies, in a politically neutral learning environment. All of



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New York City will become a high school campus for the world, with the New YorkCity school system hosting school systems from around the world.

The World Island “collaboratory” will be an incubator for future-oriented programs,including ongoing indoor and outdoor exhibits of agriculture, alternative energytechnology, environmental and ecological systems, combined with other scientificadvances and the latest technology. Together with its mission to promote worldunderstanding, World Island will also serve world development studies throughconferences, seminars, university forums, international fairs and, most important,through world youth development.

Commerce and Spirituality on South Island

Commerce

• One World Center: a commercial tower that serves as the commercial officecenter for the world’s EDCs, international associations, NGOs, philanthropicand many other related international organizations.

• The World Conference Center: a state-of-the-art facility designed to attract

conferences, exhibitions and functions that will be organized and anchoredthere specifically because of the unparalleled purpose and cultural ecology ofthe Island.

• The PAX Pavilion, Planetarium and Eco Center One will be organized inconjunction with the International Institute for Peace through Tourism. At $6trillion dollars annually, tourism is the world’s largest and fastest growingeconomic engine. These facilities are dedicated to the advancement of, andeducation in, the future of tourism.

• Hotels, corporate retreats, and youth hostel accommodations in a widevariety of structured motifs and creative home settings of all types and sizes.

• An International Food Festival will add a whole new dimension to New YorkCity, the restaurant capital of the world, with a wide variety of restaurantexperiences that will offer cuisines from around the world, catering to everyappetite and budget, with a promotional budget that feeds back in to NewYork City.

Spirituality

• The Island's religious facilities will be open for use by members of all faiths,while community centers and meeting rooms will be available to the city's fullcomplement of social, civic, cultural and fraternal organizations.

• Center for Corporate Philanthropy: Multinational corporate foundations willform a philanthropic corporate association to educate future leaders in the artand science of giving.

Logistics at Red Hook

Our proposal for Governors Island requires a close interaction with supportingdevelopment in the Red Hook area of Brooklyn. Red Hook is a terminus for a tunnelbetween Governors Island and Brooklyn and, in that capacity, is an essential site forsupporting activities:

• Parking facilities for people transfer from cars and buses to tunnel systemtransport,



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• A staging area for conventions and exhibitions,• A preparation area for food services,• Logistical support and storage for the office, hospitality, retail, and

commercial activities,• Employee support center

Beyond such essential support functions, Red Hook will be a site where we willsupport and expand the Island’s educational programming.

The Peninsula at Bayonne

Roughly two-and-a-half miles Southwest of the Island, the Peninsula at Bayonnealso provides “feeder” and support functions for the Island:

• bus and auto parking• ferry transport• cold storage• back room and logistics

Additionally, it would have a hotel to serve the Island and passengers embarking atBayonne who wish to combine a trip to the Island with their cruise.

Caravan Communication Network

State of the art broadcast facilities are at the heart of the World Island model. WDEFwill build dedicated production facilities on Governors Island, at the Battery MaritimeBuilding, and in Red Hook, with broadcast facilities located in Red Hook. All facilitieswill be equipped with production and broadcast equipment. These facilities will beused to broadcast educational programming around the world.

In serving many world community objectives, the primary purpose of the World Islandproject is the ageless learning and leadership development of world citizens. Ourinteractive distance learning system enables everyone of every age, everywhere at

any time, especially young people, to experience learning and leadershipdevelopment.

We are in a period of rapid evolution where new career disciplines are essential andwhere harnessing employment opportunities for managing and governing tomorrow'sworld are before us. World Island will provide the home of a virtual learning center,to implement a positive guidance methodology to capitalize on new ways for us tointeract.

Over time it will create a world alumni of future leaders who understand and embracethe practicality of being trustworthy as a core principal in their daily endeavors asprivate citizens and community leaders.

The Caravan Communication Network also plays a key role in the commercialaspects of World Island. World Island will be a premier showcase for products fromaround the world. The furnishings and appointments throughout the World Islandcomplex will be available for sale in a home shopping venue though broadcast andweb media.



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Site Constraints and Solutions

In addition to meeting the demands of the above vision, the design will need toaddress two very critical and negative constraints facing any re-use andre-development of the Island. Without overcoming these constraints, we believe thatno proposed development can be economically self-sustaining, and be successful:

• The lack of convenient, efficient and expedient access to and from theIsland which will be open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

• The adverse climatic conditions that are typical for a large part of theyear.

When fully evolved we project that there will be over 25,000 visitors a day, servicedby over 50,000 employees throughout the facilities in four shifts, seven days a week.The current ferry service must augmented, even then it will not be insufficient to fullymeet this demand. Thus we propose to construct a tunnel connecting the Island tolower Manhattan and Red Hook, Brooklyn. This will interface with the existingsubway lines in lower Manhattan giving the traveler a convenient and seamlesstransition. The tunnel system will also serve as one of the ways to transportequipment and supplies from and to Brooklyn.

Preliminary studies suggest that an eight-lane “people-mover” tunnel would have apeak capacity of 30,000 per hour and would allow people to travel betweenManhattan and the Island in less than ten minutes. This would solve the accessproblem both to and from the Island, thus integrating the Island into both LowerManhattan and Brooklyn.

We propose to treat the climate problem with a design that allows for both enclosedground-level access to the entire southern part of the Island as well as for creating

another major feature: a large 28-acre central park (as part of the requirement for 40acres of park space). Our basic strategy is to construct a four-tier “podium” on thesouthern part of the Island with covered connections to the historical district. Thebottom tier would extend to the edge of the esplanade on the West, South and Eastand to Liggett Hall on the North. People would thus be able to move about thesouthern part of the Island without ever having to leave and enclosed area. The 28-acre park would be built on the top-level of this podium, as Chicago’s MillenniumPark is built above a railroad yard and a parking facility.

This tiered campus would also provide space for many of the programming featureswe envision. The bottom level would house much of the operational infrastructure ofthe Island (HVAC, utilities, transportation, material distribution, and so forth) while at

the same time being a showcase for state-of-the-art technologies. Other levels wouldhouse food and beverage venues, retail outlets, galleries, offices, and so forth. Theoffice tower, hotels, conference center and other structures would be constructed onand integrated with this structure.

Economic Significance

As a not-for-profit cultural and educational organization, the WDEF will be in aunique position to preserve the historical character of the Island, while developing



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areas of financial support that would not be available to commercial ventures.Revenues derived from all of its programs will be utilized to maintain GovernorsIsland redevelopment, while providing an array of cultural and academic resources. Itis important to note that all profits from income generated on the Island, or any of ourexpansion activities, will be utilized for humanitarian projects.

New jobs, record attendance, tourism magnet, new resources, centers of learning, ashowcase for enterprise, a place for mentoring global youth, this city, this excitingvista, with a front row seat at the doorstep of the world's greatest city, is a must do,must see experience. The new Governors Island will be an economic powerhouse.With a pledge of support for our WDEF vision and the traditional foresight of City andState leaders eager to advance the city and state agendas for thispioneering endeavor, we will make a striking success out of this rare opportunity tocreate a stage where great things take place and the unique is commonplace.

By enacting this proposal the WDEF will secure a formidable assemblage of credit-worthy anchor tenants, including foreign nations, national and international corporate

participants and a varied assemblage of high profile interests. Additionally,substantial revenues will be generated through the operation of public facilities, thecommanding office tower, the remarkably advanced conference and conventioncenter, world-class hotel accommodations, interesting restaurant fare, and a diversecomplement of retail and business related enterprises.

At extensive meetings with renowned financial institutions, sincere interest has beenexpressed by major institutions interested in underwriting a global bond issue as oneof our financing strategies. While the world bond is only one of severalpromising financial initiatives we are pursuing, it provides a characteristic insight intothe excitement our plan generates in financial circles. Uncertainties surrounding theNew York development environment aside, we are confident in our ability to bring a

complete funding solution to the table given the opportunity to present our case toyou. It is more than clear that if our proposal is to be realized, it will require extensiveprivate and public sector cooperation, thus realizing the advantage of a workingenvironment within which solutions can be determined and carried out.

Documents

World Island: A Permanent World's Fair