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A vivid, richly illustrated portrait of Governors Island, exploring the people, history, art, and natural world that have shaped one of New York City’s most remarkable public spaces, and the changes transforming its future
Just minutes by ferry from Lower Manhattan, Governors Island can feel a world away. Part of the unceded Lenape lands and a longtime military base, the 172-acre island has been transformed into a beloved public park, arts destination, high school campus, and proving ground for environmental initiatives. Ferried Away captures this singular New York place at a moment when its identity is changing once again.
This lively anthology brings together the many communities that have shaped and continue to animate Governors Island. Artists, historians, architects, ecologists, writers, students, former military residents, a ferry deckhand, a beekeeper, and other island regulars offer essays, poems, interviews, micro-memoirs, and observations that move between past and present. Their contributions explore the island’s Lenape history, military legacy, wildlife and waterfront ecology, public art, The Harbor School, the Billion Oyster Project, and the everyday encounters that give the island its distinctive character.
Designed to be experienced much like Governors Island itself, the book embraces discovery and surprise. Its playful, nonlinear structure invites readers to wander, double back, and linger, while visitor quotes, short texts, and Leslie Kerby’s colorful illustrations create a richly layered portrait. The result is a book equally suited to longtime New Yorkers, first-time visitors, armchair travelers, and anyone fascinated by urban waterfronts, public space, art, and environmental change.
Ferried Away also looks ahead to The New York Climate Exchange and the large-scale development it will bring. As Governors Island enters another period of transformation, the collection considers what that change could mean for public access, community, art, and environmental stewardship. Both celebration and time capsule, Ferried Away preserves the spirit of a remarkable place at a pivotal moment in its evolution: a book to read before boarding the ferry, carry in a backpack while exploring, or revisit long after returning home.
Contributors: Nora Almeida, Sally Beauty Twin, Layla Bursor, Eliana Colachis Glass, Sarah Cascone, Jamie Caulder, Prophet Davison, Stefan Dreisbach-Williams, Denise Bright Dove Ashton-Dunkley, Oriol Eustache, Murray Fisher, Nicole Gelinas, Valérie Hallier, Elizabeth Logan Harris, Hollis Hillhouse, Karen Holmberg, Mitch Jureckson, Marlena Kinlan, Leslie Kerby, Joe Korber, Richard M. Larrabee, Lina Lajqi, Stephanie Lin/Office III, Justin Lokossou, Chris Lowe, Roger Manning, Nicole Maskiell, Mary Mattingly, Cuthwulf Eileen Myles, Aaron Nickey, Ross Perlin, Robert Pirani, Laziza Rakhimova, Kevin Reed, Alec Rovensky, Carl Safina, Frank Schwall, Ian Sklarsky, Tattfoo Tan, Amy Laird Webb, Rollie Williams, Jessica Wilson, and Kathy Basa Withers
I have a lot of connections with Governors Island. . .I'm so glad this place is here. It keeps getting better—more snack places, innovative landscaping, more open buildings, increased ferry times—and the views are amazing.---David Byrne
Just two decades ago, Governors Island opened up to New Yorkers for the first time, thanks to the Bloomberg Administration’s leadership and investment in its transformation. Ferried Away captures how much New Yorkers now embrace and treasure the Island as a place for art, nature and gathering. For all of us who worked together to bring the Island to life, it is deeply gratifying to read that Governors Island is now a deeply beloved part of our city.---Leslie Koch, Founding CEO, The Trust for Governors Island
I have followed my wife Jayni Chase to many parts of the world in support of her effort to protect every animal, plant and insect on it. She's led many environmental causes and been a board member of the New York Harbor School and the Billion Oyster Project, created by our friend Murray Fisher. I've come to see Governors Island as one of New York's greatest success stories. Ferried Away celebrates this beautiful, peaceful place for all New Yorkers. I’m lying, guess which part.---Chevy Chase
Leslie Kerby is a New York artist working in drawing, collage, printmaking, video, and public art. She has exhibited at galleries and arts venues including Paula Cooper Gallery and BRIC Arts NYC and is Co-Director of Project ARTspace. Kerby is a 2026 nominee for the Global Arts Prize for Innovation. Her work is held in the permanent collections of the Bradbury Art Museum and Columbia University School of Social Work.
Elizabeth Logan Harris (Edited By)
Elizabeth Logan Harris is a writer whose interest in New York City waterfront communities began with co-producing and writing the WNET documentary The Bungalows of Rockaway. Winner of the Mississippi Review Nonfiction Award and an AWP Intro Journals Award, her work has appeared in Guernica, Longreads, Conjunctions, Fourth Genre, Colorado Review, and New England Review.
Foreword
Elizabeth Logan Harris and Leslie Kerby, Editors
Introduction
Russell Shorto
Untitled by Sally Beauty Twin
Drifted by Marlena Kinlan
Governors Island is Volcanic by Karen Holmberg
Untitled by Aaron Nickey
Untitled by Tattfoo Tan
After the Last Ferry by Alec Rovensky
Untitled by Stephanie Lin
Untitled by Oriol Eustache
The Questionable Sale of Mannahatta: Fraud, Misunderstanding, and Consequences by Denise Bright
Dove Ashton-Dunkley
A Kiss for Merle by Elizabeth Logan Harris
Quarters 15 by Richard M. Larrabee
Spare by Eliana Colachis Glass
The Great Tuxedo Betrayal by Elizabeth Logan Harris
The Fort Jay Igloo of 1994 by Jaime J. L. Caulder
The Music Boys by Joe Korber
Islanders for a Time by Ross Perlin
The Office of the Harried Rabbi by Elizabeth Logan Harris
My Island Playground by Mitchell Jureckson
Firsts by Kathy Bassa Withers
No Place Like an Island by Robert Pirani
Untitled by Murray Fisher
Visitor Quotes -Anonymous
Untitled by Stefan Dreisbach-Williams
Harbor Silences: A Meditation on How Narratives Survive
Mersong by Elizabeth Logan Harris
Much Ado About Swimming by Amy Laird Webb
True or False
Flowers and Screams by Valèrie Hallier
Untitled by Justin Lokossou
An Art Lover’s Paradise by Sarah Cascone
Untitled by Laziza Rakhimova
Paggank by Justin Lokossou
Channel by Nora Almeida
Flights of Optimism and Objectivity: A Conversation with Carl Safina and Jessica Wilson
The Island is My Oyster by Prophet Davison
The Chicken Diaries by Hollis Hillhouse
Fishing School by Frank Schwall
May Day by Elizabeth Logan Harris
Untitled by Chris Lowe
Untitled by Marisa DeDominicis
Hopscotch by Elizabeth Logan Harris
Paggank 21 Blues by Roger Manning
Untitled by Mary Mattingly
A Tides TABLE
Untitled by Ian Sklarsky
Royal by Cuthwulf Eileen Myles
The Lima Bean by Rollie Williams
Disaster Response by Layla Bursor
A Conversation with Kevin Reed
Years Later by Lina Lajqi
How to Protect Governors Island? Transit Inconvenience by Nicole Gelinas Adirondack Red by Elizabeth Logan Harris
Timeline
Endnotes and Bibliography
Contributors’ Bios
Acknowledgments
Map