Governors Island is a tiny island between Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island that use to be a military base but is now just full of empty buildings, walking and biking paths, a few stores, and lots of park.

Free Ferry to Governors Island!

PT and I took the free ferry from Brooklyn over there on Saturday and it was awesome.

Southern Manhattan from Governors Island

If there was nothing on the island but views of New York City it would be worth going.

Staten Island Ferry and Lady Liberty

The Brooklyn Bridge

Me and PT

We walked the 5 miles around the island seeing what there was to see: TONS of bikers and picnic-ers, empty dorm-like military housing, artist take overs of empty fields, and food carts.

PB & Js, Oreos, and Apples

We packed our lunch.

Sandwich with a View

And enjoyed our seaside picnic!

Inside an Empty Governors Island Mansion

A few of the old mansions that housed the important military families were open for walkthroughs and turned into museums and stores.

Etsy Store!

Including this surprising Etsy store in one of the houses!

Fort Jay at Governors Island

And Fort Jay still sits waiting for an attack by sea.

The entire island is screaming for a reality show if you ask me. Throw some people in those haunted military housing buildings or costume people and have them live like they did in 1890 or something.

Tear down the feral houses and build some billion dollar condos! Or tear them down and make the entire island a huge park. It’s very strange that most of this prime New York City real estate has been left exactly like it was when the coast guard left like 15 years ago, and some even before that when the military base closed in the 60s.

Manhattan from the Ferry back to Brooklyn

Pack some sandwiches and check out Governors Island before someone gets wise and stops letting the NYC peasants like me and PT get there for free, have an amazing afternoon of Statue of Liberty gazing for free, and then get home for free.

Seriously, Governors Island, I’m going to start thinking I’m back in the Midwest if you keep this up.