Governors Island Will Be Open Year Round

NEW YORK CITY — A welcome escape from New York City's typical hustle and bustle will now be open all year — and just a short ferry ride away.

Governors Island will shift to a year-round, seven-day-a-week schedule starting Nov. 1, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced.

A new NYC Ferry route to Coney Island will service Governors Island to accommodate the new schedule, he said.

"We are going to have now, rather than a very limited schedule, historically from May to October, it's going to be year-round so that people can go and enjoy everything on Governors Island," he said Monday.

The 172-acre island in New York Harbor opened wide to the public in 2006 after decades as a military installation.

More and more visitors trekked to the quiet space over the years — and it proved a respite to frazzled New Yorkers during the coronavirus pandemic.

City Council Member Margaret Chin, whose district covers the island, welcomed the news it will go to a year-round schedule.

"If people can't afford to go on vacation, just go to Governors Island and you will feel like you're on vacation," she said.

Governors Island starting Nov. 1 will be open from 7 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. NYC Ferry service will be offered on the South Brooklyn Route during weekdays and non-summer weekends, in addition to the existing Pier 11/Wall Street summer shuttle.