August 16, 2022
School’s Footprint to Grow From Two to Four Buildings, Including One Soon-to-Be Constructed Facility
New Expansion Plan to Include Additional Classroom Space, Short-Course Pool, Competition Gymnasium, and New Specialty Lab Facilities to Support the School’s Unique Maritime and Environmental Curriculum
Plan Follows Commitment Outlined in Mayor Adams’ Blueprint for NYC’s Economic Recovery
NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams immediately introduced new plans to increase the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School on Governors Island. Doubling the college’s footprint from two to 4 buildings — together with one which will probably be newly constructed — the plan will carry extra classroom house and new amenities, together with a pool, gymnasium, and lab house to help the college’s distinctive maritime and environmental curriculum. The plan is the product of a partnership between the Trust for Governors Island, the New York City Department of Education (DOE), and the New York City School Construction Authority (SCA).
“For many New Yorkers, Governors Island is a place to get away over the weekend. And for so many others, it is a place to learn about our world or prepare our city for the threats of climate change,” stated Mayor Adams. “This project will give our young people the best of all worlds: a holistic, high-quality education, brand new facilities to help students learn, and access to one of our city’s gems where nature truly is the classroom.”
“The Urban Assembly Harbor School expansion will provide our youth with brand-new facilities, a unique learning environment, and exposure to a city treasure in Governors Island,” stated First Deputy Mayor Lorraine Grillo. “Thank you, Mayor Adams, the School Construction Authority, and all the city and community stakeholders for making this project possible.”
“Governors Island has proven itself to be a recreational, cultural, and educational resource for over a decade in partnership with the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School,” stated Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer. “We know the exceptional students at the Harbor School have bright futures, and I am excited to see all they can accomplish with state-of-the-art expanded space and resources.”
Expansion plans introduced immediately embrace the development of a new, state-of-the-art facility positioned on a web site inside the Island’s Western Development Zone. The new facility will home a competition-sized pool to help the college’s distinctive water-dependent maritime packages, a new gymnasium, and expanded laboratory house devoted to career-technical coaching and analysis. The new facility would be the first new development constructing positioned inside a improvement zone on Governors Island since its switch from federal to native management and will probably be a key element of the belief’s deliberate multi-tenant Center for Climate Solutions. The development of the new pool, gymnasium, and laboratory facility will reveal daring sustainable and resilient design as outlined within the belief’s targets for the Climate Center and the island’s total transformation.
The School Construction Authority may even renovate Building 555 — a chosen landmark constructing initially constructed in 1938 as household housing by the United States Army — to help 32,000 sq. ft of extra classroom house. Both tasks will increase the Harbor School’s amenities on Governors Island from two buildings to 4. The total growth undertaking consists of capital funding help from the New York City Council and the Manhattan Borough President’s Office.
The first year-round tenant on Governors Island since its switch from federal to native management in 2003, the mission of the Harbor School — a DOE public highschool — is to supply a college-preparatory schooling constructed upon New York City’s maritime expertise with a spotlight on environmental stewardship. With its companions — together with the Billion Oyster Project — the college develops genuine actions for its college students on, round, and associated to the water that creates a way of accountability to the New York Harbor and develop a new era of maritime advocates, lovers, employees, and decision-makers. The Harbor School at present occupies almost 80,000 sq. ft throughout two buildings positioned inside the Governors Island Historic District, together with Building 550 and the Marine and Science Technology Center, which helps the college’s water dependent exercise.
The growth of the Harbor School comes at a transformational second because the belief strikes ahead, with plans to develop a Center for Climate Solutions, which is able to increase partnership, studying and coaching alternatives for college students on Governors Island. The belief is at present within the means of attracting an anchor academic and analysis establishment as a part of the Center for Climate Solutions, a groundbreaking initiative designed to additional New York City as a world chief in efforts to answer the local weather disaster. A key a part of Mayor Eric Adams’ Blueprint for New York City’s Economic Recovery, the undertaking will help the analysis, improvement, and demonstration of equitable local weather options for New York City — that may be scaled and utilized globally.
“The Urban Assembly Harbor School is an incredible example of how a school’s campus and facilities can help mold our students’ passions, interests, and, ultimately, their path to economic security. Most importantly, we listened to and heard from the students, educators, and families of the Harbor School, who advocated for these facility investments,” stated DOE Chancellor David C. Banks. “I look forward to the impact that these new and sustainable facilities, including a new pool, gymnasium, and laboratory, will have on this unique school community, and thank the School Construction Authority and the Trust for Governors Island for their continued partnership.”
“For over a decade, the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School has utilized Governors Island and New York Harbor as a living classroom, where students from across the five boroughs receive career training in maritime and environmental fields and are empowered to take action in the face of climate change, and today’s announcement of an expanded campus means more students than ever will have the opportunity to experience its unique curriculum,” stated Clare Newman, president and CEO, Trust for Governors Island. “We’re honored to have worked with Mayor Eric Adams, the School Construction Authority, Schools Chancellor David Banks, and the Harbor School community to develop new state-of-the-art laboratory and aquatic facilities here on Governors Island, where students will gain exposure to real-world training for jobs in the maritime, climate, and the environmental fields.”
“I am thrilled that the SCA will be able to improve and expand upon our original plans for the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School,” stated SCA president and CEO Nina Kubota. “The collaborative effort between the SCA, DOE, and the Trust for Governors Island has led to this terrific opportunity for the school’s unique maritime programming to serve even more New York City students as well as an additional resource for the community.”
“The expansion of Urban Assembly New York Harbor School brings to life our chancellor’s vision of reimagining the student learning experience,” stated Fred Walsh, highschool superintendent for CUNY and the Urban Assembly, DOE. “We are thrilled about the plan to expand and improve the school’s facilities, which will ultimately expand opportunities for students across the city. Students who attend the Harbor School engage in a wide range of maritime- and marine science-focused career and technical education (CTE) programs and work-based learning, leading to industry certification, and preparing them for successful experience in college or a career of their choice. As our world changes and the need for climate change solutions evolves, this expansion will enrich the lives of countless students, while preparing future graduates to be at the forefront of the field and enter the workforce prepared to lead. We look forward to seeing the impact the expansion has on all of the students and families who join the Harbor School Community.”
“I am proud to have long championed Governors Island; it is truly one of our city’s hidden gems,” stated U.S. Representative Jerry Nadler. “I have long supported the Harbor School on Governors Island. I believe that its educational mission is so important today, which is why after many years of advocacy it is great news that the School Construction Authority and the city are finally announcing an expansion of the school and building, a much-needed pool, gymnasium, and new science labs.”
“The New York Harbor School’s CTE program is one of the most unique in the city, and because of that, careful considerations must be made when developing a space that is intended to be of optimal service to the school community there,” stated Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. “I am extremely pleased to see that SCA is acting on those considerations and centering equity as it relates to a school whose mission is to provide robust, unique, on-water experiences for their students and offer pathways into maritime careers.”
“I am thrilled that the Harbor School will be expanding its facilities and that they will finally get their long-awaited swimming pool and gymnasium,” stated New York State Senator Brian Kavanagh. “For nearly twenty years, the Harbor School has offered unique educational opportunities to a diverse student body. Learning marine biology, sailing, and other watercraft skills, and collaborating with the Billion Oyster Project, all prepare students for careers engaging with and being good stewards of our natural environment — and serving Governors Island, the harbor, and New York. The aquatic center will allow students to take full advantage of the school’s maritime-themed academics. I am glad that the expansion includes additional classroom space, giving more students the chance to experience this exceptional education on Governors Island. Thank you to the trust, the School Construction Authority, Principal Jeff Chetirko, the Harbor School PTA, the students, Community Board 1, and all of the dedicated advocates who helped make this possible.”
“I am excited to see that after years of advocacy from parents, community members, and elected officials, Harbor School is finally getting the resources it deserves,” stated New York State Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou. “It is vital that we support our CTE programs and that we increase access to specialized resources and other facilities for our students. This proposal does both, and I am proud to have advocated for these projects.”
“Since taking office, we have been working with the Harbor School staff and parents to advocate for a full-sized competitive pool for their students,” stated New York City Councilmember Christopher Marte. “We are so excited that the School Construction Authority has heard our call and committed to creating an incredible facility for one of our district’s most unique public high schools. Harbor School students have unique opportunities to graduate high school with skills that make them uniquely qualified to work green jobs and with our waterways. However, the lack of access to a competitive-sized swimming pool has left a significant gap in this education. The addition of this pool shows the power of community activism and the willingness of the School Construction Authority to work with parents and staff.”
“CB1 is thrilled that the Harbor School will finally have their long-awaited aquatics center on Governors Island,” stated Tricia Joyce, chairperson, Youth and Education Committee, Manhattan Community Board 1 (CB1). “The School Construction Authority and the Trust for Governors Island responded to PTA and community feedback to find a solution, and the location and design of the new building will make this special program for environmental science and maritime careers on the water whole at last. We thank our elected officials for their tireless support of education in Community District 1.”
“We are thrilled and excited that the New York Harbor School’s long quest for an aquatics center and gym will finally have a facility empowering success for this special program of environmental science and maritime careers in our city on the water,” stated Nan Richardson, chair, SEA committee; and Amy Koza, PTA president, New York Harbor School. “Gratitude to the Trust for Governors Island and School Construction Authority and to the chancellor for their commitment to a visionary future of education, as well as to Congressman Nadler, Councilmember Marte, Senator Kavanagh, Assemblymember Fall, Assemblymember Niou, and Manhattan Borough President Levine for their unflagging support and belief in innovative learning. Every single family and friend of Harbor School past, present, and future, will be joyous at this news.”
“The Urban Assembly New York Harbor School community greatly appreciates the support of the Trust for Governors Island and the School Construction Authority for providing our public school the necessary tools to meet the requirements of our seven career and technical education pathways,” stated Jeffrey Chetirko, principal, The Urban Assembly New York Harbor School. “This investment will ensure greater opportunities to prepare our students to pursue careers in the blue and green economies of the future and continue to appreciate and protect our city’s greatest natural resources, New York Harbor and Governors Island. These resources will create equitable facilities, allowing New York City students to learn to swim, space for physical education, and state-of-the-art facilities that will support the environmental work we do with the Billion Oyster Project.”
“The Urban Assembly’s ability to provide robust work-based learning and career pathways in the maritime industry has been strengthened by this expansion,” stated David Adams, CEO, The Urban Assembly. “We sit up for persevering with the work of creating the subsequent era of stewards and leaders of the New York Harbor.”
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