A very important part of New York City throughout its history must be Governors Island also called Pagganuck (meaning land of nuts.) Many historic things have happened there, from it being a Native American burial ground when the isle of Manna-Hatta which sat between the twin rivers of Mauritius from the Lenape tribes meaning land of many hills and the river that flows both ways. There are two forts built on Governors island which were used during the Revolutionary war to defend against the British, one named Castle Williams and the other Fort Jay. These buildings still had the armature on the roofs as well as keeping everything else perfectly preserved. After the Revolutionary war the island was converted into a base for the Civil war and had many housing units made for the military that was stationed there, again these are still standing in almost pristine condition. Recently a high school was built on the island called The Urban Assembly New York Harbor School. I attended the school in its first four years on the island and as such had an almost exclusive opportunity to see the island in its untouched state before it was converted into yet another tourist spot.

During the time frame of 2010 – 2014 I attended the Harbor School. At this time many of the buildings were closed and boarded off. Due to having high levels of asbestos. The castle and fort were also closed due to many reports of them being haunted as there was distinct sounds of chains rustling along with moaning going on that could be heard at night time. When I attended the school my friends and I, like any responsible teenager, would go explore the island when we heard that it was off limits and that it was actually federally forbidden from being ventured into. Many of the houses that we entered was molded and had cobwebs absolutely everywhere. The buildings were still in the state that they had been in from the civil war. It was incredibly stunning and beautiful to see. We found books and diaries that were never moved, perfectly preserved beds and dinner sets. In a couple houses were broken as they were never repaired from the cannon fire that happened there. Most of the island was just a field with random bumps in the ground. We later learned that the bumps were actually mounds, made for the burial of the natives as they used the island for their graves.

The most intriguing part of our exploration would be when we explored Fort Jay. We had heard that it was haunted and explicitly forbidden for us to enter. So as responsible teens we snuck into it during one of our overnights we had. Our school had sleep overs rather often as we would sleep on our ships, school and sometimes even in the fields with the mounds. As everyone slept we went into the fort and through some rigorous climbing managed to get into the building. All of us were terrified as it was the most eerie thing, just like everything else on the island, it was perfectly preserved from the civil war. Come to find out, Fort Jay was actually a prison. There were many many jail cells and old looking handcuffs along with anklets with the big balls attached to them. The freakiest part though was… remember earlier when I said there was reports of a haunting? All of us were together just sneaking as quietly as we could when suddenly from the cell next to us, A LOCKED CELL, we heard chains rustling and moving. The amount of speed that overcame us was insane and I will never forget it. We ran to the nearest stairs we could and ran and ran and it turned out we ended up running onto the roof. While we were cursing ourselves for going up instead of down in all the confusion it ended up letting us see something magnificent. There were cannons lined up along the roof with cannonballs piled up next to them all. There also was such a gorgeous view though. We could see all the lights of Manhattan along with the lights of New Jersey and coming over the horizon of the ocean was the sunrise. It was a view that is unforgettable and am grateful for having the opportunity for it.

Recently the island was renovated for tourists, opening in the summer and closing on Labor Day.  All the buildings that were perfectly preserved were torn down and remodeled to be more modern. The mounds were flattened so the ground would have a more uniform appearance and many of the trees were removed to allow space for more buildings and playgrounds to be made. They then boarded up the Fort and the Castle. The last time I was there, I recall that they even had a farm that was growing chickens and pigs there. They added a playground for young children and added a bike stand from which bicycles and quadracycles could be rented. The part of the island that had all the trees was renovated into a golf course. Now the island is becoming a big tourist destination and the history of it is being slowly erased. Most of the people on the island during the summer don’t know that they’re eating on the graves of Native Americans. It would be bad publicity. The don’t know about all the barracks that was there as they’re all gone now. The only remnant is the castle and fort but those have also been changed drastically as they’re all decorated to look pretty and the cannons + cannonballs along with the handcuffs and footcuffs have been removed. The only good news is that according to the park rangers, they have to go in every morning and fix some of the decorations in the cells as they’re constantly being destroyed or changed every day.

All in all, the juxtaposition of these two Governors islands are saddening as the New York that’s being seen now is not my New York. There is no history anymore there is only a money grab.