I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5242

To convey certain Federal properties on Governors Island, New York, and

for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 21, 2000

Mr. GILMAN (for himself, Mr. NADLER, and Mrs. MALONEY of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Government Reform, for

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To convey certain Federal properties on Governors Island,

New York, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa4 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

5 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

6 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Governors Island Pres7 ervation Act of 2000’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

3 (1) In August 1776, the fortifications at Gov4 ernors Island, New York, provided cover allowing

5 George Washington’s Continental Army to escape a

6 British onslaught during the Battle of Long Island.

7 (2) The State of New York, for nominal consid8 eration, ceded control of Governors Island to the

9 Federal Government in 1800 to provide for the de10 fense of the United States.

11 (3) During the War of 1812, the combined fire12 power of Castle Williams on Governors Island and

13 the Southwest Battery in Manhattan dissuaded the

14 British from making a direct attack on New York

15 City, which was the largest city in and principal sea16 port of the United States at the time.

17 (4) In 1901, 4,700,000 cubic yards of fill from

18 the excavation of the Lexington Avenue Subway in

19 Manhattan were deposited to increase the area of

20 Governors Island from 90 to 172 acres.

21 (5) Governors Island played a significant role in

22 the Civil War, World War I, and World War II, and

23 continued to serve the United States Army through

24 1966.

25 (6) In 1958, the United States District Court

26 for the Southern District of New York formally rati-
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1 fied the long possession of Governors Island by the

2 United States through a condemnation proceeding

3 that required ‘‘just compensation’’ of $1.

4 (7) In 1966, the Army relocated operations

5 from Governors Island, and the United States Coast

6 Guard assumed control of the Island, an action that

7 established an integral component of the Atlantic

8 coast efforts of the Coast Guard for the following 30

9 years.

10 (8) The Admiral’s House on Governors Island

11 hosted the final summit meeting between President

12 Ronald W. Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail S.

13 Gorbachev in December 1988, where the leaders pre14 sented each other with the Articles of Ratification

15 for the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty.

16 (9) The Coast Guard ceased operations at Gov17 ernors Island in 1997, leaving 225 buildings unoccu18 pied, unused, and exposed to the harsh elements of

19 New York Harbor.

20 (10) Castle Williams is named after Lieutenant

21 Colonel Jonathan Williams, who built the semi22 circular ‘‘cheesebox’’ fort and later served as the

23 first superintendent of West Point Military Acad24 emy.
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1 (11) The pentagonal Fort Jay, named after

2 John Jay, is the complement of Fort Wood on near3 by Bedloe Island, which serves as the base of the

4 Statue of Liberty.

5 (12) Castle Williams and Fort Jay, located

6 within the Governors Island National Historic Land7 mark District, and more than 200 years of contribu8 tions to the history of the United States could be

9 lost if Governors Island were to remain vacant or be

10 sold to a private entity.

11 (13) Castle Williams and Fort Jay, key ele12 ments of the Governors Island National Historic

13 Landmark District, are worthy of continued Federal

14 protection and should be designated a unit of the

15 National Park System.

16 (14) The State of New York and the city of

17 New York have agreed to a plan to be administered

18 by the Governors Island Redevelopment Corporation,

19 a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Cor20 poration, that—

21 (A) offers what may be the only oppor22 tunity to ensure—

23 (i) public access to Governors Island;
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1 (ii) the preservation and protection of

2 historic structures on Governors Island for

3 future generations; and

4 (iii) the ability of local elected offi5 cials, local community boards, and commu6 nity organizations to participate in the re7 development of Governors Island; and

8 (B) would provide substantial educational

9 and recreational facilities to the public.

10 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol11 lows:

12 (1) To prevent the deterioration of the historic

13 military buildings on Governors Island in New York

14 Harbor.

15 (2) To ensure that Castle Williams and Fort

16 Jay are—

17 (A) retained in Federal ownership;

18 (B) available for the benefit and inspira19 tion of the people of the United States; and

20 (C) afforded protection by the National

21 Park Service as a unit of the National Park

22 System.

23 (3) To provide the general public with—

24 (A) access to Governors Island;
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1 (B) access to open park space to experi2 ence the majestic views of New York Harbor;

3 and

4 (C) opportunities that illustrate the signifi5 cant contributions of Governors Island to the

6 history of the United States.

7 (4) To return to the people of the State of New

8 York property that the State of New York conveyed

9 to the Federal Government, for nominal consider10 ation, to provide for the defense of the United

11 States.

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

13 In this Act:

14 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis15 trator’’ means the Administrator of General Serv16 ices.

17 (2) CITY.—The term ‘‘City’’ means the City of

18 New York.

19 (3) CORPORATION.—The term ‘‘Corporation’’

20 means Governors Island Redevelopment Corporation,

21 a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Cor22 poration governed by a board to be appointed by the

23 State and the City (or any successor entity).
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1 (4) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage2 ment plan’’ means the management plan prepared

3 under section 4(f).

4 (5) MONUMENT.—The term ‘‘Monument’’

5 means the Governors Island National Monument es6 tablished under section 4(a).

7 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

8 the Secretary of the Interior.

9 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State

10 of New York.

11 SEC. 4. GOVERNORS ISLAND NATIONAL MONUMENT.

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—To preserve for the benefit

13 and inspiration of the people of the United States as a

14 national monument certain historic structures and associ15 ated land located on Governors Island in New York Har16 bor, there is established a unit of the National Park Sys17 tem to be known as the ‘‘Governors Island National Monu18 ment’’.

19 (b) COMPOSITION.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Monument shall be

21 comprised of Castle Williams and Fort Jay, as de22 picted on the map entitled ‘‘Governors Island Na23 tional Monument Boundary Map’’, numbered GOIS

24 ll, and dated ll, 2000.
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1 (2) INCLUSIONS.—The Monument shall

2 include—

3 (A) the land on which Castle Williams and

4 Fort Jay are situated; and

5 (B) the land between Castle Williams and

6 Fort Jay;

7 as depicted on the map described in paragraph (1).

8 (3) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map described

9 in paragraph (1) shall be on file and available for

10 public inspection in the appropriate offices of the

11 National Park Service.

12 (c) TRANSFER.—Not later than 180 days after the

13 date of the enactment of this Act, as part of the overall

14 disposition of Governors Island, the Administrator shall

15 transfer administrative jurisdiction over the Monument to

16 the Secretary.

17 (d) RIGHTS OF ACCESS.—

18 (1) RESERVATION.—As part of the overall dis19 position of Governors Island, the Administrator, sub20 ject to agreement by the Secretary and the Corpora21 tion, shall reserve the right of access for the Sec22 retary to the Monument for purposes of operating

23 and maintaining the Monument.

24 (2) UTILITIES.—The provision of and access to

25 utilities to the Monument shall be—
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1 (A) determined as part of the disposition

2 of Governors Island in accordance with the pub3 lic service laws of the State of New York; and

4 (B) subject to agreement between the Sec5 retary and the Corporation.

6 (e) ADMINISTRATION.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—On completion of the trans8 fer under subsection (c), the Monument shall be ad9 ministered by the Secretary in accordance with—

10 (A) this Act; and

11 (B) laws generally applicable to units of

12 the National Park System, including—

13 (i) the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to estab14 lish a National Park Service, and for other

15 purposes’’, approved August 25, 1916 (16

16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.); and

17 (ii) the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to pro18 vide for the preservation of historic Amer19 ican sites, buildings, objects, and antiq20 uities of national significance, and for

21 other purposes’’, approved August 21,

22 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.).

23 (2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Sec24 retary, in consultation with the Corporation, may

25 consult, and enter into cooperative agreements, with
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1 interested entities and individuals to provide for the

2 preservation, development, interpretation, and use of

3 the Monument.

4 (f) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after

6 the date of the enactment of this Act, in consulta7 tion with the Corporation and other appropriate

8 public and private entities, the Secretary shall pre9 pare a management plan for the Monument.

10 (2) APPLICABLE LAW.—The Secretary shall

11 prepare the management plan in accordance with—

12 (A) section 12(b) of the Act entitled ‘‘An

13 Act to improve the administration of the Na14 tional Park System by the Secretary of the In15 terior, and to clarify the authorities applicable

16 to the system, and for other purposes’’, ap17 proved August 18, 1970 (16 U.S.C. 1a–7(b));

18 and

19 (B) other applicable law.

20 (3) SUBMISSION.—On completion of the man21 agement plan, the Secretary shall submit the man22 agement plan to—

23 (A) the Committee on Resources of the

24 House of Representatives; and
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1 (B) the Committee on Energy and Natural

2 Resources of the Senate.

3 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

4 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec5 essary to carry out the annual operation and maintenance

6 of the Monument.

7 SEC. 5. CONVEYANCE OF GOVERNORS ISLAND.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—

9 (1) CONVEYANCE.—Notwithstanding section

10 9101 of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (Public

11 Law 105–33; 111 Stat. 670) or any other provision

12 of law, and except as provided in paragraphs (2) and

13 (3), not later than 180 days after the date of the en14 actment of this Act, the Administrator shall convey

15 to the State of New York, for no consideration and

16 for use consistent with sections 2(a)(14) and 2(b),

17 all right, title, and interest of the United States in

18 and to Governors Island, to be administered by the

19 Corporation.

20 (2) RIGHTS OF ACCESS.—The conveyance under

21 paragraph (1)(A) shall be subject to the rights of ac22 cess described in section 4(d).

23 (3) EXCLUSION OF MONUMENT.—The Monu24 ment shall not be included in the conveyance under

25 paragraph (1)(A).
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1 (b) USE AND REDEVELOPMENT OF GOVERNORS IS2 LAND.—Upon completion of the conveyance under sub3 section (a)(1)(A), any use of the conveyed land shall be

4 consistent with sections 2(a)(14) and 2(b), and in compli5 ance with—

6 (1) the New York State Environmental Quality

7 Review Act (Sections 0101 through 0117 of the En8 vironmental Conservation Law of New York); and

9 (2) the document entitled ‘‘Governors Island

10 Preservation and Design Manual’’—

11 (A) developed by the Administrator in ac12 cordance with—

13 (i) the National Historic Preservation

14 Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.); and

15 (ii) applicable State and local historic

16 preservation law; and

17 (B) as approved by the Administrator,

18 State, and City.

Æ