The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-26
GOVERNORS ISLAND o Il PARK.
Dunn Sees the Mayer About It ana the Mayor
Says met y Had Iden.o

Dunn Secs the Mayer About It ana the Mayor
Says 'Not u had Iden.o
Farmer Dunn of tho Weather Bureau has en-.
listed In tho effort 10 get Governors Island
from the:General Government and transform it
into q park and public playground. Further
more, Mayor Van Wyck gave tho scheme SO
much approval yesterday az to say the idea was
not o bad enc, and this In SPITE Of tho fact that
he had before declared that there could BIO no
money available for more small parks for some
time to come. Governors Island has been tho
property of tho United States since 1900. A
great many people think that It was the property
Of the Livingston estate and that it was trans
ferred to the Government for use as o military
use it for that purpose. with tho condition that
when its use for that purpose ceased It should
5 TSs Tsa to the . bbtyinfssst ss t sssa Island dhj isa Is T Sssos:
It was called GoverneerEs Island, was the prop.
there were some Notifications there. In 1899,
when the island was considered q natural point
obedience for tho harbEr' the city appsropriated
year following. the State ceded inc island to the
except In the matter Of executing criminal or
civil processes. This jurisdiction was retained
~ yo the ,e,s state; ;,a tn Jafa Grant sts Fl the STATE ;h was n,d to run
OF the United States and be used for public pur-
pose and no longer"
the Gevern%e q y GSs. The i kSlSe' From m time to
time there have been plans to induce tho Gov
eminent to give up tho island. but they have al.
ways boon frowned on by the officers Of the De-
partment OF the East, q. s. A. Tho island Is
tho headquarters of the department. and the
officers have fine houses there. The plans have
never gone beyond the mere suggestion. This
duced a bill in Congress providing for the sale
Of tho island to the city and its TRANSFORMATION
into q park. It has been asserted that tho real
motive of this bill is to obtain possession of tho
island 80 that one of tho piers of q new bridge
from tho Battery to Atlantic avenue, Brooklyn,
may DO built there. The War Department has
already refused permission to use the island as
Il In fact o defence of the inner harbor.
Mr.. Dunn, when he called on the Mayor yes
terday. urged that official to favor Congressman
Bradley's bill. He said that the island was not
necessary as q military reservation and that the
headquarters Of tho army, and tho part Of the
transferred TO Fort Wadsworth.:or some other
point. The fort and the other buildings on tho
Island need not DO torn down, and IL in tho future
the Government found 1t desirable to take back
the Island for the purpose OF defence 1t could be
transferred without difficulty or delay, Nh.
Dunn also told tho Mayor that tho island was
adapted by nature for park purposes. could be
well as the cost of maintaining the island as q
park would be paid by the rental of privileges.
When Mr.. Dunn had finished the Mayor 70.
marked that the idea was not q bad one.
Shipping mon say that Governors Island
could be put to much better use than a park, IL
need Of additional dock facilities and say that
the island could be made o. great commercial
and shipping point and that for that purpose its
value would be lmost incalculable.