Adriaan Geuze and the Trust for Governors Island Preview the View from Outlook Hill

The Hills, the culmination of Governors Island’s park, have just reached full height. To celebrate this milestone, West 8, The Governors Island Trust and Alliance opened the construction site to the public on September 26 and 27.

The Hills are the culminating feature of the new park on Governors Island, which was designed by West 8. The first 30 acres of the park opened to the public in 2014. Since that time, Island visitors have seen the Hills rising at the park’s southern end.

This preview is the first time ever that the construction site has been open to visitors. “The public has been involved at every step as we designed the new park and public spaces on Governors Island,” said Leslie Koch, President of The Trust for Governors Island. Over 2000 people took advantage of the opportunity to come see the Hills in progress.

Made of recycled construction and fill material, The Hills rise 25 to 70 feet (7-21m) above the Island. The Hills will provide visitors with a 360-degree panorama of the Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor and the Lower Manhattan skyline. “You go uphill and have this panorama, where you really feel you are in the middle of the ocean,” said Geuze. The Hills are scheduled to be completed in 2016.  

Indeed with Outlook Hill rising 70 feet (21m) above the Island will soon be New York City’s newest destination. Outlook Hill features winding paths, steep shrub-covered slopes and breathtaking views. Grassy Hill provides a 25 foot (7.6m) high gentle grassy slope overlooking the Island’s new and historic landscapes and the Manhattan skyline. Slide Hill (40 feet / 12m high), hosts four slides for children and families nestled in shady trees. The 40-foot high Discovery Hill is the setting for the convergence of nature and art with site-specific art along its shady pathways. The Hills will be home to 43,000 new shrubs and more than 860 new trees.  

“Governors Island has undergone an incredible, inspiring transformation over the past few years,” said Mary Rowe, Executive Vice President of the Municipal Art Society of New York. “The next phase of this ambitious park—The Hills—will create yet another treasured piece of public space on this once-forgotten island and a new vantage point from which to behold the New York harbor where our City first took shape.”

For more information about the event visit: The Governors Island Blog