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Congressman Fiorello LaGuardia once declared: "No greater monument to the life and activity of the Republic can be imagined than Governors Island as a national airport."
Today the Daily News looks back at one of the ideas for the island that never quite came to be, saying that when it was "nothing but a run-down firetrap of an old Army post, the War Department refused to let it go anyway, despite demand after demand from air-minded LaGuardia that the big Army polo field be ceded to the city as a flying field suitable for mail and passenger service just minutes away from Manhattan's business center."
Talk of ferries, subways and even filling in the upper bay between the island and the Battery (making it not an island at all) were discussed. However, by the time LaGuardia was Mayor he gave up the fight to build the airport there... which is probably good because what would those have folks who inhabited the secret town there have done?!
Back in the day there was an airstrip on the island, and a monument commemorating its early aviation history can still be found there. The News says that after all this time, no good use has been found for the island... but where else are '20s era parties going to be thrown?
Related: Check out the future of Governor's Island here, and of course the Central Park Airport idea.
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"The News says that after all this time, no good use has been found for the island"
It's being turned into a city park with regular ferry service from the port authority. People say it will be downtown's answer to Central Park.
Check out the proposals: http://www.govisland.com/Get_Involved/public_meetings.asp
Here's a better link about the new park: http://govislandblog.com/designing-a-new-park/
An airport there would have very limited use as planes would only be able to approach and take off from the south east due to the height of the Manhattan skyline. It probably would have added restrictive height limits to buildings in downtown Brooklyn as well. Not to mention the noise.
If only amphibious seaplanes could make a comeback. There was a Japanese proposal over 30 years ago to build a superjumbo seaplane that would have dwarfed even the Airbus A380. It would have carried 1200 passengers on 3 levels and there wouldn't be a need for reinforced runways like the A380 requires. Unfortunately, even for seaplanes, Governors Island is a poor spot for an airport. Nobody wants to have to park their cars at a ferry terminal and ride a ferry to get to their plane. Maybe Red Hook would be better. But considering how busy NY harbor is, I'm not sure I'd want planes zooming through its waters.
An airport? No. The terminal for the supersonic intercontinental undersea rail line, on the other hand...
Waldo has a good idea. I second it.
An airport would have been obsolete soon after the jet age started. The runways wouldn't have been long enough for the earliest jet airliners, never mind today's jumbos. Governors Island is a fraction of the size of JFK. You might squeeze JFK's main terminals onto the island, but forget any runways, taxiways, maintenance hangars, etc. And people would scream bloody murder about lack of parking.