Governor's island – a small island just half a mile from the southern tip of Manhattan, separated from Brooklyn by buttermilk channel. It offers a great view on the sea facade of new York city: the skyscrapers of Manhattan, the statue of Liberty, the mouth of the Hudson river with scurrying hither and thither by ferries and yachts.

In 1624 there landed the first Dutch settlers. After forty years the island, like the rest of Manhattan, was ceded to the British, and in 1784 they gave it the present name – here stood the house of a British colonial Governor, is preserved.

April 9, 1776, the power of the colonists seized the island with his forty guns, to prevent the landing of British troops in new York. But two British frigates easily broke the defense of the colonists, the Continental army had to leave the island, and the entire territory of the city, until the completion of the war for independence. At the end of the eighteenth century a young country started the construction of Fort Jay and the new coastal batteries. Built according to the canons of the art of war, they played no further role in any military conflict (however, during the Civil war at Fort Jay were kept prisoners of war of the Confederation). The second major local strengthening was a round castle Williams, built in 1811 on a rocky shoal in the North-West corner of the island.

In the early twentieth century the area of the island has increased three times: here the barges took out the rock with the construction of the city's subway system. At this time the city was the headquarters First U.S. army. Reformer of new York Robert Moses proposed to connect the island to the city via the bridge, but the military refused. In 1966, replaced the army base here the U.S. coast guard.

In 1988, closed to outsiders and safe piece of land met President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

At the end of the last century left the island and the coast guard, the new York city government decided to create a public Park. Under the plan the Northern part of the island with its FORTS will retain its historic appearance, in the East and the West will be built expensive housing (taxes from it will provide funding for the project), and in the center and in the South there will be an enormous Park-Museum with artificial hills, fields and forests. Cars will be banned countryside cycle paths will cross. It is expected that the bike will be here to borrow a special, wooden. Manhattan island will be reunited, finally, high graceful bridge.

Renovation work is already underway. But now the island is highly interesting for the tourist. Castle Williams opened to the public – and this is one of the best examples of American defensive architecture. To move you can rent a bike – even four-wheel, for the whole family. At the Northern tip of the island, just across from Manhattan's battery Park, a beach.