Governors Island occupies 172 acres in New York Harbor, approximately one-half mile from Battery Park in Lower Manhattan and one-quarter mile from Brooklyn. Planning is underway for the development of the Island with a mix of public parkland and recreational amenities along with commercial, academic and real estate development.

In November 2006, Harbor School was selected to be the first tenant of the island. And in April 2008, the New York City Department of Education signed a 40 year lease for Buildings 550 (main academic building) and 134 (the future Marine Science and Technology Center)

The new facilities on Governors Island will place students in the center of the maritime economy and aquatic environment in New York. By immersing students in the maritime experience, the school will teach young people the skills necessary to help utilize, study and protect water resources in New York and far beyond.

The future MAST Center (Building 134) is a 9,000 square foot, two-story structure. Located alongside the water and partially constructed over the harbor, the MAST Center will be critical to our Marine Science Programs.

It will house aquaculture facilities in an open water system, so that native New York species—oysters, mussels, horseshoe crabs, lobsters and blackfish—may be raised using water directly from the harbor. This gives students the responsibility for leading the effort to restore the Harbor to its historic levels of diversity and abundance.

Students will also study Marine Technology—the processes humans have invented to interact safely and profitably with surrounding water. Our students will build traditional wooden boats, as well as maintain, dock and launch our small boats.

The MAST Center will also house our Commercial Diving program. Through this program, students will gain another perspective on life in the harbor while learning skills that make them more marketable to colleges and employers.