Long-awaited $700M climate campus will open on NYC’s Governors Island in 2028: Mayor Adams

A 400,000 square-foot campus dedicated to climate change research and green job training will open on Governors Island, Mayor Adams announced Monday, capping off a decades-long effort by city officials to make innovative use of the bucolic land mass off of the southern tip of Manhattan.

The “New York Climate Exchange” campus is expected to cost $700 million to build, and will be operated by Stony Brook University, with assistance from the Trust for Governors Island and the city government, Adams said.

The campus will serve two purposes: It will be a research hub for climate scientists to explore ways in which the city can become more sustainable, and also host K-12 education initiatives and job training programs for professions in the economy’s growing green sector, like renewable energy production and construction.

Adams, who last week rolled out a blueprint for how his administration will contribute toward the city’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, cast the new campus as a sign that the Big Apple is spearheading the fight against climate change.

“We are not just going to lead the nation, we are going to win,” he said during a morning press conference on Governors Island with officials from Stony Brook and the trust.

The selection of Stony Brook University as the exchange’s operator is the culmination of a two-year bidding process that started under former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration.

Before de Blasio, ex-Mayor Michael Bloomberg convinced the federal government in 2003 to turn over control of Governors Island to the city — and local officials have ever since been trying to find a permanent use for the 172-acre patch of land, most of which currently sits undeveloped.

Monday’s announcement doesn’t mean the campus is on the cusp of opening, though, as construction isn’t expected to start until 2025, officials said. Based on that construction timeline, the campus won’t actually open until 2028.

All the funding for the project hasn’t been allocated yet, either.

The city, as part of an allocation pledged under de Blasio, will chip in $150 million. The Simons Foundation is committing another $100 million, while Bloomberg’s namesake philanthropy will donate $50 million.

The remaining $400 million hasn’t been secured yet, but will be raised by Stony Brook and the trust, according to city officials.

Adams, who’s politically aligned with Bloomberg’s moderate brand of Democratic politics, lavished praise on the ex-mayor for his role in the campus development plan.

“I cannot tell you how much former Mayor Bloomberg loves this city. I called him and stated that we are doing this project, and his only question was ‘How can I help?’” Adams told reporters. “Michael is not here with us today, but you continue to see the investments he made during his 12 years in office.”

Once complete, the campus is expected to be able to welcome 6,000 green workforce trainees every year, Stony Brook President Maurie McInnis said. It will also serve 600 postsecondary students and 4,500 K-12 students.

In addition, the campus will create 7,000 permanent jobs, including for building services, according to the mayor’s office.

Beyond classrooms, laboratories and research labs, the campus will include student and faculty housing, university hotel rooms, public art exhibition spaces and an auditorium.

Since the car-free island can only be accessed by ferry, the trust will launch a new ferry service providing shuttles every 15 minutes, officials said. That service is set to start in summer 2024.

Though he didn’t make it to the press conference, Bloomberg said in a statement that Monday’s “great news is 22 years in the making.”

“This is a great day for the island, for New York City’s future, and for the fight against climate change,” he said.