Governor's Island Army Airfield

The airfield was closed as a direct result of the closure of the entire U.S. Army post on Governors Island (Fort Jay). In 1964, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara announced the closure of hundreds of military installations, including the one on Governors Island, as a cost-saving measure. The base was officially decommissioned and closed in 1966, at which point all military operations, including aviation, ceased.

The site of the former airfield is now completely redeveloped and unrecognizable as an aviation facility. After the U.S. Coast Guard, who succeeded the Army, vacated the island in 1996, it was transferred to the people of New York. Today, Governors Island is a major public space, park, and cultural destination managed by The Trust for Governors Island. The land that once comprised the runway and support structures has been transformed into public open spaces, including parts of the Parade Ground, Picnic Point, and other recreational parklands. The area is now used for recreation, public art installations, cultural events, and environmental education. There are no remaining traces of the runway or airfield infrastructure.

Governors Island holds a significant place in early aviation history. In 1909, just six years after their first flight, Wilbur Wright flew from the island's Parade Ground, circling the Statue of Liberty in one of the first major public flight demonstrations in the United States. This event established the island as one of the nation's earliest aviation sites. The formal airfield was later established to support the military headquarters. During its operational years, particularly after World War II when it became the headquarters for the First United States Army, the airfield served as a convenient, short-runway facility. Its primary function was logistical and administrative, used for transporting high-ranking military personnel, VIPs, and light cargo to and from Manhattan using small, short-takeoff-and-landing (STOL) aircraft. It was never a major combat or transport hub but a vital support component for the Army's command structure in the region.

There are no plans or prospects for reopening the airfield. The island's current mission and legal framework are entirely focused on its use as a public, cultural, and educational resource. Deed restrictions prohibit permanent residential use and encourage public access. Re-establishing an airport in the middle of a popular public park, located in the highly congested airspace of New York Harbor, is logistically, environmentally, and politically infeasible. The island's value is now in its public open space, not as a transportation hub.