I wonder if the landscape architects who came up with the five proposals had a clear idea of who their most likely visitors will be -- tourists or Manhattanites.

If ferries to Governors' Island will leave from Battery Park, the new park will have to compete for tourists with the Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island. None of the five proposals seems interesting enough to compete with the other two attractions.

The other visitors to the park might be Manhattanites looking for exercise or a breath of fresh air.

I think choosing a specific group, tourists OR Manhattanites, and then tailoring the park to meet the interests of that particular group, will bring the most success. Trying to create something that will appeal to both tourists and Manhattanites will not work.

Given the ongoing growth of the financial district as a residential area, I think it should be primarily oriented towards natives rather than tourists (although this being NYC, it will attract tourists just by virtue of its location). In addition to serving lower Manhattanites, the park could easily be made accessible to Brooklyn residents with a short ferry route, possibly connecting to the proposed DUMBO waterfront park (creating a kind of greenbelt, including a sea-green section!). Extra "attractions" would tend to make it more of a tourist destination; to keep it NY'er-centric, among other reasons, I prefer the long meadow design, which is more natural and park-like, is size-appropriate, and makes the most of the spectacular siting of the park.

As a tourist I've visited Helsinki's Suomenlinna, which is rather similar to Governor's Island. There are a number of museums, but most of the island is largely left to nature. It's really beautiful and I can picture Governor's Island like that if the last option is chosen.

The other options seem to be looking to 'develop' the island. What New York really lacks both for residents and visitors is something that allows you to experience a bit of nature away from buildings (unlike Central Park). New York really doesn't lack auditoria or hotels.