The Environmental Impact Statement After Two Generations

3	Ellis Island,New YorkHarbor: timecloses in on anational culturaltreasure

Introduction

More than a dozen national parks are located in New York Harbor and immediately adjacent areas of New York City and northern New Jersey. These include the Statue of Liberty, its northern neighbor Ellis Island about half a mile away, its southeastern neighbor Governors Island, the Gateway National Recreation area in Jamaica Bay, and the African Burial Ground National Monument in lower Manhattan (Figure 3.1). Ellis Island, the focus of this chapter, is one of the most important cultural sites in the United States, and arguably is the one most in need of attention because of physical deterioration of the physical structures on the South Island. This ...