The Vision: Harbor Access, Experiences & Treasures

The National Parks of New York Harbor [NPNH] hosts approximately 18 million visitors annually—4 million who visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island and over 9 million users who enjoy Gateway National Recreation Area, America's first urban national park, as well as millions more who visit the other special places of NPNH. Together, the Harbor Conservancy and NPNH guide a new era of stewardship with a transformative vision of the waters and land we share:

• We have provided the first seamless transportation plan. Harbor Access to national park sites is vital and over $40 million in new docks have been built. With the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the first waterborne access via a subsidized commuter-recreational ferry was launched to a national park site, Jacob Riis Park on the Rockaway Peninsula.
• We have strengthened the bonds between national parks and people with Harbor Experiences, the first programming that fosters an understanding and appreciation of the harbor's rich cultural and natural heritage as embodied by our parks and neighboring historic sites. Through our nine harbor and walking tours, we enliven history and unleash the educational power of the estuary by offering visitors special opportunities to come together in diverse groups reaching over 200,000 new visitors annually.
• We are the first to preserve and protect our unheralded Harbor Treasures, the cultural riches of Federal Hall National Memorial and the natural wonders of Jamaica Bay as we begin to harness the energy of many stakeholders.