Monterrey California is probably the most beautiful place in the world. If you have never been there, the best way to describe it is that it doesn't look real. It looks like some idealized painting. Pebble Beach is there. It now costs over $400 to play one round at Pebble Beach. I have only had the chance to play there once, but I would do it again, and it is worth every penney. That being said, aside from the setting, Pebble Beach is not a particularly remarkable golf course. The world has one chance, ever, to set a World Class course in the middle of the harbor of the greatest city in the world, with the skyline as a backdrop. If they DID put such a course there, a once-in-a-lifetime round there would be a thing to remember. Life a $200 dinner at il Mulino.
Nothing else would work there. Having worked by Battery Park, I can only imagine how unpleasant Governor's Island is in the winter. I can't imagine wealthy people would want to live there just for the views. Putting Housing projects there would be a crime. We don't need another CUNY. We don't need casinos, and the problems associated with them. A public park is a nice idea, but would it really get the amount of use to justify it's existence?
A golf course on governor's island could be entirely financed along the Chelsea Piers model, and still end up being one more great feature that all NYers take pride in.
Ah man, going over to Gov Island in the early 80s with hubby's band to play a gig at the CG station was one of the highlights of our 8 years of travel. I have some of the most beautiful pictures that I took at night of the N.Y. skyline with the World Trade Center. It was the best view of NYC I've ever seen. I would love to see it restored so that everyone could enjoy it.