Adams breaks ground on Harbor School expansion for green jobs

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, joined by key city officials, broke ground today on a transformative expansion of the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School on Governors Island.

This significant project will double the school’s campus, adding specialized facilities to equip young New Yorkers for promising careers in green industries, a cornerstone of the city’s “Harbor of the Future” vision.

“We’re laser-focused on preparing young New Yorkers for good-paying jobs of the future, and this historic expansion of the Harbor School will allow us to do just that,” said Mayor Adams. “The additional classroom and training space will help us ensure that our kids benefit from the 400,000 green jobs our city will host by 2040. Harbor School graduates will work on the wind turbines that will power 500,000 homes in our city, invent green technologies that we can’t even imagine yet, and more.”

The expansion will include new buildings, additional classrooms, a competition-sized pool, gymnasium, and state-of-the-art laboratories for career-focused training in maritime and environmental sciences. This upgrade aligns with the Adams administration’s commitment to transforming New York Harbor into an economic engine for climate-focused innovation and green technology.

“From the New York Climate Exchange to the expansion of the Harbor School, Governors Island is proof of New York City’s leadership in climate technology and education,” said First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer. “The Harbor School’s new facilities — and Governors Island more broadly — continue to showcase how education, research, and industrial development function together to bring good jobs to the five boroughs for the expanding climate tech industry.”

Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi echoed the sentiment, emphasizing the urgency of climate education: “We say kids are ‘internet natives’ — smarter and better versed than the rest of us on the way modern technology works. Well, they’re going to be ‘climate change natives’ too — better prepared than any generation prior to take on the realities and challenges of climate change with the urgency it requires.”

The Harbor School is central to the city’s green economy goals. In partnership with organizations like the Billion Oyster Project, the school immerses students in hands-on environmental stewardship and maritime activities, instilling responsibility for New York Harbor and cultivating future leaders in these fields.

Trust for Governors Island President and CEO Clare Newman celebrated the development, saying, “Over the past 14 years, thousands of young New Yorkers have had transformational educational experiences on Governors Island, using the Harbor as a living classroom. We are proud to collaborate with our partners to expand opportunities for students and empower the environmental leaders of tomorrow.”

The new facilities aim to accommodate an additional 445 students and enhance the school’s unique curriculum, funded by the New York City Council and the Manhattan Borough President’s Office. The expansion of the Harbor School adds momentum to broader city initiatives, including the New York Climate Exchange and investments in climate tech at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, supporting nearly 400,000 green jobs projected by 2040.

“We are committed to opening all career paths for our children, and our historic expansion of the New York Harbor School will give us a new arsenal of tools to prepare them for good-paying maritime careers,” said New York State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar. “We are charting a course to sustainable, innovative waterways addressing the needs of New Yorkers.”