New York is a city that has undergone various changes throughout history to become what it is today. This is seen from the ancient times when the Dutch make the Governors Island their base of operations in 1964. The base then grew so fast that after one year they turned it into a fort signifying the tremendous change in the island. They even had to cross the water from the island to the port (Paumgarten).
The change is also evident in the change of ownership of the Nutten Island in 1937 from the natives to the Wouter Van Twiller after purchasing it. He built a mansion and looked after his goat but later returned to Holland after being summoned due to incompetence where the island ownership was back to the public. It then switched ownership to the colonial governors, Dutch and then the British Lord Cornbury. Possession then passed to Continental Army after the Lord went to prison, then to the state of New York and finally to the coast Guard in 1966. The New York then bought the Island back in 2003 for a dollar (Paumgarten).
The activities on the island also show significant change. Initially, the island was used as pasture grounds then the British, Dutch and colonialists tried various investments on it including sawmill, tobacco, pheasant preserve and a fort. Currently, the Governors Island is being used as a landfill (Paumgarten). This demonstrates the various activities that has been associated with New York. The infrastructure has also changed considerably. Initially, there were no buildings but after Twiller built a mansion. He also built some wind mills which were not operational since they were built in an area that did not receive wind. The advancement continued when it was made a base of operations which grew into a fort and a cannon at last with some buildings. The coast guard left behind 120 buildings, a prison and a motel, a hospital, public school, barracks, firehouse, a public school all of which had been developed over time (Paumgarten).
