My wife and I have visited NYC often over the past 20 years. Our last trip to NYC included a tramway ride to Roosevelt Island and a long hike on the Island as evening approached and Manhattan lights turned on. It was amazing. Are there any recommendations for a place to have a relaxing dinner with a view on Roosevelt Island?
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i enjoy sitting on my Sutton Place duplex's terrace and watching the tram
how thrilling.. yawn
The forgot to mention that the monthly garage rate is less than $200 for residents. Amazing.
7
If you're planning to move to Roosevelt Island, don't rent the movie "Dark Water".
8
The island also has its own tidal energy generators and a working drawbridge -- for when the zombie outbreak begins.
11
Gee, maybe I'll empty my piggy bank and buy one of those condos for a million. Would it have been inconceivable that the city could have kept this as a place where "affordable housing was plentiful?" Of course not, but the same forces that are transforming the city into a playground for the rich didn't think that was important. The rise of the Trump voter is at least remotely connected to the utter disregard for normal working people in this country and the subsequent resentment.
5
Andrew N - If you owned a condo building and could sell a unit for a million dollars, would you voluntarily sell it for half a million instead, just to keep "affordable housing plentiful"? No, I didn't think so.
It seems that the market will bear those high prices, and so they continue.
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PM -- The suggestion that a half million dollars for a "unit" would somehow be affordable likely speaks to part of the disconnect that's at the root of income income inequality. A city w/ the resources of NYC could have done more to keep housing affordable -- "the market" need not be the last word on everything.
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Bill Chafee, who grew up in Colorado was chief architect of the Roosevelt Island Development Corporation in the early 1970s. When he introduced the idea of a "ski tram" from Manhattan it was ridiculed. He persevered and others came on board. Originally planned for East 72nd but neighborhood opposition had it moved to 59th.
7
For a decade or so I visited a resident of the island once a month. To me, the community looked like one of those visual panoramas that developers present to their investors, minuscule stick figures and supra-modern buildings laid out in the most positive way possible. I couldn't ever envision living in this structured environment and, even as a visitor, felt as though I was in a dream, a dream of unbelievable ennui that approached the borderline to a nightmare. Some people may not be strong enough for the vibrancy of the city, though, and this land of past and present sanitariums may be their promised-land...
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"The tramway goes between Manhattan and Roosevelt Island. I think that this is a terrific thing. The City's on the verge of bankruptcy, and they're putting up rides for us"
-Jerry Seinfled, c. 1977
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We were pioneers on Roosevelt Island, beginning in 1975. We raised our family there and made many wonderful friends over the years. It is gratifying to see our kids and our friends' kids come back to the Island to raise their own families. With Cornell Tech and the new ferry, it just gets better and better.
8
I thought Seoul's housing prices were very expensive, but now I'm realizing that it's better compared to NYC
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I have now returned to my native California but out of the four New York City neighborhoods I've lived in, RI was by far the best. Unlike Manhattan, it reminds you that you're living in a maritime environment.
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Any plans to bring back the Delacorte fountain?
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when will the island be under water?
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We were there during Hurricane Sandy — High, dry and electrified.
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The new 63rd/Lex connection, between the Q train and the F train (which stops at RI), has made the subway a viable commuting alternative to the tram, especially when the tram is under repair.
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The tram can certainly be one of the more thrilling ways to commute. Years ago, I commuted by bus and tram from the Upper East Side to far west Long Island City. It was an unusual, spectacular trip, until one windy winter day, the car I was in was blown into a pylon. I was pretty sure nothing terrible would happen, but it was unsettling to say the least.
11
I visited the island on holiday from Australia once and loved it. What's not mentioned in this article are the remains of the old hospital/asylum at the southern end of the island. Are they still there? What a shame if they've been torn down as it added so much to the character of the island.
4
I was at Roosevelt Island just a couple of weeks ago. It's still there, at the entrance to the Four Freedoms Monument, but inaccessible to the public. I think it's designated as a historic site.
8
I love ,love the gothic ruins of that ancient 19th century tubercular hospital. You could easily espy it from Beekman Place on the edge of Manhattan, admire it from afar across the river. See the steps touching the water where boats would have gone, once. The structure seems to have been held up by massive iron braces, but it's been fifteen years or more since I've glimpsed it. I think and pray it will be preserved as a historical site. But who knows what greedy rich people might do. I don't think there's that much demand to live on sterile and boring Roosevelt Island.
4
Sounds delectable. Ah, to start again ... and be able to afford it!
7
My late grandmother was an LPN and worked at Bird S. Coler Hospital back in the 1950's...
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Thank goodness there is a Starbucks she said sarcastically.
4
I worked at the Roosevelt Island Post Office from 1992-2014. Roosevelt Island is a small town in the middle of the worlds most dynamic city. The demographics of the population coming literally from the four corners of the globe many of whom are journalists, diplomats, scientists TV personalities made my days interesting.
And yes knowing Al Lewis and often having lunch with him was an experience. The sad part for me was getting to know people in their golden years and experiencing a loss when they pasted. As I said it was like a small town.
And yes knowing Al Lewis and often having lunch with him was an experience. The sad part for me was getting to know people in their golden years and experiencing a loss when they pasted. As I said it was like a small town.
18
We miss Don at the RI Post Office on the island. It is a great community of 14,000 persons. The new ferry gets you to Wall Street in 35 minutes and is wonderful. Cornell Tech is open and welcomes all to their cafe in Bloomberg Center. Come visit the is great community and stop by the visitor center by the island tram station. (The Smallpox Hospital is a NYC, NYS and Federal landmark and cannot be demolished, but is being barely maintained)
6
Thanks go out to the Roosevelt Island Historical Society for their tireless work in preserving history and artifacts as development continues.
5
It's not mentioned in this article, but the Island also happens to be home to one of the loveliest little non-profit preschools and infant/toddler daycares in NYC - the Roosevelt Island Day Nursery. It seems funny to think one would move their family across town for a daycare, but that's just what we (and many friends) did.
21
The view from the tram during the evening hours is priceless and one of the best kept secret attractions of NYC.
15
They should reopen an elevator and stairway from Roosevelt Island to the Queensborough Bridge walkway. Then you could be in Manhattan within five minutes.
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