Roosevelt Island
- This article refers to the island in New York City. For the National Park in Washington, DC, see: Theodore Roosevelt Island. For the island in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica, see: Roosevelt Island (Southern Ocean).
Roosevelt Island, pop. 9,500, is a long, narrow island in the East River of New York City, lying between the island of Manhattan to its west and Queens on Long Island to its east. It is two miles (3 km) long and 800 feet wide (240 m) at its widest point, with a total area of 147 acres (0.6 km²). Despite its midriver position, Roosevelt Island is under the legal jurisdiction of the Borough of Manhattan and New York County.
Before colonization it was called Minnahanock by the aboriginal Indians. In 1637 the Dutch purchased the island and renamed it Varckens Island (Hogs Island). It was named Manning's Island after captain John Manning from 1666 to 1686, Blackwell Island from 1686 to 1921 and Welfare Island from 1921 to 1973, when it was renamed for President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The island was for many years devoted to hospitals and asylums. Welfare Penitentiary was closed in 1935.
In recent years the island has been developed as a residential community with a number of high-rise apartment buildings; the long-term care facilities remain at both the northern (Coler Hospital) and southern (Goldwater Hospital) ends of the island. Many foreign diplomats also live on the island, due to its close proximity to the United Nations.
Roosevelt Island is connected to Manhattan by subway and aerial tramway, and to Long Island City in Queens by a short bridge and by subway.
The Roosevelt Island Tramway is claimed by the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) to be the only aerial tramway in North America specifically intended for commuter use, although it is also often used for sightseeing purposes.
Much of the island is a car-free area.
RIOC operates on-island shuttle bus service from apartment buildings to the subway and tramway. Queens Surface Transit, under contract from the Metropolitan Transporation Authority (MTA) also operates bus service to and from Long Island City in Queens.
Notable Residents and Visitors
Prisoners on Blackwells and Welfare Island:
- Boss Tweed -served one year on corruption-related charges
- Emma Goldman -several times, for activities in support of anarchism, birth control and against the draft in WWI
- Mae West -served eight days on public obscenity charges for her play Sex
Exposed conditions on Blackwells Island:
- Nellie Bly -went undercover as a patient in the Women's Lunatic Asylum
- Charles Dickens -described local conditions in his American Notes (1842)
Modern residents of Roosevelt Island:
External links
- An Overview of Roosevelt Island (http://newmedia.jrn.columbia.edu/2003/islands/zone4/roosevelthistory.html)
- Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (http://www.rioc.com/)
- The Main Street WIRE - Roosevelt Island's community newspaper (http://www.nyc10044.com)