Roosevelt Island |
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Address
City Hall
Roosevelt Island, NY 10007
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Phone
212-NEW-YORK |
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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 the borough of Queens on Long Island to its east. It is two miles (3 km) long, with a maximum width of 800 feet (240 m), and a total area of 147 acres (0.6 km²). The island is part of the Borough of Manhattan and New York County. The land is owned by the city, but was leased to the State of New York's Urban Development Corporation for 99 years in 1969. Several of the residences on Roosevelt Island are cooperatives; at least one is considering privatization.
Before colonization, the island was called Minnahononck (sometimes spelled Minnahanock) by the aboriginal Indians.
In 1637, the Dutch purchased the island from the natives and named it Varckens (Hogs') Island. It was named Manning's Island after captain John Manning between 1666 and 1686, Blackwell's Island between 1686 and 1921, and Welfare Island between 1921 and 1973. Throughout the 19th Century, various hospitals, asylums, and correctional institutions were located on the island. Welfare Penitentiary was closed in 1935 after the completion of a new penitentiary on Rikers Island.
In 1973, the island was renamed again in anticipation of the building of a major United States Presidential Memorial to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The monument was intended - in part - to make the island more attractive to potential residents and visitors. It was planned as a large three-walled granite room open to the sky and facing the water at the island's southern tip, with the Four Freedoms inscribed on one wall. Owing primarily to the untimely death of the architect, the memorial was never built. Some still hope to complete the project despite the construction of a Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in the nation's capital. An alternative proposal involving calling for a large public plaza at the site also has been mooted.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the island was developed as a residential community with a number of high-rise apartment buildings. Two long-term medical care facilities (Coler Hospital in the north and Goldwater Hospital in the south) are located at opposite ends of the island. Many foreign diplomats live on Roosevelt Island because of its close proximity to United Nations headquarters on the East Side of Manhattan.
Roosevelt Island is sometimes referred to as "The Little Apple" - a jocular allusion to New York City's "Big Apple" moniker.
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