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NEW YORK CITY ROOSEVELT ISLAND Fourth Place: The Island Inside New York City That You've Probably Never Heard Of PLAY YOUTUBE VIDEO Original article: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzYagmWfWYM Peter Burgess COMMENTARY I lived for many years within walking distance of the Roosevelt Island tramway. Two of my children played soccer on the island when they were growing up. The Island changed substantially over the time I was in the neighborhood ... from around 1980 to 2005. Peter Burgess
The Island Inside New York City That You've Probably Never Heard Of Fourth Place Jul 21, 2024 5.71K subscribers ... 309,555 views ... 3.3K likes Transcript 0:00 Roosevelt Island located on New York City's East River between Manhattan and queens is a unique and historically Rich area that exemplifies one particular facet of urban planning Suburban urbanism wait what does that even mean well Roosevelt Island may just be the only place located technically within the burough of Manhattan with both a suburban and urban Fabric and just how that was achieved and what exactly it looks like is quite extraordinary if you're new here this is fourth place your place to learn about us geography urbanism Transportation City Planning and more Roosevelt Island's modern history begins as far back as New York City's history originally known as Min hanok by the Native Americans the island was later renamed Blackwell's island in the 17th century when it was purchased and used for Farmland by the Blackwell family during the 17th 18th and early 19th centuries while New Amsterdam later New York City was becoming ever more populous dense and urban the Blackwell family was busy developing their Island 1:00 into a profitable Farmland making good use of the fertile soil and strategic location on the East River in 1928 however the Blackwell family sold Blackwell's Island to the city of New York for just $32,000 but their name remained associated with the island long after they had sold it this marked the end of the family's direct involvement with the island but set the stage for its transformation into a site for public institutions into the 19th and 20th centuries the island housed various public institutions including the New York City lunar Lunatic Asylum small poox hospital and a Penitentiary these institutions shaped Blackwells Island's early architectural landscape and featured mostly Gothic Revival style buildings that in their present day ruins give the island a mysterious and ominous feeling and for good reason the island was basically New York City's Alcatraz for a Time housing the mentally ill the sick and blighted and some of the most notorious and prolific criminals of the age famed English novelist Charles Dickens even visited as a part of his broader tour of the Us in 2:00 1842 while researching for his work American notes for General circulation expressed a sense of melancholy and Sympathy for the patients of the Island's Lunatic Asylum noting the oppressive and gloomy conditions he was critical of the treatment and the lack of Humane care for the mentally ill he described the alm's house where the poor and destitute were housed in the island as overcrowded and poorly managed his visit to the penitentiary revealed the Stark and punitive nature of the American prison system and Dickens was struck by the harshness of the punishment and the severe conditions under which the prisoners were kept the smallpox hospital was another point of concern for Dickens as he later described the isolation and the inadequate medical care provided to the patients the Gothic Revival style smallpox Hospital operated until the late 19th century and was later converted into other uses before falling into ruin and the remnants of the hospital stand as a haunting Historic Landmark on the island Dickens observations brought much attention to the conditions on Blackwells Island and contributed to public awareness and and 3:00 discussions about the treatment of the poor mentally ill and prisoners and suddenly the spotlight was on Blackwell's Island and for all the wrong reasons in order to better reflect the Island's primary function as a center for public institutions the New York City Board of alderman renamed Blackwell's Island to welfare Island in 1921 the name was kind of a rebranding a change in which was part of a broader effort during the Progressive Era to improve public perception and emphasize the Island's role in promoting social welfare distancing it from the historical associations with penal and mental health institutions and for the most part the city took action to go along with its new name expanding developing and enhancing its Healthcare and Social Service institutions including the construction of new hospitals these expansions reflected a broader commitment to Public Health and Welfare incorporating advances in medical care and social support systems to provide more comprehensive and humane services to its residents and Welfare Island continued to operate in such capacity for the decades following 1920 as medical and economic advancements 4:01 improve the living conditions for millions of Americans throughout the region welfare island eventually no longer needed to operate as a welfare Island and it soon underwent significant Redevelopment this Redevelopment started in the 1970s when the New York State Urban Development Corporation created a master plan to transform welfare Island into a mixed income residential Community the master plan divided the island into several residential zones with housing types ranging from affordable housing to Luxury Condominiums with notable additions such as a river walk encircling the entire Island as well as numerous other multi-purpose green spaces and public parks to go along with this Redevelopment the island once again marked a new era in its history when in August of 1973 welfare Island was renamed Roosevelt Island after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt officially the name change was an effort by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to attract new residents to the island when the first residential buildings opened Roosevelt Island's 5:01 amenities and wheelchair accessibility a remarkable feature for the time made it attractive to disabled residents when families with children many of the first residents were white middleclass families and disabled patients from the Island's hospitals due to its proximity to the headquarters of the United Nations Roseville Island attracted un employees almost as soon as the first building opened a New York Times article from 1999 described Roosevelt Island's diverse demographics as being another factor in its popularity among diploma staff one of every three Roosevelt Island residents was foreign born by the year 2000 the island also saw the introduction of modern infrastructure to go along with its new housing developments including the iconic Roosevelt Island Tramway which provides direct access and Scenic connection to Manhattan and is the Island's most popular attraction in the modern day transporting approximately 2 million passengers annually additionally the opening of the Cornell Tech campus in 2017 marked a significant Milestone rep positioning Roosevelt Island as a hub 6:01 for Innovation and technology these developments slowly and collectively transformed Roosevelt Island into a unique Urban Enclave that balances the residential the educational and the recreational and let's talk about something Roosevelt Island does extremely well public transportation as mentioned the Roosevelt Island Aerial Tram provides a direct route to and from 60th Street and Second Avenue in Manhattan's midtown east neighborhood and cost as much as a Subway ticket speaking of of Subway tickets the island can be accessed underground via the mta's F train Roosevelt Island station is one of New York City's deepest subway stations as it needed to be situated completely underneath the East River making the station's long escalator between the mezzanine and the head house a unique and remarkable necessity the island can also be accessed via two faeries within the island the Roosevelt Island operating Corporation runs a fleet of seven red buses transporting people for free to and from its 24 stops there is just one way on and off the 7:00 island for Motor Vehicles the Roosevelt Island Bridge on the Island's North Side however this large Bridge seen here does go over the island just not onto it it's the Queensboro Bridge made famous by the late great comedian nor McDonald if you know you know the island is 40 Manhattan City Blocks tall but just about one Manhattan City Block wide meaning the island has just one main vehicle thoroughfare Main Street which features most of the Island's sparse shops and restaurants instead of prioritizing retail and Commercial develop velopments like much of the rest of New York City has Roosevelt Island instead prioritizes recreational pedestrian Pathways and limited vehicular traffic with its layout it's quiet here quieter than maybe any other part of Manhattan itself safe for Central Park which by the way Roosevelt Island could fit comfortably inside of it's also incredibly beautiful not only for its nature walks and historic ruins but also because it offers one of the most unique Urban perspectives in the entire country and is an incredible case study on how well 8:00 this type of suburban urbanism Works still Roosevelt Island is hardly a tourist destination mostly due to the fact that its Redevelopment highlighted residential districts instead of mixed use ones much like a suburb if the island is known for anything by locals it's for its lack of notoriety like I said there's no retail or commercial District complete with an Apple store labo asop or blank Street Coffee Shop pretty much the only retail footprint on the island is made up of small businesses and there's a handful of pharmac season Food Markets as well as a Subway in Starbucks 2o but there are about 10 or so small businesses on the island serving everything from Mediterranean Cuisine to New York City Style Pizza of course when Roosevelt Island began redeveloping in the 1970s about a quarter of the land was set aside for Parks the primary Parks include Lighthouse octagon South Point and Four Freedoms parks and there are so many other green spaces including dog parks soccer fields tennis courts baseball fields and even an expansive community garden this aerial view shows 9:01 you just how well the Island's Redevelopment has weaved these green spaces seamlessly through the Island's buildings creating a Serene low-key and enjoyable Urban fabric for its residents this is what happens when a city prioritizes people over cars in a master plan neighborhood my favorite thing about the island is just how accessible it is anyone living in or visiting New York City can come here there's no commodification of every single space of land here something that I think many places in the US are failing at at this point in time there's no fee to get here other than whatever it costs for the subway ticket even then you could just walk right across the bridge from Queens here you're free to escape the hustle and bustle of the city life and don't have to necessarily break the bank to do it do I wish there was more affordable housing on the island of course New York City's housing woses aren't unnoticed and Roosevelt Island's abundant parking lots and structures are becoming increasingly redundant and obvious but in its current form I don't think there's that much room for improvement 10:00 on Roosevelt Island if there are to keep the Island's character and best features intact the number of Roosevelt Islands housing units as of 2020 is 568 a 14.1% increase from the 4,913 housing units in 2010 so there has been growth in the past decade and for Rosevelt Island's 11,846 person population these figures seem fairly adequate this video is sort of an antithesis to my video 2 weeks ago about how New York City is becoming unwalkable most if not all of the points I made there simply don't apply to Roosevelt Island it's very European feeling all this to say that Roosevelt Island is very much a Suburban Urban Enclave equally prioritizing a dense Urban way of life complete with eateries historic attractions Higher Learning institutions and Hospital Systems as well as a vast numerous amount of open parks and green spaces lacking any nightlife or traffic culminating in one of the most familyfriendly enjoyable places in the world I'll see you next week from fourth place

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