The View from Roosevelt Island

Photo by myself from Roosevelt Island.

The view of the Upper East Side is pretty spectacular from Roosevelt Island, a small island in the East River, between Manhattan and Long Island City. The tower of the UN Headquarters, located at First Avenue between 42nd and 48th Streets, can be seen on the right.

Ahead, the Queensboro Bridge hovers over the island, connecting Manhattan and Queens. The Roosevelt Island Tram is stopped in mid-air in front of an apartment tower. The tram is being renovated and will re-open in November.

The tram played a prominent role at the end of the movie, Spiderman.

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Roosevelt Island has an interesting and checkered history, having housed a smallpox hospital, lunatic asylum, penitentiary, several other hospitals and a tiny lighthouse.

There are tons of apartment buildings there now, some built in the late 60's, others very recent. Mark, Rupert and I visited on Sunday. A friend of ours moved there, lured by the large apartments and slightly lower rents.

I admit I had creepy preconceptions of what Roosevelt Island would like, but it's nice! Tons of families live there, and the park space is lovely. The only drawback is that it feels slightly isolated, without too many shops or restaurants to choose from.

To get to Roosevelt Island, pedestrians use the tram from the Upper East Side or the F line subway to the Roosevelt Island stop. There are many buses and cars have access from the 63rd Street bridge in Long Island City.

Related posts: The View from Downstream, Different Vistas and On Six Word Memoirs in Print.