Roosevelt Island

Roosevelt Island is an island on the East River. It is counted as part of the Upper Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was formerly known as Welfare Island, from 1921 to 1973, and as Blackwell's Island, after the Blackwell farmhouse, before that. Roosevelt Island is located near to Manhattan, and is part of the borough of Manhattan and New York County.

Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Roosevelt Island, New York City
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roosevelt_Island-1889_Chapel.jpg
Author: Pharos


Roosevelt Island is roughly two miles long. It covers an area on only 0.279 square miles, and has a population of around 12,000. Most of the people living in Roosevelt Island stay in rental properties. The master plan for Roosevelt Island, drawn up in 1969 by the New York State Urban Development Corporation, forbade the use of automobiles on the island. Residents are to park their car in a large garage and use public transport.

Although located directly under Queensboro Bridge, it is not accessible from the bridge itself. It is connected to Manhattan via the Roosevelt Island Tramway and the New York City subway. The Roosevelt Island station, served by the F train, is 100 feet below ground, one of the deepest station in the New York City subway system.

Today much of Roosevelt Island remains car free although the MTA Bus operates a network of buses on the island.

How to reach Roosevelt Island

Take the F train to the Roosevelt Island subway station. From there, you can take the bus anywhere on the island.

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