Roosevelt Island is an island in the East River, in New York City , New York, in the northeastern United States. In the 1800’s, when the island was known as Blackwell’s Island, the city built hospitals and prison facilities there. Residential development began there in the late 1900’s. Southpoint Park, home to Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, lies on the southern end of the island.
The narrow, 147-acre (60-hectare) island extends about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from its north to south. It lies in the East River, a channel that connects Upper New York Bay to Long Island Sound . A subway line links Roosevelt Island to the New York City boroughs (districts) of Manhattan and Queens . Above ground, the Roosevelt Island Bridge connects the island to Queens. The Tram, an aerial cable car system, links the island to Manhattan. The Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, which connects Manhattan and Queens, crosses over the island. However, there is no access to the island from the bridge.
Before Dutch settlers arrived in the New York area during the 1600’s, Native Americans knew the island as Minnehanonck, translated as Nice Island. The Dutch called it Varckens Eylandt, meaning Hog Island because hogs were raised there.
The British seized control of the city in 1664. In 1668, a British grant gave what is now Roosevelt Island to John Manning, a British captain. Mary Manningham Blackwell, Manning’s stepdaughter, later inherited the island, and it became known as Blackwell’s Island. The Blackwell family operated a farm and a stone quarry there. The family sold the island to New York City in the 1820’s.
In the following years, the city began to construct a number of public institutions on the island to serve the city’s needs. In 1832, workers completed the first stage of construction of a prison, the Blackwell’s Island Penitentiary. An almshouse, workhouse, and three hospitals were also constructed on the island. Penitentiary Hospital was built in 1832. It later burned down and was replaced by a new building in the late 1850’s. It was renamed City Hospital and cared for both prisoners and the poor. It was later renamed Charity Hospital. The New York City Lunatic Asylum—a facility specializing in treatment for the mentally ill—operated there from 1841 until 1894. The ruins of the Smallpox Hospital, completed in 1856 and later turned into a nursing school, still stand near the island’s southern end. A lighthouse stands on the northern end of the island.
In 1921, the city changed the island’s name to Welfare Island to reflect the nature of the facilities located there. The prison closed in 1935. In 1969, the city leased most of the island to New York State’s Urban Development Corporation. The corporation opened the island to the construction of numerous residential buildings.
In 1973, the city officially changed the island’s name to Roosevelt Island, honoring President Franklin D. Roosevelt . In 1975 and 1976, residents began to move into four new buildings with some 2,000 apartments. In 1984, the state legislature established the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) and made it responsible for maintaining, operating, and developing the island. Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park opened on the island’s southern end in 2012. In 2014, construction began on the Cornell Tech campus. The graduate school, which opened in 2017, features programs in engineering, computer science, and business.
