Who owned Roosevelt Island?

In colonial days, the Blackwell family, prosperous neighbors from across the river in Queens, owned Roosevelt Island (then called Blackwell's Island), where they farmed and quarried. In the early 1800s the family sought to sell the island, and around 1825 it was purchased by the City of New York.



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Roosevelt Island is owned by the city but was leased to the New York State Urban Development Corporation for 99 years in 1969. Most of the residential buildings on Roosevelt Island are rental buildings.

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The Octagon, built in 1834, is a historic octagonal building and attached apartment block complex located at 888 Main Street on Roosevelt Island in New York City. It originally served as the main entrance to the New York City Mental Health Hospital (also known as the New York City Lunatic Asylum), which opened in 1841.

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No one had built neighborhoods there before, so there were no racial or ethnic enclaves (yet), and every unit on the island was rented or sold through affordable-housing programs designed for low- and middle-income New Yorkers.

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Highly recommend this! Not just for fans of FDR, Roosevelt Island has something for anyone looking for views of midtown, and the peace that comes from green spaces surrounded by water. If you are a fan of the man, make a pilgrimage to the tip of the island and Four Freedoms Park.

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Through the 19th century, the island housed several hospitals and a prison. In 1828, the City of New York purchased the island for $32,000 (equivalent to $852,752 in 2022), and four years later, the city erected a penitentiary on the island; the Penitentiary Hospital was built to serve the needs of the prison inmates.

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The tiny island is located in the middle of the East River, parallel to Manhattan's East 46th to 85th Streets. From Queens, you can get there via the Roosevelt Island Bridge?this is the only way to walk or drive onto the island. Its entrance is at Vernon Boulevard and Main Street in Astoria.

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Metered parking is in effect from 7 AM to 7 PM, Monday through Saturday on Roosevelt Island. Meters are not in effect on Sundays and Major Legal Holidays. Roosevelt Island residents can now park their cars overnight for free in any of the islands' street parking slots.

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While still a part of Manhattan, Roosevelt Island is its opposite: quiet, homely, and mostly green-colored.

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From Manhattan, you can take the Roosevelt Island Tramway, located at East 59th Street and Second Avenue, for $2.75 one way. If you're coming from Queens, you can drive or walk onto the island via the Roosevelt Island Bridge, or take the Q102 bus line.

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At the northern tip of Roosevelt Island is another park, Lighthouse Park, named after the Blackwell Island Light.

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NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler, located on Roosevelt Island, is a 4-Star Rated facility known for its specialized memory care program. Formerly known as Bird S. Coler Hospital, NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler has provided exceptional care to New Yorkers for more than 60 years.

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North Brother Island was once the site of the Riverside Hospital for quarantinable diseases but is now uninhabited.

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