Hop on the cherry-red tramway at Second Ave and 60th St, and after a four-minute flight, you’re surrounded by small-town splendor. This is Roosevelt Island – a 2-mile escape between the UES and Queens. Set your clock to island time and see NYC from the slow lane.
Island Asylum
Despite its bright university-chic aesthetic, Roosevelt Island hides a turbulent past. In the 19th century, this was an asylum depot known as Blackwell’s Island – a dumping ground for poor, sick, disabled and incarcerated locals. Largely abandoned in the 1950s, a few relics remain. Start at the island’s northern tip to see a Gothic Revival Roosevelt Island Lighthouse, constructed by inmates in 1872. A 10-minute walk south leads to the Octagon, a luxe apartment complex occupying the once-notorious New York Lunatic Asylum. On the island’s south side, visit the vine-strangled ruins of the Renwick Smallpox Hospital, opened in 1856 to prevent an epidemiological disaster.
Park Views
Roosevelt Island’s modern haunts are decidedly cheerier, notably Franklin D Roosevelt Four Freedoms State Park. Skip to its southern tip to see Manhattan’s hulking United Nations headquarters and Long Island City’s 1936 Pepsi-Cola sign.
Above the East River
For stunning vistas, zip to the Graduate – the island’s first hotel. Panorama Room – a cocktail lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows – stares down Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn from the hotel’s 18th floor. Anything at All, an on-site restaurant, serves port-side pleasures so satisfying you might decide to stay the night.
