Island of the Ill: the Mystery of Roosevelt Island Unraveled
One of Manhattan’s neighboring islands, Roosevelt Island is often overlooked and crossed over (by the 59th St Bridge), but this unassuming island is truly historical.
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By: Ansley Roche
 A cruise along F.D.R. Drive late at night rewards the wandering eye with a light spectacle across the East River that resembles a haunted house. A shell of a building with tall scraggly tree guts poking out the roofless top, lustrously lit, whispers to the curious passerby, eager to tell of its isolated past. Smallpox Hospital on Roosevelt Island was built in 1856 and was the only hospital in New York City at the time to accept victims of smallpox. Sitting grandly at the southern end of the island, Smallpox reminds Manhattanites that the strip of land sitting in the East River stretching from about 42th Street up to 86th Street was once an enclave of sickness, both mental and physical. A penitentiary and a lunatic asylum at one time accompanied Smallpox Hospital. An octagon tower, the only remains of the asylum, reminisces of a lone panopticon, situated at the northern tip of the island. In 1887, an undercover reporter revealed the gruesome “treatment” that was being given to the inmates. Already a hotbed of disease, the asylum shut its doors due to financial and sanitational disaster.
The name of this seemingly cursed stretch of land has changed about 6 times; first called Minnahannock by Native Indians, the island has maintained its reputation of isolation, suffering under the names of Hog Island and Welfare Island, among several others. Regardless of how one refers to the island, what one calls it, Roosevelt Island will never escape its history as a place where people at one time were taken to be quarantined and treated.
A visit to the island today however, reveals a tightly knit community that feels like a suburb, but hums like a city. Main Street is paved with bricks and winds between semi-tall gray concrete buildings. The streetscape is accented with primary colors, blue window casings, yellow doors and red signs. A large playing field is crowded with squealing children, while fathers play racquetball nearby. A large sports complex, complete with a swimming pool, basketball courts and tennis courts, sits in the middle of the island and lush community gardens dot the island, bringing together families through community programming.
One Roosevelt Islander, when asked what the living experience is like on Roosevelt Island, spoke of quiet streets and pleasant parks with an undercurrent of isolation. But the island provides her with relief from the relentless throb of the city. The central traffic nerve of the island is invisible from the water, due to looming apartment buildings situated along the waterfront. But it is these building that make Main Street dark and quiet. A riverside path runs along the west side of the island, with an incredible view of the Manhattan skyline, and stretches in front of the larger-than- life wooden Meditation Steps where you can find children, elders, dogs, families all enjoying the view without much distraction.
Roosevelt Island remains one of New York City’s hidden treasures with few tourists and beautiful vistas. If you are looking for a quiet place or a complete change of scenery that does not require driving, take advantage of Roosevelt Island’s seclusion, and escape the germ-breathing masses of Manhattan.
Related Links
The official website of Roosevelt Island
A virtual walking tour that gives you a taste of the real thing
History of all the gore and controversy
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