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NYC loves to do all sorts of interesting things with its islands. Another island that most New Yorkers know nothing about is Roosevelt Island: http://en.wikip

NYC loves to do all sorts of interesting things with its islands. Another island that most New Yorkers know nothing about is Roosevelt Island: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Island http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Island It has had a very long history including having a prison/small pox hospital/mental hospital.

madlynormal 13y ago
I've lived in Queens all my life (29yrs). This Spring was the first time I've stepped foot on Roosevelt Island, they have a decent indoor pool there that's pretty cheap.
- zachgersh 13y ago
  They also have a tennis center and indoor basketball courts. The tram that runs between Roosevelt Island and Manhattan is also one of the things I recommend any NYC tourist do at least once: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Island_Tramway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Island_Tramway
  - cocoflunchy 13y ago
    I went there on Saturday, it's nice indeed ;)
dale386 13y ago
Trash on Roosevelt Island isn't picked up by truck -- it's sucked through pneumatic tubes into the island's central waste center. All buildings on the island are hooked up. http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/08/trash-sucking-island/all/1 http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/08/trash-sucking-island/...
- warfangle 13y ago
  There used to be a fairly massive pneumatic tube system throughout Manhattan, mostly for mail. I had no idea there's a pneumatic trash system.
greenyoda 13y ago
Another interesting island in NYC is Governor's Island, which the city is planning to develop into a recreation and tourism area: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governors_Island https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governors_Island
- rdouble 13y ago
  It already is a recreation and tourism area.
  - techtalsky 13y ago
    That is true. I was recreating there two days ago, and New York's public interactive art festival, Figment NYC is held there.
- acjohnson55 13y ago
  I just visited yesterday, and it's a beautiful place to go. Most New Yorkers probably don't even know it exists, yet it's super easy to get to from Midtown and Downtown Manhattan, as well as Brooklyn.
ghaff 13y ago
Cornell (along with industry partners) is building an applied sciences and engineering grad campus on Roosevelt Island. http://now.cornell.edu/nyctech/ http://now.cornell.edu/nyctech/
- zachgersh 13y ago
  I watched this story unfold. I was more excited about the possibility of Standford building a satellite campus. They dropped out of the bidding war with other NYC schools as they believed that they were never going to be able to have a fair shake at submitting a winning bid (due to the clout that NYC schools have in NYC). Here is one story about it: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/17/education/stanford-exits-contest-for-new-york-science-school-leaving-cornell-as-front-runner.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/17/education/stanford-exits-c...
  - ganeumann 13y ago
    Cornell is as much a NYC school as Stanford is a Pacific Grove school. Instead of investing in making existing infrastructure better, Bloomberg decided to start from scratch. From the outside this seemed as much a poke-in-the-eye to the existing schools as it was a gift to the devil-you-don't-know Cornell. Stanford probably had a good chance to win it but wisely decided not to dilute their brand with a campus they couldn't guarantee would be as good as their first.
    - jessriedel 13y ago
      > Cornell is as much a NYC school as Stanford is a Pacific Grove school. I have no idea what Stanford's relationship is to Pacific Grove (presumably not much), but Cornell already has a very strong relationship with NYC: - Cornell's medical campus in New York, also called Weill Cornell, is on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. - The Cornell Urban Scholars Program encourages students to pursue public service careers with organizations working with New York City's poorest children, families, and communities. - The NYS College of Human Ecology and the NYS College of Agriculture and Life Sciences provide means for students to reach out to local communities by gardening and building with the Cornell Cooperative Extension. - The Cornell College of Engineering's Operations Research Manhattan, in the city's financial district, brings together business optimization research and decision support services addressed to both financial applications and public health logistics planning. - The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning has a facility on West 17th Street, near Union Square, to provide studio and seminar space for students and faculty. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_University#New_York_City_campuses http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_University#New_York_Cit...

madlynormal 13y ago

I've lived in Queens all my life (29yrs). This Spring was the first time I've stepped foot on Roosevelt Island, they have a decent indoor pool there that's pretty cheap.

zachgersh 13y ago
They also have a tennis center and indoor basketball courts. The tram that runs between Roosevelt Island and Manhattan is also one of the things I recommend any NYC tourist do at least once: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Island_Tramway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Island_Tramway
- cocoflunchy 13y ago
  I went there on Saturday, it's nice indeed ;)

dale386 13y ago

Trash on Roosevelt Island isn't picked up by truck -- it's sucked through pneumatic tubes into the island's central waste center. All buildings on the island are hooked up. http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/08/trash-sucking-island/all/1 http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/08/trash-sucking-island/...

warfangle 13y ago
There used to be a fairly massive pneumatic tube system throughout Manhattan, mostly for mail. I had no idea there's a pneumatic trash system.

greenyoda 13y ago

Another interesting island in NYC is Governor's Island, which the city is planning to develop into a recreation and tourism area: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governors_Island https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governors_Island

rdouble 13y ago
It already is a recreation and tourism area.
- techtalsky 13y ago
  That is true. I was recreating there two days ago, and New York's public interactive art festival, Figment NYC is held there.
acjohnson55 13y ago
I just visited yesterday, and it's a beautiful place to go. Most New Yorkers probably don't even know it exists, yet it's super easy to get to from Midtown and Downtown Manhattan, as well as Brooklyn.

ghaff 13y ago

Cornell (along with industry partners) is building an applied sciences and engineering grad campus on Roosevelt Island. http://now.cornell.edu/nyctech/ http://now.cornell.edu/nyctech/

zachgersh 13y ago
I watched this story unfold. I was more excited about the possibility of Standford building a satellite campus. They dropped out of the bidding war with other NYC schools as they believed that they were never going to be able to have a fair shake at submitting a winning bid (due to the clout that NYC schools have in NYC). Here is one story about it: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/17/education/stanford-exits-contest-for-new-york-science-school-leaving-cornell-as-front-runner.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/17/education/stanford-exits-c...
- ganeumann 13y ago
  Cornell is as much a NYC school as Stanford is a Pacific Grove school. Instead of investing in making existing infrastructure better, Bloomberg decided to start from scratch. From the outside this seemed as much a poke-in-the-eye to the existing schools as it was a gift to the devil-you-don't-know Cornell. Stanford probably had a good chance to win it but wisely decided not to dilute their brand with a campus they couldn't guarantee would be as good as their first.
  - jessriedel 13y ago
    > Cornell is as much a NYC school as Stanford is a Pacific Grove school. I have no idea what Stanford's relationship is to Pacific Grove (presumably not much), but Cornell already has a very strong relationship with NYC: - Cornell's medical campus in New York, also called Weill Cornell, is on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. - The Cornell Urban Scholars Program encourages students to pursue public service careers with organizations working with New York City's poorest children, families, and communities. - The NYS College of Human Ecology and the NYS College of Agriculture and Life Sciences provide means for students to reach out to local communities by gardening and building with the Cornell Cooperative Extension. - The Cornell College of Engineering's Operations Research Manhattan, in the city's financial district, brings together business optimization research and decision support services addressed to both financial applications and public health logistics planning. - The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning has a facility on West 17th Street, near Union Square, to provide studio and seminar space for students and faculty. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_University#New_York_City_campuses http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_University#New_York_Cit...