Roosevelt Island

Minutes from downtown yet a world apart, Roosevelt Island offers New Yorkers the unique experience of living in a community where people know their neighbors. Exuding a small-town vibe, the island’s notorious past of hospitals, almshouses, penitentiaries, and an asylum (now part of a luxury residential high-rise) has given way to apartment towers. Amenities include grocers, pharmacies, and casual eateries; and what Roosevelt Island lacks in nightlife and culture, it makes up for in green spaces, including a park with a historic lighthouse and the Louis Kahn-designed Four Freedoms State Park.

Commuting to Manhattan is quick and easy, as Roosevelt Island is accessible by subway, ferry, bridge, and—most notably—a tramway that affords birds-eye views of New York’s skyline, a perspective shared by many of the island’s apartments. For years, a well-kept secret, Roosevelt Island is drawing new residents, especially as Cornell Tech’s new campus is helping to spur development.