New York, Day 8...Back to Roosevelt Island

 Day 8

Sunday, January 15, 2023

     Today was always going to be a fairly light day.  I was meeting my sister Mary for brunch at a place that was an easy thirty minute walk.  

       We met at our first choice.  The door was open, but the lights were down and there wasn't a soul in sight.  Strange.  Instead, we walked a few blocks to the Murray Hill Diner instead.  No complaints by me.  We lingered over brunch and walked twenty or so blocks north.  Mary went home and I caught the subway to Roosevelt Island.  

    Near the diner, we saw this old billboard up high on a building.   Robert Bestien Handbags and Accessories was located in this building fro 1978-1987.  

    

     I've been out to Roosevelt Island multiple times, just walking up and down and taking it all in.  I think I finally figured out why I'm drawn here.  So much of New York City is loud and busy.  It's quiet here.  If I'm walking, I don't have to look for traffic every block.  Whatever it is, I'll keep coming back.

     

     On the southern end of the island is where you'll find Franklin Roosevelt Four Freedoms State Park.  This is a reference to his 1941 State of the Union Address.  In his speech, he listed four freedoms everyone in the world should be enjoying; Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom From Want and Freedom From Fear.

       The park was completed in 2012.  Construction of a nearby building kept me going all the way south on a previous visit.  The far end is closed on Tuesdays, thus another denial. But, not today.

     Roosevelt Island runs about two miles point to point.  Sure it was really cold and windy.  It still felt like a good days to be out walking.  So, I walked up the eastern side of the island.

    Ferry service was added to the the island in 2017.  This line connects Astoria, Roosevelt Highway, Long Island City, the Brooklyn Navy Yards and Wall Street.  Definitely something to look into for the next time.  

     That buildng is the Riverwalk Apartments.  The two apartments currently available ate over $5K a month.

      On the northern tip of the island sits the Roosevelt Island Light.  It was still Blackwells Island when the light was built in 1872.  

    In the small park by the lighthouse, is a public art project by Amanda Matthews.  She calls it "The Girl Puzzle."  It's a tribute to journalist Elizabeth Cochrane, who went by the pen name Nellie Bly.

     In 1887, while reporting for the New York World, she had herself committed to the asylum on Blackwell's Island by feigning insanity.  Her expose, "Ten Days in a Madhouse" exposed conditions in the asylum and forced major changes.

      

  From the walk south, on the western side of the island.

        Two years after Britain took control of New York from the Dutch, John Manning acquired the island.  His son in law Robert Blackwell took control of the island twenty years later.  It was still in control of the Blackwell family in 1796 when they constructed this home.  

      With the pink colors fading, it was time to go.  The subway from Roosevelt Island brought me to the 42nd Street station.   It's certainly changed since the last time I changed trains here.

    Walking through the station, I passed this musician playing a flute.  

     Suddenly I had a flashback.  When I started with CNN in 1988, we had a two minute ad that ran on a regular basis.  It was selling a double album from Zamfir, Master of the Pan Flute.   You'd walk around the building and periodically hear the music.  

     In the Penn Station subway station was this guy, laying down some righteous blues.  I'd see him the next night with a bass guitar and playing some serious funk.  

     I was following the signs for 34th Street and found myself in the new Moynihan Train Hall.   This takes over the space of the old Post Office.  Senator Patrick Moynihan pushed for the project as well as funding.  It's the new boarding area for the Long Island Railroad and Amtrack.