Roosevelt Island

An installation by renowned artist and activist Ai Weiwei opened on Roosevelt Island this week. "Camouflage" takes over all 3.5 acres of FDR Four Freedoms State Park and includes an open architectural structure draped with camouflage netting, creating a shelter over the bust of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The work, Ai's first in New York City since 2017, coincides with the 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly and the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The artwork is free to visit, but timed-entry tickets are recommended.
see it here

Manhattan Park’s pool deck is bursting with color and patterns

All photos courtesy of Allyson Lubow Photography

June 10, 2025

Manhattan Park’s pool deck is bursting with color and patterns

Roosevelt Island luxury rental Manhattan Park unveiled the design for its 11th annual outdoor pool art installation this week. Titled "Waves of Joy," this year’s design comes from Parisian artist Meri Karapetyan, who spent 14 days and used 26 gallons of paint to transform the waterfront pool deck with vibrant hues inspired by water, leaves, and the summer sun. The mural is part of the community’s annual Pop-Up Pool Party, which debuts each summer to beautify the outdoor space ahead of pool season.
Find out more

Events & Things To Do

Ai Weiwei installation coming to Roosevelt Island

Ai Weiwei, Camouflage, 2025. Rendering of installation looking Southwest. Image © Ai Weiwei.

April 24, 2025

Ai Weiwei installation coming to Roosevelt Island

Artist and activist Ai Weiwei will unveil his first major artwork in New York City since 2017 this fall. Four Freedoms Park Conservancy on Thursday announced it had commissioned the Chinese artist for a monumental installation on Roosevelt Island that will open this September. "Camouflage" will take over all 3.5 acres of FDR Four Freedoms State Park, with an open architectural structure that rises above its granite walls and is draped in camouflage netting.
READ MORE

Events & Things To Do

A mini forest is coming to Roosevelt Island

Images courtesy of SUGi

March 13, 2024

A mini forest is coming to Roosevelt Island

A mini forest that can prevent flooding during storms and build biodiversity is coming to Roosevelt Island. Conceived by global platform SUGi, the Manhattan Healing Forest will consist of 1,000 native trees, shrubs, and plants and measure just 2,700 square feet in Roosevelt Island’s Southpoint Park. The so-called "pocket forest" will be “strategically positioned to stabilize the land,” capture water, provide a habitat for wildlife, and serve as a “living barrier” against flooding and erosion.
learn more

Architecture And Design

Tap-to-pay OMNY system finally comes to the Roosevelt Island Tram

Photo courtesy of Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

August 25, 2023

Tap-to-pay OMNY system finally comes to the Roosevelt Island Tram

New Yorkers are now able to tap to pay to board the Roosevelt Island Tramway. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Thursday announced the tram, which takes riders 250 feet above the East River between Manhattan's east side and Roosevelt Island in just four minutes, is the first non-MTA-operated service to accept OMNY. To pay the fare, riders can now tap their credit cards or mobile devices at the 59th Street and 2nd Avenue tram station in Manhattan and at Tramway Plaza on Roosevelt Island.
READ MORE

Manhattan Park’s annual Pop-Up Pool Party gets new art that imagines a bright and sustainable future

Photo credit: Michael Alley with Allyson Lubow Photography

June 30, 2023

Manhattan Park’s annual Pop-Up Pool Party gets new art that imagines a bright and sustainable future

Roosevelt Island luxury rental community Manhattan Park has unveiled its ninth annual outdoor pool art transformation. Colorful, transformative art has graced the community’s Pop-Up Pool Party each summer, beginning on Memorial Day. This year's artist, James Gortner, was selected for his artistic and colorful vision; Gortner's themes for this year's art are the joy of existence and sustainability.
See more of the pool's colorful murals

Events & Things To Do

Manhattan Park’s annual Pop-Up Pool Party gets a new mural, inspired by an ocean wonderland

Photo by Max Touhey.

June 8, 2022

Manhattan Park’s annual Pop-Up Pool Party gets a new mural, inspired by an ocean wonderland

Roosevelt Island luxury rental community Manhattan Park has just unveiled the mural that will highlight its outdoor pool this summer. Now in its eighth year, the art transformation has graced the community's Pop-Up Pool Party each summer starting on Memorial Day. This year's mural, created by Syrian-Armenian artist Hratch Arbach, "reflects imaginary scenes inspired by the ocean wonderland.”
Find out more

Events & Things To Do

Photo by Steven Pisano

June 8, 2022

New York’s largest Pride flag returns to Roosevelt Island’s Four Freedoms Park

New York's largest Pride Month flag is back and better than ever this year. Found in Roosevelt Island's Four Freedoms Park, the 2022 Progress Pride Flag measures more than 100 feet long by 30 feet wide and features added colors to be more inclusive of the LGBTQIA+ community. The installation, which will be featured on the park's monumental staircase throughout the month of June, first debuted in 2019, the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, and is back for Pride Month 2022.
See it here

Events & Things To Do

10 of the best running spots in New York City

Photo via PxHere

April 27, 2022

10 of the best running spots in New York City

By Alexandra Alexa

For avid runners and beginners alike, New York City offers a wide range of places to hit the pavement, from its iconic bridges to green trails nestled in the city's parks. The scenic routes provide unbeatable views of the river and skyline that can keep you motivated to keep going when you're ready to give up. Ahead, we round up the 10 most iconic spots to go for a run in the city, fit for regular marathoners, treadmill-devotees looking for a change of scenery, and total newbies.
Lace up those sneakers...

$1.36M gets you NYC waterfront living in this three-bedroom Roosevelt Island co-op

Images courtesy of Development Marketing Team

January 27, 2022

$1.36M gets you NYC waterfront living in this three-bedroom Roosevelt Island co-op

Roosevelt Island may or may not be the city's "best-kept secret," as the listing says when it comes to getting more space for less. But it's not often you find a three-bedroom, two-bath co-op on New York City's waterfront, minutes from the Upper East Side, for $1.36 million. In the 19-story Westview at 625 Main Street, this recently-renovated home offers river views and luxury finishes.
Get a closer look

Distinctive Homes

Monument honoring investigative journalist Nellie Bly opens on Roosevelt Island

Image credit: Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation

December 15, 2021

Monument honoring investigative journalist Nellie Bly opens on Roosevelt Island

A monument honoring trailblazing investigative journalist Nellie Bly opened to the public on Friday. The structure was designed by Amanda Matthews of Prometheus Art to bring attention to women who have overcome adversity. Located at the tip of Lighthouse Park on Roosevelt Island, the monument is named after Bly’s first published work, "The Girl Puzzle."
Find out more

Events & Things To Do

Smash your past-it pumpkins for fun and compost at these NYC parks

Credit: Max Guliani for Hudson River Park

November 3, 2021

Smash your past-it pumpkins for fun and compost at these NYC parks

Pent-up aggression, post-Halloween boredom, or just a desire to do something useful with your jack-o-lanterns that have seen better days–they're all good reasons to join in the fun at a pumpkin smash. Post-holiday pumpkins make fabulous compost material, and several (free!) events around the city are offering a chance to "squash" your way to a greener community while teaching kids about composting. To quote Noreen Doyle, president and CEO of Hudson River Park: “By encouraging our community to smash, bash and crash their leftover pumpkins into compost, we can all play an active role in working towards a greener future.”
Pumpkin smashing and more ways to recycle unwanted goodies

Events & Things To Do

New Roosevelt Island cocktail bar has panoramic views of NYC and the Queensboro Bridge

Photo credit: Noah Fecks

August 12, 2021

New Roosevelt Island cocktail bar has panoramic views of NYC and the Queensboro Bridge

New York City is full of rooftop bars, most offering a sky-high snapshot of the Big Apple's expansive skyline. But a new cocktail lounge on Roosevelt Island is providing an even bigger picture, with 360-degree views of three boroughs and a unique perspective of the Queensboro Bridge. Opening this Friday, the aptly named Panorama Room sits on the 18th-floor of the Graduate Roosevelt Island, the first hotel to open on the island.
Find out more

A new technicolor mural is unveiled at Roosevelt Island’s annual ‘Pop-Up Pool Party’

All photos by Max Touhey

June 29, 2021

A new technicolor mural is unveiled at Roosevelt Island’s annual ‘Pop-Up Pool Party’

By Dana Schulz

For the seventh year running, Roosevelt Island's waterfront rental building Manhattan Park has hired a local artist to transform its pool deck into a colorful art installation and "Pop-Up Pool Party." This year's mural comes from Brooklyn-based Melissa Dadourian, who created a technicolor geometric pattern over four-and-a-half days, using 36 gallons of paint. Though the pool is primarily for building residents, a number of seasonal memberships and day passes are available.
READ MORE

Events & Things To Do

Get an inside look at Roosevelt Island’s first hotel

All photos courtesy of Steve Freihon Photography

June 18, 2021

Get an inside look at Roosevelt Island’s first hotel

Roosevelt Island's first hotel recently opened as part of Cornell University's new tech campus. Graduate Roosevelt Island rises 18 stories, contains 224 rooms, and boasts incredible views of the Manhattan skyline, Queensboro Bridge, and beyond. The hotel aims to offer a "scholastic retreat" for the Cornell community and New York City visitors, with playful touches like a 12-foot statue of artist Hebru Brantley's Flyboy in the lobby and neon light fixtures inspired by a Cornell science project in the guest rooms. There's also a ground-level restaurant and an indoor-outdoor rooftop bar and lounge.
Get the details

April 13, 2021

20 underground and secret NYC attractions you need to check out

While visiting the major, most popular attractions of New York City can be fun, it can also be stressful, overwhelming and full of selfie-taking tourists. However, the great thing about the Big Apple is that plenty of other attractions exist that are far less known or even hidden in plain sight. To go beyond the tourist-filled sites and tour the city like you're seeing it for the very first time, check out 6sqft's list ahead of the 20 best underground, secret spots in New York City.
More this way

Futuristic tower proposed for Roosevelt Island is 2,400 feet and covered in 10,000+ plants

All renderings via Rescubika Studio

September 23, 2020

Futuristic tower proposed for Roosevelt Island is 2,400 feet and covered in 10,000+ plants

By Dana Schulz

In response to the idea of the "city of tomorrow," one that will become carbon neutral by 2050, French architecture firm Rescubika created a proposal for a 2,418-foot tower on Roosevelt Island. With wood construction materials, 36 wind turbines, 8,300 shrubs, 1,600 trees, 83,000 square feet of plant walls, and nearly 23,000 square feet of solar panels, it would be the world’s tallest "carbon sink" tower--one that absorbs more CO2 than it releases.
See more here

August 11, 2020

Roosevelt Island’s colorful Manhattan Park Pool Club is back and open to the public

A playful art installation has returned to Manhattan Park, a waterfront rental on Roosevelt Island. Every summer since 2015, an artist is selected to transform the building's pool deck with a dazzling 8,500-square-foot mural. This year, as part of a partnership with Corcoran New Developments, Pliskin Architecture, K&Co, and Manhattan Park, artist Alex Proba from Studio Proba designed the sixth annual pop-up mural, with a mix of colorful shapes and forms spread out across the outdoor space.
READ MORE

Events & Things To Do

Field of sunflowers exhibit takes over Four Freedoms Park to honor 100 years of women’s suffrage

Courtesy of FDR Four Freedoms Park Conservancy

July 21, 2020

Field of sunflowers exhibit takes over Four Freedoms Park to honor 100 years of women’s suffrage

A massive field of sunflowers has been installed at the monumental staircase at FDR Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island. The park's new exhibit, which was created together with the New-York Historical Society and the League of Women Voters, comes ahead of the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment's ratification and aims to symbolize the continued push for full equality today. The installation measures 12 feet by 100 feet and features text from the amendment, which was ratified on August 18, 1920: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."
More this way

Events & Things To Do

Rendering courtesy of Murr Architekten

January 22, 2020

Finalists announced for this year’s City of Dreams pavilion on Roosevelt Island

Arts organization FIGMENT, the Emerging New York Architects Committee (ENYA) of the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter (AIANY), and the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY) have just announced the finalists in the 2020 City of Dreams Pavilion Design Competition. The competition is an annual program that invites designers to create a temporary architectural pavilion that is efficient and sustainable while considering the life cycle of the building materials used. This year's pavilion will be in Lighthouse Park on Roosevelt Island.
See more of the winning entries

Roosevelt Island’s Nellie Bly memorial revealed

Design by Amanda Matthews; courtesy of RIOC

January 3, 2020

Roosevelt Island’s Nellie Bly memorial revealed

The design of a new memorial honoring investigative journalist Nellie Bly has been officially unveiled. Tapped by the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, artist Amanda Matthews of Prometheus Art presented during a town hall last month "The Girl Puzzle" memorial, which will feature sculptures of Bly and four faces of women and girls who she interviewed. The memorial, whose design was first spotted by THE CITY, will be installed in late 2020 at the tip of Lighthouse Park on Roosevelt Island.
See it here

Monument honoring 19th century investigative journalist Nellie Bly coming to Roosevelt Island

Sketch of the madhouse on Blackwell’s Island via NYPL; Photo of Nellie Bly via Wikimedia

July 30, 2019

Monument honoring 19th century investigative journalist Nellie Bly coming to Roosevelt Island