RIOC

I made the trek to Roosevelt Island a few weekends ago. For those of you who don't know, Roosevelt Island is one of the few satellite islands surrounding Manhattan, namely, plopped down on the East River right between midtown Manhattan and Queens.

It is only a 2-mile long stretch of land and has a wealth of old New York history. The most notorious landmark on the island is the old New York Lunatic Asylum, open during the 18th-19th century. Enough said. On the southernmost tip there is also an old abandoned building called the Smallpox Hospital that is now incredibly dilapidated. Seems like the naming on Roosevelt Island is quite literal.

Making the trek to Roosevelt Island is incredibly convenient, either by the Queensboro bridge or a tram.

View on the Queensboro bridge. 

Lots of families inhabit the many rental properties on the island... most with beautiful city views! 

     

I spotted the most curious pieces of art in the East River waters towards the north end of the island. There were a sequence of four bronze sculptures depicting a Coin and House at play. I finally was able to find out more on the Internet and turns out it was done by Tom Otterness and is called The Marriage of Real Estate and Money. The artistic style looked eerily familiar and upon further digging, I found out he has actually done many public exhibits around NYC including one large frog in front of a LES playground.

A day out in RI is not a bad way to spend a day, especially for a Staycation! You'll never know what funky, interesting things you'll find!