Roosevelt Island historian Judy Berdy will lead a tour of the north end of the island on Sat., March 26th at 2:30 pm .
Saturday, March 26,2016 at 2:30 pm
Roosevelt Island, the sliver of land that sits between Manhattan and Queens, has a long history with immigration as most of New York City does. The City of New York purchased the island in 1828 from the Blackwell family. During the 19th century Roosevelt Island, then known as Blackwell’s Island, was largely populated with prisons, asylums and welfare facilities. The prisoners, were responsible for much of the construction of the hospitals and the lighthouse all on the northern end of the island. The asylum housed the island’s poor immigrant populations. The island was leased to New York’s Urban Development Corporation and largely redeveloped in the early 1970s as the most ambitious effort of the New York State Urban Development Corporation. Roosevelt Island historian Judy Berdy will lead a tour of the north end of the island, including James Blackwell’s house, the former Lunatic Asylum aka The Octagon, the lighthouse and the 1970’s apartment complexes on Saturday, March 26th at 2:30 pm .
Friends of HDC $10 / General Admission $20