Story and photographs by Brenda J Pederson
May 2016
I love Manhattan and visit as often as possible. I have favorite neighborhoods and hangouts, but each trip I visit at least one new area of the island or one of the other NYC boroughs. I have a pretty comprehensive understanding of the city, even if I haven’t seen it all.
Coming across a reference to Roosevelt Island a few weeks before a recent visit was a complete surprise. How has a decent sized island in the middle of the East River escaped me for so long? And, it’s only a short tram ride across the river.
On my way to the tram station I got off at the wrong subway station which made for quite a hike. But, once on the tram, it only took 3 minutes to span the distance from the Upper East Side to the island terminal. In that 3 minutes, you’re transported to a different world. Once the tram passengers dissipated, only a few cars and pedestrians were moving about and the island was amazingly quiet. The hustle and bustle of Manhattan's streets was left behind.
With limited time to spend on the island I took a quick, short walk and then made the return trip to Manhattan, but I’m looking forward to future explorations.
At less than $6 round trip, “free” if you have a Metro card, this might be the best sightseeing value in the city!
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All content and photos copyright © Brenda J Pederson