The Roosevelt Island station is a
station
Station may refer to:
Agriculture
* Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production
* Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle
** Cattle statio ...
on the
IND 63rd Street Line of the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...
. Located in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
on
Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island is an island in New York City's East River, within the Borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It lies between Manhattan Island to the west, and the borough of Queens, on Long Island, to the east. It is about long, wit ...
in the
East River
The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...
, it is served by the
F train at all times and the
<F> train during rush hours in the reverse peak direction.
The Roosevelt Island station was first proposed in 1965, when the
New York City Transit Authority
The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a New York state public-benefit corporations, public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York (state), New ...
(NYCTA) announced that it would build a subway station to encourage
transit-oriented development
In urban planning, transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of Real estate development, urban development that maximizes the amount of Residential area, residential, business and leisure space within Pedestrian, walking distance of public t ...
on Roosevelt Island. The station and the rest of the 63rd Street Line were built as part of the
Program for Action
Metropolitan Transportation: A Program for Action, also known as simply the Program for Action, the Grand Design, or the New Routes Program, was a proposal in the mid-1960s for a large expansion of mass transit in New York City, created under t ...
, a wide-ranging subway expansion program, starting in the late 1960s. When construction of the line was delayed, the
Roosevelt Island Tram
The Roosevelt Island Tramway is an aerial tramway that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Roosevelt Island to the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The tramway is the first commuter aerial tramway in the U.S., having opened on May ...
was built in 1973. The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation was formed in 1984 to develop the island, but was not successful until October 1989 when the subway station opened along with the rest of the 63rd Street Line. The opening encouraged the development of the island, which has made the station busier.
Until December 2001, this was the second-to-last stop of the line, which terminated one stop east at
21st Street–Queensbridge. In 2001, the 63rd Street Tunnel Connection opened, allowing trains from the
IND Queens Boulevard Line
The IND Queens Boulevard Line, sometimes abbreviated as QBL, is a line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan and Queens, New York City. The line, which is underground throughout its entire route, contains 23 stations. The ...
to use the line. Since the opening of the connection, the line has been served by F trains, and the subway then became the second means for direct travel between the island and Queens, supplementing the buses that had been operating over the Roosevelt Island Bridge. The station is one of the system's deepest, at below ground, because the line passes under the West and East Channels of the East River at either end of the station.
History
Roosevelt Island was once home to a penitentiary and some asylums, as well as being home to numerous hospitals. It was originally called Blackwell's Island, but in 1921 it became known as Welfare Island because of the numerous hospitals on the island. The island became neglected once the hospitals started closing and their buildings were left abandoned to decay. During the 1960s, some groups started proposing uses for the island.
Construction
On February 16, 1965, the
New York City Transit Authority
The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a New York state public-benefit corporations, public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York (state), New ...
announced plans to construct a subway station on the island along the planned 63rd Street Line, as part of the island's proposed
transit-oriented development
In urban planning, transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of Real estate development, urban development that maximizes the amount of Residential area, residential, business and leisure space within Pedestrian, walking distance of public t ...
(TOD). TOD tries to increase the amount of residential, business and leisure space within walking distance of public transport. With this announcements, more suggestions for what to do with the island were made.
The construction of a station was viewed to be vital for the development of the island, which was still known as Welfare Island. At that point, it was decided to build a shell for the station, to allow for the station to open after the opening of the rest of the line, with a projected savings of $4 million compared to building the station as an
infill station
An infill station (sometimes in-fill station) is a train station built on an existing passenger rail, rapid transit, or light rail line to address demand in a location between existing stations. Such stations take advantage of existing train ser ...
after the rest of the line opened. The projected cost of the station was $3.3 million. It was soon decided to build the station with the rest of the line.
The current
63rd Street Line was the final version of proposals for a northern
midtown tunnel from the
IND Queens Boulevard Line
The IND Queens Boulevard Line, sometimes abbreviated as QBL, is a line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan and Queens, New York City. The line, which is underground throughout its entire route, contains 23 stations. The ...
to the
Second
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
and
Sixth Avenue
Sixth Avenue, also known as Avenue of the Americas, is a major thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The avenue is commercial for much of its length, and traffic runs northbound, or uptown.
Sixth Avenue begins four blocks b ...
lines, which date back to the
IND Second System
Since the opening of the original New York City Subway line in 1904, and throughout the subway's history, various official and planning agencies have proposed numerous extensions to the subway system. The first major expansion of the subway sy ...
of the 1920s and 1930s.
The current plans were drawn up in the 1960s under the
MTA's
Program For Action
Metropolitan Transportation: A Program for Action, also known as simply the Program for Action, the Grand Design, or the New Routes Program, was a proposal in the mid-1960s for a large expansion of mass transit in New York City, created under t ...
,
where the 63rd Street subway line was to be built in the upper portion of the bi-level
63rd Street Tunnel
The 63rd Street Tunnel is a double-deck subway and railroad tunnel under the East River between the Borough of New York City, boroughs of Manhattan and Queens in New York City. Opened in 1989, it is the newest of the East River tunnels, as we ...
.
Beginning in the mid-1970s, Roosevelt Island was redeveloped to accommodate low- to mid-income
housing project
Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...
s. However, there was no direct transit connection to Manhattan. The subway was delayed and still under construction; trolley tracks that formerly served Roosevelt Island via the
Queensboro Bridge
The Queensboro Bridge, officially the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, is a cantilever bridge over the East River in New York City. Completed in 1909, it connects the Long Island City neighborhood in the borough of Queens with the Midtown Manhattan ...
were unusable; and the only way on and off the island was via the
Roosevelt Island Bridge
The Roosevelt Island Bridge is a tower drive vertical lift bridge that connects Roosevelt Island in Manhattan to Astoria in Queens, crossing the East Channel of the East River. It is the sole route to the island for vehicular and foot traffi ...
to Queens. An aerial tram route, the
Roosevelt Island Tramway
The Roosevelt Island Tramway is an aerial tramway that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Roosevelt Island to the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The tramway is the first commuter aerial tramway in the U.S., having opened on May 1 ...
, was opened in May 1976 as a "temporary" connection to Manhattan.
The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation was formed in 1984 to develop the island, but was not successful until October 1989 when the subway station opened along with the rest of the 63rd Street Line. After that, a high-rise luxury apartment building with some subsidized housing opened.
The project faced extensive delays. As early as 1976, the Program for Action had been reduced to seven stations on the
Archer Avenue
Archer Avenue, sometimes known as Archer Road outside the Chicago, Illinois city limits, and also known as State Street only in Lockport, Illinois and Fairmont, Illinois city limits, is a street running northeast-to-southwest between Chicago's ...
and 63rd Street lines and was not projected to be complete for another decade. By October 1980, officials considered stopping construction on the 63rd Street line. The MTA voted in 1984 to connect the Queens end of the tunnel to the local tracks of the IND Queens Boulevard Line at a cost of $222 million. The section of the line up to Long Island City was projected to open by the end of 1985, but flooding in the tunnel caused the opening to be delayed indefinitely. The MTA's contractors concluded in February 1987 that the tunnel was structurally sound, and the federal government's contractors affirmed this finding in June 1987.
Opening
The station opened on October 29, 1989, along with the entire IND 63rd Street Line.
The opening of the subway resulted in a steep decline in Roosevelt Island Tramway ridership.
The train served the station on weekdays and the train stopped there on weekends and late nights; both services used the Sixth Avenue Line.
For the first couple of months after the station opened, the
JFK Express
The JFK Express, advertised as The Train to The Plane, was a limited express service of the New York City Subway, connecting Midtown Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK Airport). It operated between 1978 and 1990. Passenge ...
to
Kennedy Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is a major international airport serving New York City and its metropolitan area. JFK Airport is located on the southwestern shore of Long Island, in Queens, New York City, bordering Jamaica Bay. It is t ...
ran on the line, but did not serve the station, until it was discontinued on April 15, 1990.
The tunnel had gained notoriety as the "tunnel to nowhere" both during its planning and after its opening; the line's northern terminus at
21st Street–Queensbridge, one stop after Roosevelt Island, was not connected to any other subway station or line in
Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
.
The connection to the Queens Boulevard Line began construction in 1994 and was completed and opened in 2001, almost thirty years after construction of the
63rd Street Tunnel
The 63rd Street Tunnel is a double-deck subway and railroad tunnel under the East River between the Borough of New York City, boroughs of Manhattan and Queens in New York City. Opened in 1989, it is the newest of the East River tunnels, as we ...
began. Since then, the F train has been rerouted to serve this station at all times.
At an April 14, 2008, news conference, Governor
David Paterson
David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer, who resigned, and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to ...
announced that the MTA would power a substantial portion of the station using tidal energy generated by turbines located in the East River, which are part of the
Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy Project. This was part of a larger MTA initiative to use sustainable energy resources within the subway system. The initiative stalled due to development problems, but was revived in October 2020. To save energy, the MTA installed variable-speed escalators at Roosevelt Island and three other subway stations in August 2008, although not all of the escalators initially functioned as intended.
From August 28, 2023, through April 1, 2024, F trains were rerouted via the
53rd Street Tunnel
The IND Queens Boulevard Line, sometimes abbreviated as QBL, is a line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan and Queens, New York City. The line, which is underground throughout its entire route, contains 23 stations. The ...
between Queens and Manhattan due to track replacement and other repairs in the 63rd Street Tunnel, and an F shuttle train ran between
Lexington Avenue-63rd Street and
21st Street–Queensbridge at all times except late nights, stopping at Roosevelt Island.
In October 2024, the MTA completed esthetic improvements to the station as part of its Re-New-Vation program.
Station layout
The station has two tracks and two
side platform
A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms, ...
s.
The
F train serves the station at all times, while the
train serves the station northbound during AM rush hours and southbound during PM rush hours.
The next station to the north is
21st Street–Queensbridge, while the next station to the south is
Lexington Avenue–63rd Street.
At about below street level, the
deep-level Roosevelt Island station is the fourth-deepest in the New York City Subway, behind the
34th Street–Hudson Yards,
190th Street, and
191st Street stations, also in Manhattan. Due to its depth, the station contains several features not common in the rest of the system. Similar to stations of the
Paris Metro
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and
Washington Metro
The Washington Metro, often abbreviated as the Metro and formally the Metrorail, is a rapid transit system serving the Washington metropolitan area of the United States. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ...
, the Roosevelt Island station was built with a high vaulted ceiling and a
mezzanine
A mezzanine (; or in Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft with non-sloped ...
directly visible above the tracks.
As with other stations constructed as part of the Program for Action, the Roosevelt Island station contained technologically advanced features such as air-cooling, noise insulation,
CCTV
Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...
monitors, public announcement systems, electronic platform signage, and escalator and elevator entrances.
The station is fully
ADA-accessible
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...
, with elevators to street level. West of the station, there is a
diamond crossover
A railroad switch ( AE), turnout, or (set of) points ( CE) is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another, such as at a railway junction or where a spur or siding branches off.
Design
T ...
and two
bellmouths that curve southward toward an unbuilt portion of the Second Avenue Subway.
The lower level of the 63rd Street Tunnel contains an emergency exit to the station.
The lower level, opened in 2023 as part of the
East Side Access
East Side Access (ESA) is a public works project in New York City that extended the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) two miles from its Main Line (Long Island Rail Road), Main Line in Queens to the new Grand Central Madison station under Grand Cent ...
project, is used by
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...
trains.
The Roosevelt Island station is one of two subway stations in Manhattan that are not located on
Manhattan Island
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...
itself, the other being the
Marble Hill–225th Street station on the . It is also one of two New York City Subway stations located on its own island, the other being the
Broad Channel station
The Broad Channel station is a metro station, station on the IND Rockaway Line of the New York City Subway, located in the Broad Channel, Queens, neighborhood of the same name at Noel and West Roads in the borough (New York City), borough of Qu ...
in Queens, serving the .
Exit
Fare control
In rail transport, the paid area is a dedicated "inner" zone in a railway station or metro station, accessible via turnstiles or other barriers, to get into which, visitors or passengers require a valid ticket, checked smartcard or a pass. A s ...
is in a glass-enclosed
headhouse
A head house or headhouse may be an enclosed building attached to an open-sided shed, including the piers extending into a waterway, or the aboveground part of a subway station.
Markets
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, head houses were oft ...
building off of Main Street.
The headhouse has a feature that is unusual to the subway system: it uses
recordings of birds to try to scare away
city pigeons, and these bird recordings play every few minutes or so. The system was installed because of problems with pigeons entering the headhouse and leaving feathers and droppings both inside and around the building. Previous efforts, like spiked ledges, had been ineffective in curbing the pigeon population of the area immediately next to the station.
Ridership
When the station opened in 1989, daily ridership on the
Roosevelt Island Tramway
The Roosevelt Island Tramway is an aerial tramway that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Roosevelt Island to the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The tramway is the first commuter aerial tramway in the U.S., having opened on May 1 ...
, an aerial tramway that also connects Roosevelt Island to Manhattan, decreased sharply, from 5,500 daily riders in 1989 to 3,000 by 1993. In 2008, the subway station saw about 5,900 daily riders, compared to 3,000 for the tram, which had maintained steady ridership. Over the next eight years, the station experienced additional ridership growth. In 2016, an average of 6,630 daily riders used the station on an average weekday. This amounted to 2,110,471 total riders entering the station in 2016.
Nearby points of interest
The station serves several destinations on Roosevelt Island. On the northern part of the island is the
Bird S. Coler Hospital
Coler Specialty Hospital is a chronic care facility on New York City's Roosevelt Island that provides services such as rehabilitation and specialty nursing. The hospital was formed in 1996 by the merger of two separate chronic care hospitals on ...
, a large city-owned facility.
On the southern portion of the island,
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
and
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is a public university, public research university located in Haifa, Israel. Established in 1912 by Jews under the dominion of the Ottoman Empire, the Technion is the oldest university in the coun ...
opened their new
Cornell Tech
Cornell Tech is a graduate campus and research center of Cornell University on Roosevelt Island in Manhattan, New York City. It provides courses in technology, business, and design, and includes the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, a partners ...
campus,
which will focus on new applied science and technology, in September 2017. On Main Street is the
Good Shepherd Church,
which was built in 1888 and is on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
A ballfield on the island is named Firefighters Field
in honor of three firefighters that died while trying to save lives in the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
. The Roosevelt Island Tramway, which was intended to be replaced by the subway, is still in service with a terminal just south of the subway entrance.
It is used by commuters and tourists alike.
Gallery
File:Roosevelt Island Subway Station by David Shankbone.jpg, Western end of the station
File:Roosevelt Island Entrance.jpg, A view of the station's only exit, which is located on Main Street
File:Roosevelt Island escalator vc.jpg, This long escalator between the mezzanine and the headhouse is necessary as the station is deep enough to pass under the East River.
Notes
References
External links
*
* at Station Reporter
Station house and entrance from Google Maps Street ViewPlatforms from Google Maps Street ViewMezzanine from Google Maps Street ViewLobby from Google Maps Street View
{{NYCS stations navbox by line, 63st=yes
1989 establishments in New York City
63rd Street Line stations
New York City Subway stations in Manhattan
Program for Action
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1989
Roosevelt Island