Randalls and Wards Islands
Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Islands, in New York County (borough of Manhattan), New York City, separated from Manhattan Island by the Harlem River, from Queens by the East River and Hell Gate, and from the Bronx by the Bronx Kill. The two islands were formerly separated, with Randalls Island north of Wards Island. The channel between them, Little Hell Gate, was filled by the early 1960s. A third, smaller island, Sunken Meadow Island, was located east of Randalls Island and was connected to it in 1955.
Looking southwest; Randalls Island is in the foreground and Wards Island is behind it. Roosevelt Island and Manhattan can be seen in the background. | |
Randalls and Wards Islands Location of Randalls and Wards Islands Randalls and Wards Islands Randalls and Wards Islands (New York) Randalls and Wards Islands Randalls and Wards Islands (the United States) | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | East River, Manhattan, NY, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 40°47′15″N 73°55′31″W |
| Area | 2.09 km2 (0.81 sq mi) |
| Administration | |
United States | |
| State | New York |
| City | New York City |
| Borough | Manhattan |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 1,648 (2010) |
| Pop. density | 788.5/km2 (2042.2/sq mi) |
The island had a population of 1,648 on 2.09 square kilometers (520 acres) in 2010. Most of the island is parkland, with 432.69 acres (175.10 ha) managed by Randall's Island Park Alliance. The park offers 91 athletic fields, a driving range, greenways, playgrounds, and picnic grounds.
The island has a history of being used for asylums, hospitals, and cemeteries. Today, it is home to several public facilities, including a psychiatric hospital known as the Manhattan Psychiatric Center, Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center, a drug and alcohol treatment facility named Odyssey House, a daycare, two-state police stations, the FDNY Fire Academy, a DEP wastewater treatment plant, Icahn Stadium, HELP Clarke Thomas Mens Homeless Shelter, Keener Employment Homeless Men's Shelter, Schwartz Homeless Men's Shelter, HELP USA Supportive Employment Center, and an urban farm. Outside of these institutions and buildings, there is no residential housing for the general public on the island.
The island is crossed by the Triborough and Hell Gate bridges. The island can be reached by the Triborough Bridge, the Wards Island Bridge, which serves pedestrians and bicyclists and links the island to East Harlem in Manhattan, or by the Randalls Island Connector, a pedestrian and cycling bridge crossing the Bronx Kill and connecting to the Port Morris neighborhood of the Bronx. Randalls Island is the site of three music festivals: Governors Ball Music Festival, Panorama Music Festival, and Electric Zoo Festival.