Roosevelt Island

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Roosevelt Island is an island in New York City's East River, within the 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 2 miles (3.2 km) long, with an area of 147 acres (0.59 km2), and had a population of 11,722 as of the 2020 United States census. It consists of two largely residential communities: Northtown and Southtown. Roosevelt Island is owned by the city but was leased for 99 years to the New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC) in 1969. The island was called Minnehanonck by the Lenape and Varken Eylandt (Hog Island) by the Dutch during the colonial era and later Blackwell's Island. During much of the 19th and 20th centuries, the island was used by hospitals and prisons, with very limited access. It was renamed Welfare Island in 1921. Following several proposals to redevelop Welfare Island in the 1960s, the UDC leased the island, renamed it after former U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt...

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