Roosevelt Island, Todd P, Cops, Heat, Awesome

Yesterday I headed to Roosevelt Island for the first time ever. Considering that I used to live on the UES and could see RI from the park I played ball at everyday it's a bit odd it took so long. I have to say that I'm very disappointed in myself because I fucking love that place now.

So the reason we were there was the annual Todd P picnic, which has a bunch of bands playing acoustically. When we finally reached the southern tip of the island where the party was we realized it wasn't much of a party. I was dying of thirst at this point and we didn't stick around long. We did go to the very tip of the island where you may have the best view of the city I've ever seen.

We also got to see the abandoned castle/smallpox hospital, which is one of the coolest ruins I've ever seen. People were sneaking inside and eventually the coppers showed up and arrested some poor bastard who never even made it inside. At the same time there were still people inside and I assume they hid out until the smoke cleared. I was actually on my way to hopping the fence when the cops showed so luckily my timing was good.

After that we headed back on the Eastern promenade, yes they actually have beautiful promenades on both sides of the island. Eventually we made it to the small town on the North side. It's literally one street with big UES style apartment buildings. Nonetheless it was very peaceful and had a distinct small town vibe.

Most of the stores were closed because, well like I said, small towns close up on Sundays. The amount of green space on RI is amazing to say the least. It actually smells like grass and flowers everywhere you go. People where out playing softball, basketball, tennis, and kids were running around having a good time. It was quiet but the good kind of quiet... the Mayberry kind of quiet. Which in most cases bores me but considering RI is one stop away from Manhattan it's actually quite refreshing.

I plan on going to RI as much as possible this summer. It's a damn shame that they didn't preserve some of the smaller buildings originally on the island. My only complaint is the massive 30 story apartment buildings but still I would jump on the chance to live here. In fact I think in a few years I will be living here.

So a big thanks to Todd P for finally getting me to Roosevelt Island. Now the city just needs to get there shit together and develop the water front here a bit. The promenade is great but how about a few water front restaurants and bars? That would make this the best part of NYC hands down.