Randall's Island Park — Attraction in New York

Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Islands, in New York County, New York City,1[3] 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 to the north of Wards Island. The channel between them, Little Hell Gate, was infilled by the early 1960s.[4] A third, smaller island, Sunken Meadow Island, was located east of Randalls Island and was connected to it in 1955.

Randalls and Wards Islands

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

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GeographyLocationEast River, Manhattan, NY, U.S.Coordinates40°47′15″N 73°55′31″WArea2.09 km2 (0.81 sq mi)Administration

United States

StateNew YorkCityNew York CityBoroughManhattanDemographicsPopulation1,648 (2010)Pop. density788.5/km2 (2042.2/sq mi)

The island had a population of 1,648 living on 2.09 square kilometers (520 acres) in 2010.[5] Most of the island is parkland, spanning a total of 432.69 acres (175.10 ha), and managed by Randall's Island Park Alliance.[6] The park offers 91 athletic fields, a driving range, greenways, playgrounds and picnic grounds. The island also has a history of being used for asylums, hospitals, and cemeteries, and is currently 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, 2 state police stations, FDNY fire academy, a DEP wastewater treatment plant, Icahn Stadium, HELP Clarke Thomas Mens Homeless Shelter, Keener Employment Homeless Mens Shelter, Schwartz Homeless Mens 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 home of three music festivals: Governors Ball Music Festival, Panorama Music Festival, and Electric...

Decided to visit Randall’s Island as a getaway from the urban jungle. It’s easy to get to by either biking or walking (take either the 103rd St or 125th St bridge over). The bridges definitely need stricter enforcement and patrol. There was poop all over the walkway leading to the island, it was disgusting. How was no one able to see someone pooping, there’s literally NYS cops on the bridge itself. Is no one doing their jobs? And bicyclists ride like crazy on the bridge, even though it says to walk your bike. Saw someone almost knock a kid because he was going so fast on the bridge. Looks like the park listened and added maps all across the island so you can tell where you’re going. Honestly, there really wasn’t much here to see. It’s just fields after fields and some “gardens”, which are overgrown with weed and in disrepair. Only good place was the marsh area (again, bicyclists breezing through the bridge almost hitting people as they’re reading the info plaques). Transportation on the island is bad too. The bus hardly ever comes, no Citibike docks. Bathrooms were gross, poss and poop everywhere. No public WiFi, nowhere to buy food. Only good part I enjoyed was the pathway under the Hell Gate train bridge, which creates a tunnel effect. It definitely doesn’t feel safe at some spots. They def need to step up patrols and make sure people are following the rules. I would rather go to Central Park or Prospect Park. This isn’t...

Been coming to this Festival The Last couple Years and I have a blast every time. The organizers do a great job with the DJ selection, the vendors, security, and utilizing the space that they have. However it would be nice if they could spread out the stages a little bit more so the sound doesn't bleed into one another. It's a 3 day event and I think all 3 days is a perfect amount of time to get as much entertainment in for what's being offered here. The wide variety of food they offer is amazing from vegan options to meat eaters they seem to have everything covered. I deducted a star for the outrageous prices they charge for admission and food. Two cocktails were $36 and they were in small plastic cups loaded with ice. I had asked for no ice one time and they said that its something they could not do unless they only fill it up half. I thought that was super tacky. For the amount of money we're spending on admission which was a little over $600 for 2 adults/3 days they should have been a little bit more generous with food and drink prices. Although the festival was totally worth it where it's only a yearly event. Not sure if I would attend again next year where this year was the 10-year anniversary. I'll probably explore other festivals but it's definitely something everyone should experience...