Image of City Hospital located at the north end of the now Southpoint Park. Closed in 1955 when hospital was reloated to Elmhurst, Queens. Demolished in 1992. The serpentine fence encircling parts of Southpoint Park is made from the walls of the hospital. The stone was quarried on the Island by the Penitentiary inmates at the quarry located where 465 Main Street is located. The iron columns at Southpoint Park entrance are from the interior of City Hospital.
This is first in a series of historical excerpts from the Archives of the RIHS. This biographical story is of a person who was hospitalized at City Hospital on our Island in 1901. It is signed “A GRATEFUL PATIENT”
If you have a New York Times subscription go to Times Machine for Aug. 4, 1901 “Life at the City Hospital”
UPDATE
Coler Long Term Care and Rehabilitation Named Site of Expanded Hospital Beds
Since 1952 Coler Hospital has served the City of New York. At its peak, Coler had over 750 patients and long term care residents. In recent years Coler specialized in long term care and many of its units were closed. In this time of health crisis the City will re-activate over 300 beds for acute medical cases. Per a teleconference with the administration, two aspects of care and safety were emphasized:
The current residents of Coler are being cared for by the Coler staff and extreme measures are being taken as to preventing the Coronovirus from entering the facility. All staff are monitored upon entering the building. No visitors are permitted. All activities that involve congregating residents are canceled.
THE SAFETY OF THE STAFF, RESIDENTS, COMMUNITY AND ALL OF ROOSEVELT ISLAND IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE TO THE CITY, STATE AND HEALTH+HOSPITALS.
The new units which are not near current patient areas are being prepared to be acute hospital areas. Acute care staffing will be provided for these patients. The type of patients being admitted to Coler is not known yet. The units are being prepared by contractors and emergency preparedness personnel who can do the work with sped and have vast knowledge in emergency preparedness.
Reminder: Coler was flooded by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and most of the residents were safe and sheltered in place. The City of New York has spent about $93,000,000 to upgrade and improve the building.
Personally, I have been a member of the Coler Community Advisory Board for over 15 years and am currently the President of the Coler Auxiliary.
There are many islanders who are on Coler committees such as OPEN-DOOR, volunteers, Advisotyr Board, Auxiliary and in many departments and we miss serving our neighbors and hope to be back soon.
Judith Berdy, President Roosevelt Island Historical Society
Roosevelt Island Historical Society Lecture Series at the
NY Public Library
524 Main Street
Thursday, February 13, 2020 6:30 p.m.
Presents
Matthew Goodman
“Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland’s History-Making Race Around the World”
Matthew Goodman is the
New York Times-bestselling author of four books of nonfiction: The City Game:
Triumph, Scandal, and a Legendary Basketball Team; Eighty Days: Nellie
Bly and Elizabeth Bisland’s History-Making Race Around the World; The Sun and the Moon:
Hoaxers, Showmen, Dueling Journalists, and Lunar Man-Bats in Nineteenth-Century
New York ; and Jewish Food: The
World at Table
All programs are free and open to the public. These programs are funded by: Amalgamated Bank, RIOC Public Purpose Funds, NYC Council Member Ben Kallos through the Department of Youth and Community Development.
ROOSEVELT ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY, P.O.BOX 5, NY NY 10044 WWW.RIHS.US
Mitch Waxman, artist, Newtown Creek historian, and Steering Committee member of the Working Harbor Committee, started the Newtown Pentacle website in 2009 to document his adventures along the Creek. He regularly offers walking, bus, and boat tours of the Newtown Creek Watershed. Waxman will discuss the history of Newtown Creek and his on-going work in a lecture presented by the Roosevelt Island Historical Society at the New York Public Library Branch on Roosevelt Island, on Thursday, November 14, 2019 at 6:30p.m.
The event is FREE and open to the public. It is the first in the Society’s annual series of Fall lectures, which is supported by Amalgamated Bank, Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation’s Public Purpose Fund and New York City Council Member Ben Kallos, with funding from the New York CityDepartment of Youth and Community Development.
DIRECTIONS: Take the Tram at 59th Street and Second Avenue or the F train to Roosevelt Island. Take the red bus (no charge) or walk eight minutes north to 524 Main Street.
B A R R E N I S L A N D T H U R S D A Y S E P T E M B E R 1 2 | 6 : 3 0 P. M. R I N Y P L B R A N C H ________________ S P E A K E R : C a r o l Z o r e f f From the mid-19th century until the 1930s, there was a factory island in Jamaica Bay where large animals were rendered into glue and fertilizer. Carol Zoref discusses her book about the immigrant families who worked in the factory and lived their entire lives on Barren Island, in a world that no longer exists.
The lecture is FREE and open to the public. It is the fourth and final in Society’s annual series of spring lectures, which is supported by funds provided by Amalgamated Bank, Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation’s I Public Purpose Fund and New York City Council Member Ben Kallos, with funding from the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development.
— Mark your calendar for the next round of public lecture events hosted by the RIHS on: February 13th, January 9th, December 12th, and November 14th. Stay tuned for more information about each program. —
Here’s a twitter link to a featured NY1 piece on Roosevelt Island.
The #MorningsOn1 anchors are spending the week visiting places they've never been in NYC. Today, @StacyAnnGooden is checking out Roosevelt Island, a history-packed destination accessible by tram. pic.twitter.com/gOnmDXi6XD
