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Photograph: Courtesy CC/Wikimedia Commons/Jim Henderson

Stop saying Roosevelt Island is lame, because it's amazing

Will Gleason
Written by
Will Gleason
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Kelly Nichols-Hoppe, a 25-year-old who lives on Roosevelt Island, tells us why she wouldn't want to live any place else. 

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So when did you move to Roosevelt Island?

I’ve been living here just over two years now. 

What surprised you about moving there? 

I think it has a reputation that there’s just older people and no community. But that’s totally not true. I know a lot of people by first name. It’s a really welcoming place. I’ve never felt that way in Manhattan and Brooklyn.  

What do you love most about it?

That not a lot of people know about it! A lot of times people will confuse it with Governors Island, which is funny. Everybody who comes here loves it immediately. The new Cornell campus is bringing in younger people, and every week it seems like a new restaurant is popping up. 

There’s more than one restaurant?

Yes! There’s a few right when you get off the tram that most people know about, but as you go toward the middle of the island, the places are really great. I love sushi, and Fuji East Japanese Bistro is fantastic. Riverwalk Bar & Grill is my other favorite place. Another new café just opened on the Cornell campus, which I read about in the island newspaper.

Wait, Roosevelt Island has its own newspaper?

Yes, it’s called The Main Street WIRE, and it’s just for the island. You can get it everywhere here.  

So do you ride the tram, like, all the time?

I ride it every time that I can! Obviously, the subway station is much easier. But I love the tram. Whenever I have someone visiting, we go on it.

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