The Roosevelt Island Graduate Hotel welcomed its first visitors on June 1st, but ribbon-cutting waited a day. Allowed time for resettling after Memorial Day, officials greeted an enthusiastic crowd for the ceremony. And then, we took a look inside.
By David Stone
Behind the Ribbon, a look at the new Roosevelt Island Graduate Hotel
You don’t usually think “whimsey” when considering hotels, but this one has a clear gift for it.
As you see, right away, inside the front door…
Fly Boy overlooks check-in, a presence so unique that city council member Ben Kallos suggested it become an official Roosevelt Island symbol.
All those books… They’re not just randomly grabbed and stacked for achieving a certain look. All are technology books in keeping with the campus spirit.
A low-key, but spacious lounge nearby encourages socializing and neighborliness.
For now, although most people in the hotel are masked, face coverings are optional for guests.
A tone-setting corridor packed with Roosevelt family photos leads to the elevators, but even there, a big surprise…
On the elevator wall, the Roosevelt Island Graduate Hotel makes a statement: they know where they are. The even got our community love for cats right. But don’t try this in real life.
And, at least for the opening, more whimsey lay in wait…
For the opening and respecting coronavirus restrictions, Roosevelt Island Graduate Hotel outfitted its ballroom with a theme from the movie Big with Tom Hanks and Elizabeth Perkins.
And yes, that’s a real trampoline in the background, and it’s active.
But really, what about the rooms…
In spacious, stylish rooms, some guests awaken to a Queensboro Bridge view of the New York City, Upper East Side skyline.
Other features include designer phones made to look like olf-fashioned dial bases. In one bathroom, we saw photographs, not so unusual, except these were of mobsters.
Unexpected, to say the least.
Corridor carpets enlivened with Cornell red. Nothing dull here.
Plenty of variety in the rooms and plenty of space accented with great views.
But the bathrooms… You could get lost in this one, and you wouldn’t care.
They’re ready for conferences, and the Roosevelt Island Graduate Hotel has multiple meeting rooms in varying sizes and styles.
But in the end, a reminder of where you are and the reason for being…
Our community partners at Cornell Tech make the Graduate Hotel and much more possible for a grateful community separating boroughs and the East River.
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Rivercross and the Quiet Green Light
Rivercross privatization was enabled in 2010. This matters now because the same governance structures that allowed Rivercross to privatize without formal conflict controls are still in place. The same public authority oversees land leases, settlements, and redevelopment decisions that affect every resident on Roosevelt Island today.
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