Roosevelt Island area

I live in the Riverwalk rental next to the Tram and love the location (though I liked it more when the Tram was still running). Have seen some units in the condo next door, but can't say much about life there since I don't live there. The 3 BRs were impressive, but the livingrooms felt too small. I see moving trucks moving people into the condos every few days and think they are selling well now. I have not checked Streeteasy for official numbers.

In our building, I do not live on a high floor and cannot hear the subway (you must know how long it takes to get to the platform on RI -- I wonder whether anyone can hear the subway above ground on RI). What I can hear is the steady hum of traffic on the Queensboro bridge, even though our unit is as far on the north side of the building (though we only hear the hum in the master bedroom, which is on the east side facing the bridge). You might want to listen for the noise from a unit you consider buying, though the condos are farther away from the bridge than the rental and might not have the same issue.

I am very pleased with Related, which manages and runs both building. We love the staff and I absolutely love the gym and rooftop. The views are great and I would imagine the condo has a nice rooftop, too. I am not impressed with the quality of the appliances -- the microwave, dishwasher and especially the washer/dryers are some of the worst I have ever used. I would hope they use better lines for the condo.

We decided not to buy on RI after these 18 months of living here (I used to live in Northtown, too, and relocated to Southtown, once the Related building opened) and have been looking into Central Harlem instead. Although the retail situation has improved during my time here, I can no longer deal with the overall inconvenience of not having a proper grocery store and enough restaurants. I use Fresh Direct and go to the Farmers' Market on Saturdays, but it is a major drawback for me. But I have a family and we cook. Your situation may be different.

My version of hell includes living on Roosevelt Island. I'm sure there are folks that like it, but it is isolated, retail options are incredibly limited, and while its cheaper than Manhattan, you get a lot less than Manhattan. Personally, I'd take just living in Queens mainland or Brooklyn over it in a sec.

I've had to go 15-20x in the last year or so, and transportation can be *very* spotty, especially on weekends. But its the just lack of life that bothers me. Main Street is something nightmares (or orwell novels) are made of.

Thanks to both of you for explaining your views. I have to say, I think R.I. is a love it or hate it type of place. I lived in the Manhattan Park building so the grocery store was right across the street and I would walk to Costco (15 min) and take a $7 cab back home. Perfect solution.

Does anyone have opinions on R.I. as an *investment*? It's a funny place since it's scrunched right in there yet isolated at the same time.

id rather live at rikers

"on rikers"--they are islands after all

Ouch... care to elaborate why? So in general, does the real estate community shun R.I.? Probably means bad things for appreciation.

I though the related condos Ricerwald court were selling very well lke 80% sold, dont know much about retail there but if people are moving on the island wouldnt etail improve? There is alot of mitchell lama and public housing on the island and the schools are horrible if you have kids

i mean retail improve

I find that RI is not for everyone, but the people (I know) who move there seem to really like it there.

Even though I knew about R.I. all my life (my father had worked at one of the hospitals there when I was a kid), I used to get annoyed if people listed their properties as being UES rather than R.I. You could not get me to even consider those listings. Once my brother moved there with his family, we still did not like it because it felt artificial and boring. But that was when we were childless and lived in "real" Manhattan. Fast forward a couple of years and being completely priced out of Manhattan and all the greenery and parks were exactly what I was looking for. I finally approached the island with that perspective and find that many families do look at the island as a good investment. There are also a lot of retirees living there who want a quiet neighborhood but with proximity to the city. There are parts of Queens that are nice, but they are generally not closer than R.I. and only the far out parts of Queens are as green (LIC feels so barren to me; Astoria is lovely but does not have a lot of doorman buildings that are close to the subway).
I have never had an issue with the Mitchell Lama housing or the tenants, though some people do. You have subsidized housing all over the city. The schools could be better, but I hear they now have a G&T program, if your kid qualifies. I think all of these issues apply to so many neighborhoods in the city, but many of us cannot afford Related-type buildings (which are not for everyone, but have features like gyms, W/D, doormen, etc. which some find attractive) in "real" Manhattan and those types of buildings are not as common in the other boroughs.

msmbrk do you live in one of the related buildings on the island? Also what is the parking situation for people in the condos?

Yes, I live in a Related building -- the "new" rental (the newest of all the Related buildings on R.I.). I don't live in the condo, but I believe that their residents, like everyone on R.I. parks at Motorgate, which is a 10 minute walk away (or 5 minute bus ride) and charges about $190 per month (including taxes). There is a private, much nicer underground garage on the other end of the island, but it is over $300 per month and is really inconvenient if you live on the southside of the island (why pay more to park farther away). We have not had the chance to get the city tax exempt form yet, but if you do, then you will pay less than $190 (which is a phenomenal parking rate, even if Motorgate is one of the creepiest, most disgusting places you may ever step foot in). The nice thing about the Riverwalk buildings (all of Related's buildings on R.I. have the word "Riverwalk" in the name) is that they have driveways where you can pull up and load and unload and leave your car for 15 minutes (if you sign in with the doorman). This may not seem like a benefit, but there are numerous times you need to do more than just drop off people or things, but don't want to got to Motorgate and park. This is very useful. The buildings on the north side of the island do not have that option (maybe the Octogon does), and we were once ticketed for leaving our car unattended there for 40 seconds when we had no choice but to leave the car. The local public safety department can be overzealous with ticketing, but, on the other hand, the island is very safe.

personally, if money were the issue, I'd take stuy town / peter cooper over RI in a second. ST/PC certainly have their issues, but I feel like RI has those same issues doubled or tripled. I think there are a lot of parallels, particularly in areas mentioned above... isolated, green space, river, transportation issues, etc.

Oh yeah, and horribly unattractive buildings.

My biggest concern would the land lease. Why would I ever buy in a building that is setting on a leased land.

The land lease has been discussed before lic has buildings that are landlease as well ie the view

So.. what happens, or what could happen, once the lease expires?