{{Short description|Conjoined islands in New York City}} {{Redirect-distinguish|Ward's Island|Bumpkin Island|Toronto Islands}} {{Redirect|Randalls Island}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}} {{Infobox islands | name = Randalls and Wards Islands | image_name = Randalls and Wards Islands.JPG | image_caption = Looking southwest; Randalls Island is in the foreground and Wards Island is behind it. Roosevelt Island, Manhattan (R), and Queens (L) can be seen in the background. | image_size = 250px | map = USA New York City#USA New York#USA | map_caption = Location of Randalls and Wards Islands | native_name = | native_name_link = | nickname = | location = East River, Manhattan, New York, U.S. | coordinates = {{Coord|40|47|15|N|73|55|31|W|region:US-NY_type:landmark|display=,inline,title}} | area_km2 = 2.09 | length_km = | width_km = | country = United States | country_admin_divisions_title = State | country_admin_divisions = New York | country_admin_divisions_title_1 = City | country_admin_divisions_1 = New York City | country_admin_divisions_title_2 = Borough | country_admin_divisions_2 = Manhattan | population = 1,648 | population_as_of = 2010 | density_km2 = 788.5 }}

'''Randalls Island''' (sometimes called '''Randall's Island''') and '''Wards Island''' are conjoined islands, collectively called '''Randalls and Wards Island''', in New York City.<ref name="gnis">[https://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:3942948495844061::NO::P3_FID:962178 Feature Detail Report for Randalls Island] "Purchased in 1772 by British Captain James Montresor; sold in 1784 to Johnathan Randel; acquired by City of New York in 1835."</ref><ref>[https://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:3942948495844061::NO::P3_FID:968795 Feature Detail Report for Wards Island]</ref><ref name=":4">{{cite web |url=http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/park_info_pages/park_info.php?propID=M104 |title=Randall's Island Park |work=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation |access-date=October 29, 2011 |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029192922/http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/park_info_pages/park_info.php?propID=M104 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Part of the borough of Manhattan, it is 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. A channel named Little Hell Gate separated Randalls Island to the north from Wards Island to the south; the channel was filled by the early 1960s. A third, smaller island, '''Sunken Meadow Island''', was located east of Randalls Island and was connected to it in 1955.

The Lenape Native Americans, who lived in the New York City area before European colonization, did not inhabit the islands. Between the 1630s and the 1770s, the islands had various European residents; the islands had the same owners in the 17th century, but ownership was split during the 18th century. Randalls and Wards Islands became known for their respective early-19th-century owners, Jonathan Randel and the Ward brothers. The city government took over both islands in the mid-19th century and developed numerous hospitals, asylums, and cemeteries there. Most of the existing buildings were demolished starting in the 1930s, when the Triborough (now Robert F. Kennedy) Bridge, two parks, and a wastewater treatment plant were developed there. The islands have since been connected with each other, and various recreational facilities and institutions have been developed on both islands in the late 20th and the 21st centuries.

Most of Randalls and Wards Island is parkland with athletic fields, a driving range, greenways, playgrounds, picnic grounds, and the Icahn Stadium track-and-field facility. The island is home to several public facilities, including a psychiatric hospital, an addiction treatment facility, shelters, a fire training academy, police station, and a wastewater treatment plant. The modern-day island is crossed by the Robert F. Kennedy and Hell Gate bridges.

== Geography ==

What is now Randalls and Wards Island was originally composed of Randalls Island to the north, Wards Island to the south, and Sunken Meadow just southeast of Randalls Island.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 7"/> A small creek, Little Hell Gate, ran between the islands.<ref name="U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey 1918 p. 238">{{cite book |author=U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey |title=United States Coast Pilot: Atlantic Coast. Cape Cod to Sandy Hook |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |year=1918 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VstBAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA238 |access-date=April 6, 2024 |page=238}}</ref> The current Randalls and Wards Island came about when Little Hell Gate was partially infilled.<ref name="nyt1995">{{cite news |date=April 16, 1995 |title=Parks and Transportation Departments Debate Future of Former Link Between Randalls and Wards Islands; At City Agencies, Troubled Water Over Bridge |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/16/realestate/postings-parks-transportation-departments-debate-future-former-link-between.html |access-date=October 24, 2013 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-date=November 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101193121/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/16/realestate/postings-parks-transportation-departments-debate-future-former-link-between.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Schuldenrein p. 4"/> The combined island is part of the New York City borough of Manhattan;<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 4" /> this dates to an 1829 statute that designated the islands as being within Manhattan's eastern boundary.<ref name="Margolick 1985 a063">{{cite web |last=Margolick |first=David |date=July 14, 1985 |title=Finding a Watery Line With a Map and a Law |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/14/nyregion/finding-a-watery-line-with-a-map-and-a-law.html |access-date=April 16, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=January 31, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250131135106/https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/14/nyregion/finding-a-watery-line-with-a-map-and-a-law.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Randalls and Wards Island has an area of about {{convert|530|acre}}. The island is surrounded by Bronx Kill to the north, separating it from the Bronx; Harlem River to the west, separating it from Manhattan Island; and the Hell Gate channel of the East River to the south and east, separating it from Queens.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 7">{{harvnb|Schuldenrein|2012|ps=.|page=7}}</ref> The island had a population of 1,648 in 2010.<ref>[https://archive.today/20200212202742/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1400000US36061024000 United States Census Bureau]</ref>

A small island called Mill Rock exists south of Wards Island, while further south is Roosevelt Island.<ref name="BOE p. 12">{{harvnb|Board of Education|1968|ps=.|page=12}}</ref><ref name="Greene 1890 p. 423">{{cite book |last=Greene |first=R.G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zn0WAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA423 |title=The International Cyclopedia: A Compendium of Human Knowledge |publisher=Dodd, Mead |year=1890 |page=423 |access-date=April 10, 2024 |issue=v. 7 |archive-date=August 30, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250830022320/https://books.google.com/books?id=Zn0WAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA423 |url-status=live }}</ref> Prior to the removal of Hell Gate rocks in the mid-19th century,<ref name="usace">{{cite web |title=The Conquest of Hell Gate |url=https://www.nan.usace.army.mil/Portals/37/docs/history/hellgate.pdf |access-date=April 10, 2024 |publisher=United States Army Corps of Engineers |page=1 |archive-date=November 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115104939/http://www.nan.usace.army.mil/Portals/37/docs/history/hellgate.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> there were other large rock outcroppings in the East River near Wards Island.<ref name="Greene 1890 p. 423" />

=== Islands ===

==== Randalls Island ==== Before the islands were combined, Randalls Island had an area of about {{convert|240|acre}}.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 7"/><ref name="Wilson pp. 254–255">{{harvnb|Wilson|1902|ps=.|pages=254–255}}</ref> Randalls Island had some granite outcroppings and marshland.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 4" /><ref name="Dolkart et al p. 2">{{harvnb|Dolkart et al.|2000|ps=.|page=2}}</ref> The southern part of the island was composed of low hills, while the northern two-thirds were higher and flatter. There were two isolated ponds on the northern part of the island.<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 2" /> There was a ridge across the island's northern section, which hosted farms and fruit orchards in the 19th century.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 4"/> Surrounding Randalls Island was a narrow strip of marshland, and there were larger marshes to the north and southeast, which drained into the East River.<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 2" /> The north and southeast shores also had shellfish beds.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 11">{{harvnb|Schuldenrein|2012|ps=.|page=11}}</ref> The southern part of the island was leveled, and the shoreline rebuilt, in the mid-19th century, though some meadows and swamps remained until the 1930s.<ref name="Dolkart et al pp. 2–3">{{harvnb|Dolkart et al.|2000|ps=.|pages=2–3}}</ref>

==== Sunken Meadow Island ==== To the east of Randalls Island was Sunken Meadow Island,<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 7" /><ref name="Dolkart et al p. 2" /> which covered about {{convert|20|acre}}.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 7" /> Ownership of Sunken Meadow Island had been disputed during the early 20th century, and city officials had considered that island to be part of Randalls Island.<ref name="of 1942 p. 5-PT28">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VdQqyMOzsJYC&pg=RA5-PT28 |title=New York Court of Appeals. Records and Briefs. |year=1942 |page=28 |access-date=April 6, 2024 |archive-date=April 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406174131/https://books.google.com/books?id=VdQqyMOzsJYC&pg=RA5-PT28 |url-status=live }}</ref> Infilling took place beginning in the mid-1950s.<ref name=":0">{{cite Hidden Waters NYC|page=49}}</ref> The Sunken Meadow section of Randalls Island Park comprises {{convert|85|acre|ha}} and contains ball fields.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |date=October 18, 1965 |title=Landfill Park Area on Wards and Randalls Islands Nears Completion |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/10/18/archives/landfill-park-area-on-wards-and-randalls-islands-nears-completion.html |access-date=November 15, 2018 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181115195324/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/10/18/archives/landfill-park-area-on-wards-and-randalls-islands-nears-completion.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Also east of Randalls Island was an even smaller island called the Hammock, which was subsumed through filling operations.<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 2" />

====Wards Island====

Originally, Wards Island had an area of about {{convert|145|acre}}.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 7" /> Like Randalls Island to the north, Wards Island had marshlands on its western and northern shores and shellfish beds on the southeastern part of the island.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 11" /> A 1968 guidebook described grasses as being present across the island.<ref name="BOE p. 12" /> The island is surrounded by piles of riprap or rocks.<ref name="BOE p. 13">{{harvnb|Board of Education|1968|ps=.|page=13}}</ref>

thumb|Detail from NOAA Chart 12339 showing Negro Point|left

{{Anchor|Scylla Point}}By the 19th century, the southern end of Wards Island was known as Negro Point;<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 4">{{harvnb|Schuldenrein|2012|ps=.|page=4}}</ref> the Negro Point name became official in 1984.<ref name="Nordheimer 1994 j804"/> A ledge extended about {{convert|200|ft}} to its southeast.<ref name="U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey 1918 p. 238"/> The United States Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration used the Negro Point name.<ref name="Nordheimer 1994 j804">{{cite web |last=Nordheimer |first=Jon |date=November 3, 1994 |title=One Man's Campaign To Rename a Creek |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/03/nyregion/one-man-s-campaign-to-rename-a-creek.html |access-date=April 6, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102215708/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/03/nyregion/one-man-s-campaign-to-rename-a-creek.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Parks commissioner Henry Stern renamed Negro Point in 2001 upon learning of the name, which he thought was offensive.<ref>{{cite news |last=Baard |first=Erik |title=Neighborhood Report: Wards Island; Uneasily Evoking an Outdated Past |website=The New York Times |date=July 8, 2001 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/08/nyregion/neighborhood-report-wards-island-uneasily-evoking-an-outdated-past.html |access-date=April 6, 2024 |archive-date=January 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122060202/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/08/nyregion/neighborhood-report-wards-island-uneasily-evoking-an-outdated-past.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He changed the name to "Scylla Point" because it faced Charybdis Playground in Astoria Park, on the opposite shore of Hell Gate; these were named after the mythological monsters of Scylla and Charybdis on the Strait of Messina.<ref name="Pollak 2008 w063">{{cite web |last=Pollak |first=Michael |title=Turning Away Wrath |website=The New York Times |date=June 29, 2008 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/nyregion/thecity/29fyi.html |access-date=April 6, 2024 |archive-date=December 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209044106/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/nyregion/thecity/29fyi.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

There were other outcroppings around Wards Island.<ref name="U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey 1918 p. 238" /><ref name="BOE p. 13" /> A 1918 guidebook listed two outcroppings known as Holmes Rock and Hogs Back, both of which were west of Scylla Point and above the waterline. The western outcropping extended {{convert|400|ft}} to the southwest, while the eastern outcropping extended {{convert|300|ft}} to the southwest.<ref name="U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey 1918 p. 238"/> These outcroppings are made of Manhattan schist.<ref name="BOE p. 13" /> Ships traveling from the Belgian city of Antwerp also dumped slag onto the shores of the island.<ref name="BOE p. 14">{{harvnb|Board of Education|1968|ps=.|page=14}}</ref>

=== Little Hell Gate === thumb|Little Hell Gate before being filled in Little Hell Gate was originally a natural waterway separating Randalls Island and Wards Island. The east end of the waterway opened into the Hell Gate passage of the East River, opposite Astoria, Queens. The west end met the Harlem River across from East 116th Street, Manhattan.<ref>{{cite map |publisher=United States Geological Survey |title=New York-New Jersey Harlem Quadrangle |url=http://docs.unh.edu/nhtopos/Harlem.htm |year=1900 |scale=1:62,500 |series=15 Minute Series (Topographic) |section=SW |access-date=February 13, 2010 |archive-date=January 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129004839/http://docs.unh.edu/nhtopos/Harlem.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> At the Hell Gate Bridge, the waterway was over 1000 feet (300 m) wide with swift currents.<ref>{{Cite web |year=1917 |title=Hell Gate Arch Bridge |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g-gxAQAAIAAJ |website=Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol 43, Part 2, Page 1759}}</ref>

The opening of the Triborough Bridge spurred the conversion of both islands to parkland. Soon thereafter, the city began filling in most of the passage between the two islands, in order to expand and connect the two parks. The inlet was filled in by the 1960s.<ref name="nyt1995" /><ref name=":0" /> What is now called "Little Hell Gate Inlet" is the western end of what used to be Little Hell Gate; however, few traces of the eastern end of Little Hell Gate still remain: an indentation in the shoreline on the East River side indicates the former east entrance to that waterway. Today, parkland and part of the New York City Fire Department Academy occupy that area.<ref name="nyt1995" />

==History==

===Lenape use=== {{Multiple image |direction=horizontal |align=left |width1=154 |image1=Manhattan1781.jpg |caption1=A 1781 British map of Manhattan. Montresor's (Randalls) and Buchanan's (Wards) Islands can be seen on the right, flanking Hell Gate, although their names have been reversed, Montresor's being the northern of the two. |width2=175 |image2=Long Island City map 1896.jpg |caption2=Detail of an 1896 map of Long Island City from the Greater Astoria Historical Society; Randalls and Wards Islands are at the top. }}

According to archaeological digs, the area around Randalls and Wards Islands was settled by Paleo-Indians up to 12,000 years ago.<ref>{{harvnb|Dolkart et al.|2000|ps=|pages=4–6}}; {{harvnb|Horn|Schaefer|Saunders|2012|ps=.|pages=5–6}}</ref> The Lenape, a Native American people indigenous to New York City, called Wards Island {{lang|umu|Tekenas}}<ref name="Bergoffen p. 6"/><ref name="Schuldenrein p. 11"/> or {{lang|umu|Tenkenas}}.<ref name="Tooker 1901 p.">{{cite book | last=Tooker | first=William Wallace | title=Indian Names of Places in the Borough of Brooklyn: With Historical and Ethnological Notes | publisher=F.P. Harper | series=Algonquian series | year=1901 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ry8TAAAAYAAJ | access-date=April 8, 2024 | page=58 | archive-date=April 8, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408230525/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ry8TAAAAYAAJ | url-status=live }}</ref> The exact translation of the name is not known but has been interpreted as "forest", "wild land[s]", or "uninhabited place";<ref name="Grumet 1981 p. ">{{cite book | last=Grumet | first=Robert Steven | title=Native American Place Names in New York City | publisher=Museum of City of New York | date=1981 | isbn=978-0-89062-109-7 | page=56}}</ref><ref name="Bergoffen p. 6">{{harvnb|Bergoffen|2001|ps=.|p=6}}</ref> the name is derived from {{lang|umu|Tékene}}, the Munsee Delaware word for "the woods".<ref name="Tooker 1901 p." /> Randalls Island was called {{lang|umu|Minnehanonck}}<ref>{{cite enc-nyc|page=1084}}</ref><ref name="Bonner 1925 p. 37">{{cite book |last=Bonner |first=W.T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uDU_8jthJaUC&pg=PA37 |title=New York: The World's Metropolis, 1623-4--1923-4, a Presentation of the Greater City at the Beginning of Its Second Quarter Century of Amalgamated Government and the 300th Anniversary of Its Founding, with Review of the Interim Accomplishments of Its Citizens |publisher=R. L. Polk |year=1925 |page=37 |access-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408230525/https://books.google.com/books?id=uDU_8jthJaUC&pg=PA37 |url-status=live }}</ref> or {{lang|umu|Minnahanouth}}.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 7">{{harvnb|Bergoffen|2001|ps=.|p=7}}</ref> Neither Randalls nor Wards Islands are known to have had any Lenape settlements.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 6" /><ref name="Dolkart et al p. 8">{{harvnb|Dolkart et al.|2000|ps=.|page=8}}</ref> Just west of Randalls Island was a village called {{lang|umu|Conykeekst}} ("little narrow tract") on Manhattan Island, while to the north of Randalls Island was the village of {{lang|umu|Ranachqua}} in the Bronx.<ref>{{harvnb|Dolkart et al.|2000|ps=|page=7}}; {{harvnb|Horn|Schaefer|Saunders|2012|ps=.|pages=6–7}}</ref> There was another settlement, {{Lang|umu|Rechewanis}}, on Manhattan Island southwest of the two islands as late as 1669.<ref name="Davenport p. 4">{{harvnb|Davenport|2019|ps=.|page=4}}</ref>

At the time of European contact in the early 17th century, there were 900 Wecquaesgeek Lenape living in what is now Upper Manhattan, the Bronx, and lower Westchester County.<ref>{{harvnb|Dolkart et al.|2000|ps=|page=6}}; {{harvnb|Horn|Schaefer|Saunders|2012|ps=.|page=6}}</ref> The islands became part of the Dutch colony of New Netherland, and Dutch colonists ultimately forced the Wecquaesgeek off Manhattan by the late 17th century.<ref name="Davenport p. 4" /><ref name="HSS p. 6">{{harvnb|Horn|Schaefer|Saunders|2012|ps=.|page=6}}</ref><ref name="Dolkart et al pp. 6–7">{{harvnb|Dolkart et al.|2000|ps=.|pages=6–7}}</ref>

=== 17th through early 19th centuries === Between the 1630s and the 1770s, the islands had various European residents. At the time, the islands were several miles from the boundaries of New York City, which then occupied modern-day Lower Manhattan.<ref name="SM p. 180">{{harvnb|Seitz|Miller|2011|ps=.|page=180}}</ref> The islands had the same owners in the 17th century, but ownership was split during the 18th century.<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 9; HSS p. 8" />

==== Early colonial use ==== Wouter Van Twiller, the Director General of New Netherland, obtained the island from two Lenape chiefs named Numers and Seyseys<ref name="Wilson pp. 254–255" /><ref name="Bergoffen p. 6" /> on July 16, 1637.<ref name="Bonner 1925 p. 37" /><ref name="Bergen 1915 p. 1218">{{cite book |last=Bergen |first=T.G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZuwpAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1218 |title=Genealogies of the State of New York: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation |publisher=Lewis Historical Publishing Company |year=1915 |page=1218 |access-date=April 8, 2024 |issue=v. 3 |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408230526/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZuwpAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1218 |url-status=live }}</ref> Van Twiller only used the islands for raising livestock.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 6" /> Wards Island's first European name was Great Barent Island, while Randalls Island's first European name was Little Barent Island; both were named after a Danish cowherd named Barent Jansen Blom.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 6" /><ref name="Schuldenrein p. 11" /> A map from 1639 indicates that Van Twiller farmed Great Barent Island but left Little Barent Island unused.<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 9; HSS p. 8" />

The islands were both seized in April 1667, three years after the British takeover of New Netherland.<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 8; HSS p. 8">{{harvnb|ps=|Dolkart et al.|2000|page=8}}; {{harvnb|Horn|Schaefer|Saunders|2012|ps=.|page=8}}</ref> The names of Great and Little Barent Islands were changed to Great and Little Barn{{Efn|The name "Barn" has also been transcribed as "Barnes".<ref name="Bergoffen p. 6" /><ref name="Schuldenrein p. 11"/>}} after the British took over.<ref name="Davenport p. 4" /> Thomas Delavall, a customs collector<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 11" /><ref name="Bergoffen pp. 6–7">{{harvnb|Bergoffen|2001|ps=.|pages=6–7}}</ref> and an early mayor of New York City, claimed ownership of both islands in January 1667 and formally took ownership in 1668.<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 8; HSS p. 8" /> Delavall offered the islands as a public park for the nearby town of Harlem, but nothing came of this proposal.<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 9; HSS p. 8" /> After Delavall's death in 1682, the islands were bequeathed to his son-in-law William Dervall.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 11" /><ref name="Bergoffen pp. 6–7"/> The islands became part of New York County (now Manhattan) in 1683, and they became part of New York City in 1691.<ref name="Davenport p. 4" /><ref name="Dolkart et al p. 9; HSS p. 8">{{harvnb|ps=|Dolkart et al.|2000|page=9}}; {{harvnb|Horn|Schaefer|Saunders|2012|ps=.|page=8}}</ref> Toward the end of the 17th century, stones from Little Barn Island were quarried for the construction of Trinity Church in Manhattan's Financial District.<ref name="SM p. 180" />

==== Early and mid-18th century use ==== thumb|200px|Looking west along Little Hell Gate Inlet, a remnant of the former Little Hell Gate strait between the two islands, in 2008Great Barn (Wards) Island came under the ownership of Thomas Parcell in 1687; his family owned it until {{Circa|1762}}, during which it was called Parcell's Island.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 11" /><ref name="Bergoffen p. 6" /> At least four people, likely members of the Parcell family, were buried in a stone vault on the island.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 11" /> Wards Island was also known as Buchanan's Island.<ref name="Wilson p. 255">{{harvnb|Wilson|1902|ps=.|page=255}}</ref> Thomas Bohanna bought {{convert|140|acre}} on the southern section Great Barn Island in 1767,<ref name="Davenport p. 4" /> and the island was briefly known for him.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 11" /><ref name="Schuldenrein pp. 11–12">{{harvnb|Schuldenrein|2012|ps=.|pages=11–12}}</ref> Bohanna's portion of Great Barn Island was then resold in 1772 to Benjamin Hildreth, while John William Pinfold obtained the remainder of the island at that time. By then, Great Barn Island included an orchard, farms, pastures, and several buildings.<ref name="Davenport p. 4" />

Meanwhile, Little Barn (Randalls) Island had come under the ownership of Elias Pipon, Delavall's great grandson,<ref name="Richmond 1872 p.">{{cite book |last=Richmond |first=John Francis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mnQFAAAAQAAJ |title=New York and Its Institutions, 1609-1872 |publisher=E. B. Treat |year=1872 |page=525 |access-date=April 6, 2024}}</ref><ref name="Bergoffen p. 7" /> by 1735.<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 9; HSS p. 8" /> Pipon had emigrated from England in 1732<ref name="Bergoffen p. 7" /> and was socially popular until he went bankrupt in 1739 and had to return to England.<ref name="p101210777" /> The island subsequently became known as Belle Isle<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 9; HSS p. 8" />{{efn|Also spelled Bell<ref name="Richmond 1872 p." />}} or Belle Island.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 7" /> ''The New York Times'' describes an "amiable English gentlemen of quiet tastes", George Talbot, as being the next occupant of Pipon's house.<ref name="p101210777" /> Talbot definitely occupied the island by 1747,<ref name="Bergoffen pp. 7–8">{{harvnb|Bergoffen|2001|ps=.|pages=7–8}}</ref> and the isle gained the name Talbot's Island.<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 9; HSS p. 8" /><ref name="Richmond 1872 p." /> He died on the island in 1765 and bequeathed it to the Society in Great Britain for Propagating the Gospel to Foreign Parts, which held onto the island for another seven years.<ref name="p101210777" /><ref name="Bergoffen pp. 7–8" /> Captain John Montresor, an engineer with the British army, purchased Randalls Island in 1772.<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 9; HSS p. 8" /><ref name="p101210777" /> He renamed it Montresor's Island and lived on it until the American Revolutionary War;<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 9; HSS p. 8" /><ref name="Bergoffen p. 8">{{harvnb|Bergoffen|2001|ps=.|page=8}}</ref> he surveyed the New York Harbor area for the British prior to the war.<ref name="SM p. 180" /><ref name="Dolkart et al p. 9; HSS p. 8" />

Starting in early 1776, the Continental Army used Montresor's Island to quarantine American soldiers who were infected with smallpox.<ref name="Schuldenrein pp. 11–12" /><ref name="Dolkart et al p. 10; HSS p. 8">{{harvnb|Dolkart et al.|2000|ps=|page=10}}; {{harvnb|Horn|Schaefer|Saunders|2012|ps=.|page=8}}</ref> Following the Continental Army's defeat in the Battle of Long Island, the British took over both islands<ref name="SM p. 180" /><ref name="Bergoffen pp. 7–8" /> and used them as an army base.<ref name="Schuldenrein pp. 11–12" /> The British launched amphibious attacks on Manhattan from Montresor's Island.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://revolutionarywar.us/year-1776/ |title=List of Revolutionary War Battles for 1776 |website=RevolutionaryWar.us |access-date=February 11, 2023}}</ref> John Montresor's wife Frances worked at a hospital on Montresor's Island, and troops on that island became friendly with American troops in the modern-day South Bronx.<ref name="SM p. 180" /><ref name="Dolkart et al p. 10; HSS p. 8" /> The Continental Army unsuccessfully tried to retake Montresor's Island on September 23, 1776, and 14 American troops were killed or injured.<ref name="Black Tucker 2018 p. 2113">{{cite book |last1=Black |first1=J.M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u5X3EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT2113 |title=American Revolution: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection |last2=Tucker |first2=S.C. |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2018 |isbn=979-8-216-04691-2 |page=2113 |archive-date=September 2, 2025 |access-date=April 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250902154322/https://books.google.com/books?id=u5X3EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT2113 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Mays 2019 p. 221">{{cite book |last=Mays |first=T.M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e35_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA221 |title=Historical Dictionary of the American Revolution |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-5381-1972-3 |series=Historical Dictionaries of War, Revolution, and Civil Unrest |page=221 |archive-date=December 28, 2024 |access-date=April 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241228030503/https://books.google.com/books?id=e35_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA221 |url-status=live }}</ref> Montresor's house there was burned in 1777. Montresor wrote in his diary that American soldiers had burned down his house, while the Americans maintained that the British had set the house aflame while retreating from what they believed was an imminent attack.<ref name="SM p. 180" /><ref name="Dolkart et al p. 10; HSS p. 8" /> Maps from late 1777 indicate that there were no remaining structures on Montresor's Island's western shore.<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 10; HSS p. 8" /> Montresor moved back to England afterward.{{Efn|Sources disagree over whether he moved to England in 1778<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 10; HSS p. 8" /> or 1783.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 8" />}}<ref name="Bergoffen p. 8" /><ref name="Dolkart et al p. 10; HSS p. 8" />

==== Post-Revolutionary use ==== The New York City government confiscated the islands after the British occupation of New York ended in 1783.<ref name="p101210777" /> The city sold Montresor's Island to the merchant Samuel Ogden in 1784.<ref name="p101210777" /> In November 1784, Jonathan Randel{{efn|His surname is variously spelled Randal or Randel.<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 10; HSS p. 9"/><ref name="Best Books on Project 1939 p. 424"/> One source from 1962 spelled his name Jonathan Randall.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 12" />}} bought Montresor's Island for about $6,000.<ref name="p101210777">{{cite news |date=May 20, 1934 |title=Randall's Island Had Many Names: Present Designation Came From Young Farmer Who Bought It in 1784. |work=The New York Times |page=RE1 |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|101210777}}}}</ref><ref name="Dolkart et al p. 10; HSS p. 9">{{harvnb|Dolkart et al.|2000|ps=|page=10}}; {{harvnb|Horn|Schaefer|Saunders|2012|ps=.|page=9}}</ref> Randel reportedly sold enough produce to pay for the island within a decade.<ref name="p101210777" /> Maps from the early 19th century show that Randel developed at least three structures; an 1836 map depicts a tree-lined path leading from the Harlem River to Randell's main house.<ref name="HSS p. 9">{{harvnb|Horn|Schaefer|Saunders|2012|ps=.|page=9}}</ref>

William Lownds bought Great Barn Island's southern half from Benjamin Hildreth in 1785.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 11" /><ref name="Schuldenrein pp. 11–12" /> He operated a quarry on that island and continued to maintain a farm there.<ref name="Davenport p. 4" /><ref name="Schuldenrein p. 12">{{harvnb|Schuldenrein|2012|ps=.|page=12}}</ref> Jasper Ward bought Lownds's land in 1806. His brother Bartholomew bought the remainder of Great Barn Island from John Molenaar, who in turn had acquired that land from Pinfold.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 7" /><ref name="Schuldenrein p. 12" /> The island was renamed for the Ward brothers, who unsuccessfully tried to create an agrarian community there,<ref name="Davenport p. 4" /><ref name="SM p. 181">{{harvnb|Seitz|Miller|2011|ps=.|page=181}}</ref> selling off parcels to various people.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 12" /> In addition, Bartholomew Ward and Philip Milledolar{{efn|His surname is variously spelled Milledoer<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 12" /> or Milledolar<ref name="NYC DOT 1980 p380" />}} built a drawbridge to what is now 114th Street on Manhattan Island,<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 12" /><ref name="NYC DOT 1980 p380" /> which was completed around 1807.<ref name="Davenport p. 4" /> A cotton factory was then built on the island by 1811, but it failed in part because of the economic effects of the War of 1812.<ref name="Davenport p. 4" /><ref name="Schuldenrein p. 12" /> The bridge lasted until 1821, when it was destroyed in a storm.<ref name="NYC DOT 1980 p380">{{cite web |date=January 1, 1980 |title=Harlem River Bridges |url=https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/infrastructure/bridges-harlem.shtml |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=NYC DOT |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408221117/https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/infrastructure/bridges-harlem.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="SM p. 181" /> The damaged bridge pilings remained in place for several decades,<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 12" /> and Wards Island was mostly abandoned afterward.<ref name="Davenport p. 4" />

=== Mid-19th century: development of institutions === Jonathan Randel's heirs sold Randalls Island to the city in 1835 for $50,000 (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|0.05|1835|fmt=c|r=1}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}})<ref name="p101210777" /><ref name="Richmond 1872 p." /> or $60,000 (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|0.06|1835|fmt=c|r=1}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}).<ref name="Bergoffen p. 8" /><ref name="Dolkart et al p. 10; HSS p. 9" /><ref name=":3">{{cite web |date=July 11, 2006 |title=Randall's Island Park Highlights |url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/randalls-island/highlights/6515 |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=Randall’s Island : NYC Parks |archive-date=December 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224192041/https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/randalls-island/highlights/6515 |url-status=live }}</ref> Randel's name was misspelled in the ownership deed that was given to the city, and so the island became known as Randalls Island.<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 10; HSS p. 9" /><ref name="Best Books on Project 1939 p. 424">{{cite fednyc|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=KEwe-UMAYWEC&pg=PA424 424]}}</ref> The city government leased Wards Island in December 1847, initially erecting the State Emigrant Refuge and Hospital there before buying Wards Island outright.<ref name="Richmond 1872 p." /> The city bought half of Wards Island during the early 1850s<ref name="Bergoffen p. 7" /> and acquired the remainder of the island through 1883.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 12" />

In the mid-19th century, various social facilities were relocated from Manhattan Island to nearby smaller isles, including Randalls and Wards Islands.<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 11; HSS p. 9"/> Randalls Island housed an almshouse (opened 1845), a children's hospital (opened 1848), the Idiot Asylum,<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 10; HSS p. 9" /><ref name="Best Books on Project 1939 p. 424"/> and the New York House of Refuge reformatory.<ref name="p101210777" /><ref name="Dolkart et al p. 11; HSS p. 9">{{harvnb|Dolkart et al.|2000|ps=|page=11}}; {{harvnb|Horn|Schaefer|Saunders|2012|ps=.|page=9}}</ref> Maps from the 1850s show two hospital complexes on Randalls Island.<ref name="HSS p. 9"/> Meanwhile, Wards Island was used by the State Emigrant Refuge and the New York City Asylum for the Insane.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/newyorkanditsin03richgoog <!-- quote=ward's island. --> New York and Its Institutions, 1609–1871&nbsp;– John Francais Richmond&nbsp;– E.B. Treat −1871]</ref> Both islands also had potter's fields, or cemeteries for destitute people.<ref name="Davenport p. 4" />

==== Wards Island institutions ==== thumb|300x300px|Sketch of the State Emigrant Hospital The New York State Board of Commissioners of Emigration established Wards Island's first institution, the State Emigrant Hospital, in 1847.<ref>{{cite book |last=Barkan |first=Elliott Robert |title=Immigrants in American History: Arrival, Adaptation, and Integration |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2013 |isbn=9781598842197 |page=1468}}</ref><ref name="Schuldenrein p. 13">{{harvnb|Schuldenrein|2012|ps=.|page=13}}</ref> They leased some land in 1848, then bought additional land on the island's western shore.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 13" /><ref name="Bergoffen p. 9">{{harvnb|Bergoffen|2001|ps=.|page=9}}</ref> The two-story State Emigrant Hospital and the three-story Refuge for Destitute Immigrants on Wards Island both opened in July 1866;<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 13" /><ref name="The New York Times 2023 t315">{{cite web |date=1866-07-12 |title=The State Emigrant Hospital; The Formal Opening of the Institution--Description of the Building |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1866/07/12/archives/the-state-emigrant-hospital-the-formal-opening-of-the.html |access-date=April 11, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=September 9, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250909161521/https://www.nytimes.com/1866/07/12/archives/the-state-emigrant-hospital-the-formal-opening-of-the.html |url-status=live }}</ref> its design was based on a plan by the social reformer Florence Nightingale.<ref name="The New York Times 1903 n179">{{cite web |date=March 15, 1903 |title=Tuberculosis Among Insane; New Methods of Treatment to Be Tested on Ward's Island. How Patients of the State Institution Are Kept Busy and Their Mental Condition Improved. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/03/15/archives/tuberculosis-among-insane-new-methods-of-treatment-to-be-tested-on.html |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227163807/https://www.nytimes.com/1903/03/15/archives/tuberculosis-among-insane-new-methods-of-treatment-to-be-tested-on.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="n145235976">{{Cite news |date=1891-01-02 |title=For Humanity's Sake |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/democrat-and-chronicle-for-humanitys-sa/145235938/ |access-date=2024-04-12 |work=Democrat and Chronicle |pages=1 |postscript=none |archive-date=September 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925225028/https://www.newspapers.com/article/democrat-and-chronicle-for-humanitys-sa/145235938/ |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news |date=1891-01-02 |title=A Vigorous Protest |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/buffalo-courier-a-vigorous-protest/145235976/ |access-date=2024-04-12 |work=Buffalo Courier |pages=6 |archive-date=September 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925224532/https://www.newspapers.com/article/buffalo-courier-a-vigorous-protest/145235976/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The main Emigrant Hospital could accommodate 400 or 450 patients<ref name="Bergoffen p. 9" /><ref name="n145235976" /> and supplemented the city's immigration center, which was then located at Castle Garden.<ref name="SM p. 182">{{harvnb|Seitz|Miller|2011|ps=.|page=182}}</ref> After these structures opened, various other buildings were constructed, including a nursery, two chapels, doctors' residences, and barracks.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 13" /><ref name="Bergoffen p. 9" /> A mental asylum within the Emigrant Hospital was developed on Wards Island's southwestern corner in the 1870s,<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 14">{{harvnb|Schuldenrein|2012|ps=.|page=14}}</ref> following allegations that mentally ill emigrants were being mistreated.<ref name="p572502994">{{cite news |date=9 Nov 1872 |title=Abuse of Lunatics: Secret Meeting on the Commissioners of Charities and Correction--Projected Improvement on Ward's Island the Emigrants Asylum |work=New-York Tribune |page=2 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|572502994}}}}</ref> The western portion of Wards Island contained a smallpox hospital.<ref name="p173826671">{{cite news |date=15 June 1885 |title=New York.: Ward's Island a Vast Small-pox Hospital by Reason of Infected Immigrants. Precautions to Quarantine Them but Partially Successful--indiscreet Burning of Beds. The Movement to Make Saturday a Half holiday Likely to Be Accomplished Without Trouble. Making Saturday a Half-holiday. Gotham Gleanings. |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |page=5 |issn=1085-6706 |id={{ProQuest|173826671}}}}</ref>

The Commissioners of Public Charities and Correction bought additional land on Wards Island in 1852, though disputes over the purchase continued through the 1860s.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 17">{{harvnb|Schuldenrein|2012|ps=.|page=17}}</ref> Following the development of the New York State Inebriate Asylum in Binghamton, New York, a similar asylum was proposed on Wards Island in 1865.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 17" /><ref name="The New York Times 2023 h293">{{cite web |date=1865-04-22 |title=Commissioners of Public Charities and Corrections.; Abstract of Fifth Annual Report, for the Year 1864. Inebriate Asylum, the Alms-house the Work-house the Penitentiary. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1865/04/22/archives/commissioners-of-public-charities-and-corrections-abstract-of-fifth.html |access-date=April 11, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=January 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240121073621/https://www.nytimes.com/1865/04/22/archives/commissioners-of-public-charities-and-corrections-abstract-of-fifth.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The three-story New York Inebriate Asylum on Wards Island opened in 1868<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 17" /><ref name="Davenport p. 5"/> and served recovering alcoholics.<ref name="p93295553">{{cite news |date=9 Mar 1873 |title=Our Disabled Veterans; The Soldiers' Retreat on Ward's Island Comfortable Quarters Provided by the Commissioners of Charities and Correction. |work=The New York Times |page=8 |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|93295553}}}}</ref><ref name="p575271445">{{Cite news |date=28 June 1874 |title=A Great Temperance House: The New York Inebriates' Home on Ward's Island |work=San Francisco Chronicle |page=3 |id={{ProQuest|575271445}}}}</ref> Veterans were housed in the Inebriate Asylum's eastern wing starting in 1869;<ref name="p93295553" /><ref name="The New York Times 2023 w907">{{cite web |date=21 Jan 1870 |title=The Soldiers Provided for; A Home for Needy Veterans--Provision for their Comfort on Ward's Island. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1870/01/21/archives/the-soldiers-provided-for-a-home-for-needy-veteransprovision-for.html |access-date=April 11, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227151957/https://www.nytimes.com/1870/01/21/archives/the-soldiers-provided-for-a-home-for-needy-veteransprovision-for.html |url-status=live }}</ref> they remained there until 1875.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 17" /> A contemporary newspaper wrote that the Inebriate Asylum could not accept any more boarders by 1872 because it was so crowded.<ref name="p575271445" /> The New York Inebriate Asylum became the Homeopathic Hospital in September 1875.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 17" /><ref name="The New York Times 2023 z189">{{cite web |date=1875-09-06 |title=Homeopathic Charity Hospital.; the Only Institution of Its Kind in the World the Old Inebriate Asylum Set Apart for the Purpose. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1875/09/06/archives/homeopathic-charity-hospital-the-only-institution-of-its-kind-in.html |access-date=April 11, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241228015809/https://www.nytimes.com/1875/09/06/archives/homeopathic-charity-hospital-the-only-institution-of-its-kind-in.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Davenport p. 5">{{harvnb|ps=.|Davenport|2019|page=5}}</ref>

A third hospital on Wards Island, Manhattan State Hospital for the Insane, opened in 1871<ref name="Bergoffen p. 11"/> or 1872<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 18">{{harvnb|Schuldenrein|2012|ps=.|page=18}}</ref> and was located near the middle of the island.<ref name="Davenport p. 5"/> The hospital's first building was a three-story Gothic stone structure west of the Inebriate Asylum.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 18"/> By the early 1870s, there were reports that asylum patients were being abused.<ref name="The New York Times 2023 a067">{{cite web |date=13 Nov 1872 |title=The Ward's Island Asylum; The Recent Outrages--Neglect of the Commissioners--An Investigation to be Had--Letter of Dr. Echeverria. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1872/11/13/archives/the-wards-island-asylum-the-recent-outragesneglect-of-the.html |access-date=April 11, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227161334/https://www.nytimes.com/1872/11/13/archives/the-wards-island-asylum-the-recent-outragesneglect-of-the.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=9 Nov 1872 |title=Abuse of Lunatics: Secret Meeting on the Commissioners of Charities and Correction--Projected Improvement on Ward's Island the Emigrants Asylum |work=New-York Tribune |page=2 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|572502994}}}}</ref> The structure was known as the Insane Asylum or the Male Lunatic Asylum, a men's asylum, by the early 1880s.<ref name="Davenport p. 5"/>

==== Randalls Island institutions ==== [[File:House of Refuge, Randall's Island, New York.jpg|thumb|250px|The New York House of Refuge youth detention center in 1855]]Randalls Island's first institution was the Nurseries, operated by Commissioners of Public Charities and Correction.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 11">{{harvnb|Bergoffen|2001|ps=.|page=11}}</ref> In 1847 or 1848, the commissioners completed the Nurseries' first buildings on the northeastern shore.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 11" /><ref name="Davenport (1868) p. 8">{{harvnb|Davenport|1868|ps=.|page=8}}</ref> The Nurseries were used by non-criminal youth below age 17.<ref name="Davenport (1868) p. 8" /> There was a farm on the island's northern shore,<ref name="Bergoffen p. 11" /> as well as a brick detention building.<ref name="Davenport (1868) p. 9">{{harvnb|Davenport|1868|ps=.|page=9}}</ref> An 1867 article described the complex as including a wooden storage building, boathouse, and a wide road leading to the nursery.<ref name="HSS p. 9" /><ref name="Davenport (1868) pp. 8–9">{{harvnb|Davenport|1868|ps=.|pages=8–9}}</ref> At the time, the nursery department comprised eight buildings, while the nursery hospital comprised another five structures.<ref name="Davenport (1868) pp. 9–10">{{harvnb|Davenport|1868|ps=.|pages=9–10}}</ref>

The Children's Hospital was on the west side of the island.<ref name="HSS p. 9" /><ref name="Bergoffen p. 12">{{harvnb|Bergoffen|2001|ps=.|page=12}}</ref> An 1880s map indicates that the Children's Hospital buildings included an infant hospital, insane asylum, and the Randalls Island Hospital from west to east.<ref name="HSS p. 9" /> Due to the poor sanitary conditions, many of the island's infants died from frequent epidemics.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 12" /> Within the Children's Hospital was the Asylum for Juvenile Idiots.<ref name="n145233312">{{Cite news |date=1888-01-01 |title=An Island Full of Idiots |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-an-island-full-of-idiot/145233312/ |access-date=2024-04-12 |work=New-York Tribune |pages=13 |archive-date=September 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925231613/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-an-island-full-of-idiot/145233312/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="New York (State). Legislature. Senate 1868 p. 3-PA20">{{cite book |author=New York (State). Legislature. Senate |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rKCtk4hu2L4C&pg=RA3-PA20 |title=Documents of the Senate of the State of New York |date=January 7, 1868 |publisher=E. Croswell |page=20 |issue=v. 1 |archive-date=September 6, 2025 |access-date=April 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250906212226/https://books.google.com/books?pg=RA3-PA20&id=rKCtk4hu2L4C |url-status=live }}</ref> There was also the Idiot School, created in 1867 to serve mentally disabled children.<ref name="New York (State). Legislature. Senate 1868 p. 3-PA20" /> One newspaper from the 1880s called Randalls Island "an island full of idiots".<ref name="n145233312" />

The House of Refuge, for youth with criminal histories,<ref name="Davenport (1868) p. 8" /> occupied Randalls Island's southern end.<ref name="HSS p. 9" /><ref name="Bergoffen p. 12" /> It was operated by the Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents, which took over part of Randalls Island in 1851.<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 11; HSS p. 9" /><ref name="Pickett p. 139">{{harvnb|Pickett|1969|ps=.|page=139}}</ref> Construction began in 1852,<ref name="Pickett p. 140" /> and the reformatory opened in 1854;<ref name="Pickett p. 140">{{harvnb|Pickett|1969|ps=.|page=140}}</ref><ref name="Dolkart et al p. 11; HSS p. 9" /> an additional structure for women opened at the House of Refuge in 1860.<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 11; HSS p. 9" /> The House of Refuge consisted of numerous three-and-four-story Italianate buildings,<ref name="The New York Times 2023 p253">{{cite web |date=26 June 1870 |title=Out of the Depths; How the Depraved Children of New-York Are Saved. An Inside View of the House of Refuge on Randall's Island--Description of the Institution and its Work--The Object to Reform Rather than to Punish Delinquents. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1870/06/26/archives/out-of-the-depths-flow-the-depraved-children-of-newyork-are-saved.html |access-date=April 11, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241229012721/https://www.nytimes.com/1870/06/26/archives/out-of-the-depths-flow-the-depraved-children-of-newyork-are-saved.html |url-status=live }}</ref> surrounded by a wall.<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 11">{{harvnb|Dolkart et al.|2000|ps=.|page=11}}</ref> The reformatory was supposed to provide religious classes, non-religious lessons, and manual employment.<ref name="SM p. 183">{{harvnb|ps=.|Seitz|Miller|2011|page=183}}</ref><ref name="Dolkart et al pp. 11–12"/> Though ''The New York Times'' said in 1870 that the institution was not intended for punishment,<ref name="The New York Times 2023 p253" /> youths were often beaten and malnourished through the end of the century.<ref name="SM pp. 182–183"/><ref name="Dolkart et al p. 12"/> It also faced overcrowding, with as many as a thousand youths in the 1860s and 1870s.<ref name="SM pp. 182–183">{{harvnb|Seitz|Miller|2011|ps=.|pages=182–183}}</ref><ref name="Dolkart et al pp. 11–12">{{harvnb|Dolkart et al.|2000|ps=.|pages=11–12}}</ref>

==== Potter's fields ==== Prior to the 1840s, the city's potter's fields were located on Manhattan Island; the potter's fields had to be relocated every few years as the city developed. A proposal to relocate the potter's fields to Randalls Island was first put forth in 1835, but this did not happen immediately because of concerns that the potter's fields would be too close to the Randalls Island almshouse.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 14; Schuldenrein pp. 19–20">{{harvnb|Bergoffen|2001|ps=|page=14}}; {{harvnb|Schuldenrein|2012|ps=.|pages=19–20}}</ref> A potter's field opened on Randalls Island in 1843,<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 11; HSS p. 9" /><ref name="Bergoffen p. 14; Schuldenrein p. 20">{{harvnb|Bergoffen|2001|ps=|page=14}}; {{harvnb|Schuldenrein|2012|ps=.|page=20}}</ref> two years before the almshouse was completed.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 14; Schuldenrein p. 20" /><ref name="The New York Times 1975 c815"/> The Randalls Island burial ground covered {{convert|75|acre}}<ref name="The New York Times 1975 c815"/> and was likely south of the island's nurseries, though the exact location is unknown. It operated simultaneously with another potter's field on Fourth Avenue in Manhattan.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 14; Schuldenrein p. 20" /> The Randalls Island potter's field operated until 1850, when the almshouse's governors reported that the field had no more space for inter&shy;ments,<ref name="Bergoffen p. 14; Schuldenrein p. 20" /> and the shallow layer of soil made further burials infeasible.<ref name="Davenport p. 4"/> Historical studies indicate that around 21,000 people may have been buried on the island; with 120 interments in one pit, this would have required at least 130 pits.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 15; Schuldenrein p. 20">{{harvnb|Bergoffen|2001|ps=|page=15}}; {{harvnb|Schuldenrein|2012|ps=.|page=20}}</ref>

By the mid-1850s, ''The New York Times'' regarded the Randalls Island potter's field as "a disgrace to the city".<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 21">{{harvnb|Schuldenrein|2012|ps=.|page=21}}</ref><ref name="The New York Times 1854a">{{cite web | title=New Potter's Field. | website=The New York Times | date=1854-03-29 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1854/03/29/archives/new-potters-field.html | access-date=April 11, 2024 | archive-date=December 29, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241229025452/https://www.nytimes.com/1854/03/29/archives/new-potters-field.html | url-status=live }}</ref> The Corporation of New York thus began acquiring land for the Wards Island potter's field in 1851;<ref name="Bergoffen p. 15; Schuldenrein p. 20" /> it covered {{convert|69|to|75|acre}}.<ref name="Davenport p. 4"/><ref name="The New York Times 1975 c815"/> The location of the Wards Island potter's field is also not known, but between 1,000 and 4,000 bodies were interred there each year.<ref name="Davenport pp. 4–5"/> Another 100,000 bodies were moved from the Fourth Avenue potter's field to Wards Island,<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 11; HSS p. 9" /><ref name="Davenport pp. 4–5">{{harvnb|ps=.|Davenport|2019|pages=4–5}}</ref> which was completed by 1857.<ref name="The New York Times 1975 c815">{{cite web | first=Margaret F. | last=O'Connell | title=Potter's Field Has Found a Resting Place at Last | website=The New York Times | date=August 31, 1975 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/31/archives/potters-field-has-found-a-resting-place-at-last-a-resting-place-for.html | access-date=April 11, 2024 | archive-date=December 3, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221203154353/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/31/archives/potters-field-has-found-a-resting-place-at-last-a-resting-place-for.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Schuldenrein p. 22">{{harvnb|Schuldenrein|2012|ps=.|page=22}}</ref> Other bodies were relocated from the Madison Square and Bryant Park graveyards,<ref name="NYC Parks Wards" /> and immigrants who died at the State Emigrant Hospital were also interred there.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 13" /> About one-third of the bodies were immigrants, who were interred for an additional fee, under an agreement with the emigra&shy;tion commiss&shy;ioners.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 22"/><ref name="The New York Times 2023 v588"/>

When the Wards Island potter's field was in operation, coffins were delivered to a cove on the island's southern shore. They were stored at a receiving vault nearby for a short time, in case families wanted to claim the remains. Unclaimed coffins were placed in mass graves, consisting of trenches measuring {{convert|300|by|18|by|15|ft}}. After the trenches were filled, the trenches were covered with topsoil, and trees were planted above them.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 16; Schuldenrein p. 21">{{harvnb|Bergoffen|2001|ps=|page=16}}; {{harvnb|Schuldenrein|2012|ps=.|page=21}}</ref><ref name="The New York Times 2023 v588">{{cite web | title=New-York City; A Visit to Potter's Field | website=The New York Times | date=1855-08-21 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1855/08/21/archives/newyork-city-a-visit-to-potters-field-rambling-about-wards-island.html | access-date=April 11, 2024 | archive-date=December 27, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227152830/https://www.nytimes.com/1855/08/21/archives/newyork-city-a-visit-to-potters-field-rambling-about-wards-island.html | url-status=live }}</ref> There were two separate clusters of mass graves, one each for Catholics and Protestants; burials in either cluster were overseen by a cleric from the respective denomination.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 22"/> No headstones were installed above the mass graves, as the bodies were not identifiable.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 17; Schuldenrein p. 22">{{harvnb|Bergoffen|2001|ps=|page=17}}; {{harvnb|Schuldenrein|2012|ps=.|page=22}}</ref><ref name="The New York Times 2023 t315"/> The cemetery did contain individual graves, which were interred to the west of the mass graves.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 17; Schuldenrein p. 22" /><ref name="The New York Times 2023 v588"/> By 1868, there were calls to relocate the island's mass graves because people were increasingly relocating along the East River shoreline, across from Wards Island.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 22"/>

=== Late 19th and early 20th century changes === ==== Wards Island changes ==== thumb|An 1885 map showing Randalls, Wards, and Sunken Meadow Islands as three separate landmasses

Wards Island began receiving freshwater from the New York City water supply system in the early 1870s.<ref name="The New York Times 2023 l783">{{cite web |date=January 28, 2023 |title=Randall Island's Water Supply.; Discussion by the Board of Aldermen. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1875/09/07/archives/randall-islands-water-supply-discussion-by-the-board-of-aldermen.html |access-date=April 11, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241228081300/https://www.nytimes.com/1875/09/07/archives/randall-islands-water-supply-discussion-by-the-board-of-aldermen.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By 1874, the corpses in the Wards Island potter's field were relocated to Hart Island in the Bronx.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 13" /><ref name="The New York Times 1975 c815" /> Later the same year, the emigration commissioners established an immigrants' cemetery on Wards Island after several immigrants' families complained about the way their bodies were treated on Hart Island.<ref name="p572584580">{{cite news |date=8 Oct 1874 |title=The Immigrants' Burial Place: an Improvement on the Old Method of Interring Immigrants--description of the Cemetery on Ward's Island |work=New-York Tribune |page=4 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|572584580}}}}</ref> Two reservoirs were added to Wards Island by the late 1870s; maps indicate that the island remained largely unchanged until the end of the century, aside from new roads.<ref name="Davenport p. 6">{{harvnb|ps=.|Davenport|2019|page=6}}</ref> By the early 1880s, control of Wards Island was split between the Commissioners of Emigration (which operated the State Emigrant Hospital and an attached asylum, nursery, and "houses of refuge") and the Commissioners of Public Charities and Correction (which operated institutions such as the Homeopathic Hospital and the Insane Asylum).<ref name="The New York Times 2023 f112">{{cite web |date=21 Nov 1880 |title=Islands About New-York; in the Upper Bay and in the East River. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1880/11/21/archives/islands-about-newyork-in-the-upper-bay-and-in-the-east-river.html |access-date=April 11, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=January 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103210807/https://www.nytimes.com/1880/11/21/archives/islands-about-newyork-in-the-upper-bay-and-in-the-east-river.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the 1880s, there were complaints over the mistreatment of people at Wards Island's Insane Asylum.<ref name="The New York Times 2023 i8792">{{cite web |date=1887-08-23 |title=Ward's Island Abuses; a Long Catalogue of Faults Set Forth by the Investigators, and Radical Reforms Suggested. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1887/08/23/archives/wards-island-abuses-a-long-catalogue-of-faults-set-forth-by-the.html |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=December 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241228225413/https://www.nytimes.com/1887/08/23/archives/wards-island-abuses-a-long-catalogue-of-faults-set-forth-by-the.html |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news |date=1887-07-07 |title=Abuses at Ward's Island |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/democrat-and-chronicle-abuses-at-wards/145233600/ |access-date=2024-04-12 |work=Democrat and Chronicle |pages=1 |archive-date=September 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925234926/https://www.newspapers.com/article/democrat-and-chronicle-abuses-at-wards/145233600/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, there were concerns that the Wards Islands buildings were not fireproof,<ref name="The New York Times 2023 w410">{{cite web |date=18 Feb 1883 |title=The Ward's Island Fire.; No Proper Facilities for Protecting the Crowded Institutions. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1883/02/18/archives/the-wards-island-fire-no-proper-facilities-for-protecting-the.html |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241228231644/https://www.nytimes.com/1883/02/18/archives/the-wards-island-fire-no-proper-facilities-for-protecting-the.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and the emigration commissioners demanded in 1885 that the charities and correction commissioners vacate one of the Wards Islands buildings.<ref name="The New York Times 2023 r396">{{cite web |date=26 June 1885 |title=Two Commissions at War.; the Quarrel Over the Annex Building at Ward's Island. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1885/06/26/archives/two-commissions-at-war-the-quarrel-over-the-annex-building-at-wards.html |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227162328/https://www.nytimes.com/1885/06/26/archives/two-commissions-at-war-the-quarrel-over-the-annex-building-at-wards.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=14 June 1885 |title=Commissioners Who Cannot Agree: Trouble Over a Ward's Island Building--views of the Mayor |work=New-York Tribune |page=5 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|573162116}}}}</ref> By 1887, overcrowding on Wards Island had compelled the charities and correction commissioners to develop another asylum on Long Island.<ref name="p573293643">{{cite news |date=10 Aug 1887 |title=To Relieve Ward's Island Asylum: Plans of the Charities Commissioners for Using Their Long Island Property |work=New-York Tribune |page=5 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|573293643}}}}</ref> There were proposals to turn over the state-owned Emigrant Hospital buildings on Wards Island to the city government.<ref name="The New York Times 2023 y362">{{cite web |date=1889-12-05 |title=From State to City; a Plan to Change the Control of Ward's Island Property. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1889/12/05/archives/from-state-to-city-a-plan-to-change-the-control-of-wards-island.html |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227164028/https://www.nytimes.com/1889/12/05/archives/from-state-to-city-a-plan-to-change-the-control-of-wards-island.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Emigration Commission proposed selling the Emigrant Hospital property to the city for about $2 million in 1890.<ref name="The New York Times 2023 i244">{{cite web |date=11 Dec 1890 |title=The Ward's Island Property; Land Owned There by the Emigration Commission to Be Sold. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1890/12/11/archives/the-wards-island-property-land-owned-there-by-the-emigration.html |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=September 4, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250904124410/https://www.nytimes.com/1890/12/11/archives/the-wards-island-property-land-owned-there-by-the-emigration.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=12 Dec 1890 |title=The City Will Probably Buy Ward's Island |work=New-York Tribune |page=1 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|573637530}}}}</ref> Despite objections to the abandonment of the Emigrant Hospital buildings,<ref name="n145235976" /> the hospital was replaced by Ellis Island's immigration station in 1892.<ref name="SM p. 182" /><ref name="Schuldenrein p. 14" /> That May, the city acquired the island,<ref name="The New York Times 2023 j006">{{cite web |date=14 May 1892 |title=The Canal Bill Vetoed; Yesterday Was the Governor's Busy Day. He Signed Sixty-two Bills and Vetoed Two -- the Other Veto Was of Interest Principally to Farmers -- Ward's Island Bought. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1892/05/14/archives/the-canal-bill-vetoed-yesterday-was-the-governors-busy-day-he.html |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227172406/https://www.nytimes.com/1892/05/14/archives/the-canal-bill-vetoed-yesterday-was-the-governors-busy-day-he.html |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news |date=1892-05-13 |title=Governor Signs 38 Bills |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-evening-world-governor-signs-38-bill/145236409/ |access-date=2024-04-12 |work=The Evening World |pages=3 |archive-date=September 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925230810/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-evening-world-governor-signs-38-bill/145236409/ |url-status=live }}</ref> taking over 35 buildings on approximately {{convert|120|acre}}.<ref name="p573939611">{{cite news |date=18 July 1894 |title=The Ward's Island Inquiry: Big Delays in Contract Work Poor Condition of "the Branch"--walls That Needed Buttresses |work=New-York Tribune |page=9 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|573939611}}}}</ref> The Emigrant Hospital buildings became part of Wards Island's Insane Asylum,<ref name="Bergoffen p. 10">{{harvnb|Bergoffen|2001|ps=.|page=10}}</ref><ref name="Schuldenrein p. 14" /> which was still beset by allegations of mismanagement.<ref name="The New York Times 2023 n522">{{cite web |date=23 June 1894 |title=A Mental Slaughter House; Such, Says Col. Rogers, is the Ward's Island Asylum. Ex-Deputy Commissioner of Street Cleaning Tells of Brutality of Attendants -- No Regard for Sanitation, Sickness, or General Care of Patients -- Physicians' Inhumane Acts -- Miserable Food -- Patients Beaten and Often Killed. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1894/06/23/archives/a-mental-slaughter-house-such-says-col-rogers-is-the-wards-island-a.html |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none }}; {{Cite news |date=1894-06-15 |title=Ward's Island Asylum |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/democrat-and-chronicle-wards-island-asy/145237221/ |access-date=2024-04-12 |work=Democrat and Chronicle |pages=1 |archive-date=September 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925233907/https://www.newspapers.com/article/democrat-and-chronicle-wards-island-asy/145237221/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Homeopathic Hospital relocated to Blackwell's (Roosevelt) Island in 1894, becoming the Metropolitan Hospital.<ref name="Haller 2005 p. 134">{{cite book |last=Haller |first=J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4trFN_jCvNMC&pg=PA134 |title=The History of American Homeopathy: The Academic Years, 1820-1935 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7890-2660-6 |series=Pharmaceutical Products Press Pharmaceutical Heritage |page=134 |archive-date=April 18, 2024 |access-date=April 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418190434/https://books.google.com/books?id=4trFN_jCvNMC&pg=PA134 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Manhattan State Hospital took over Wards Island's immigration and asylum buildings in 1896.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 18" /> Part of the hospital was rebuilt following a fire the next year,<ref name="The New York Times 2023 n453">{{cite web |date=3 Apr 1897 |title=The Ward's Island Fire; Total Damage Done Proves to be Much Greater than at First Estimated. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1897/04/03/archives/the-wards-island-fire-total-damage-done-proves-to-be-much-greater.html |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=September 3, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250903162444/https://www.nytimes.com/1897/04/03/archives/the-wards-island-fire-total-damage-done-proves-to-be-much-greater.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and additional hospital buildings were proposed on Wards Island to relieve overcrowding.<ref name="The New York Times 2023 m422">{{cite web |date=18 Apr 1896 |title=More Room for State Insane; Plans to Relieve the Overcrowded Manhattan Hospital. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1896/04/18/archives/more-room-for-state-insane-plans-to-relieve-the-overcrowded.html |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227162254/https://www.nytimes.com/1896/04/18/archives/more-room-for-state-insane-plans-to-relieve-the-overcrowded.html |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news |date=1897-04-11 |title=State Care in Lunacy |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-state-care-in-l/145237693/ |access-date=2024-04-12 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=14 }}</ref> With 4,400 patients by 1899, the Manhattan State Hospital was the world's largest psychiatric hospital.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 18" /><ref name="NYC Parks Wards" /> A solarium was added to the State Hospital in the early 1900s,<ref name="The New York Times 1903 n179" /> and there were proposals for a lighthouse on Wards Island (which was not built).<ref name="Proceedings 1903 p. 475">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0V8AAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA475 |title=Proceedings |year=1903 |page=475 |postscript=none |archive-date=August 28, 2025 |access-date=April 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250828223601/https://books.google.com/books?id=0V8AAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA475 |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news |date=1902-04-08 |title=The Governor Approves Many More New Measures |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-the-governor-approves/145373157/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |work=The Standard Union |pages=12 }}</ref> Part of Wards Island was acquired for the construction of the Hell Gate Bridge, a railroad bridge between the Bronx and Queens; work on the bridge commenced in 1911.<ref name="n142367701">{{Cite news |date=March 24, 1911 |title=Hell Gate Bridge Begun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sun-hell-gate-bridge-begun/142367701/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229173845/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sun-hell-gate-bridge-begun/142367701/ |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The Sun |pages=5 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> The Manhattan State Hospital unsuccessfully tried to prevent the construction of the span across Wards Island,<ref name="n142388040">{{Cite news |date=January 26, 1913 |title=Great New Bridge Over River Within Two Years |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-great-new-bridg/142388040/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229211220/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-great-new-bridg/142388040/ |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=13 |via=newspapers.com |issn=2577-9397}}</ref> and the bridge was completed in 1917.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=March 10, 1917 |title=Hell Gate Route Tested; Through Service Soon from New England to West and South. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1917/03/10/archives/hell-gate-route-tested-through-service-soon-from-new-england-to.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301200606/https://www.nytimes.com/1917/03/10/archives/hell-gate-route-tested-through-service-soon-from-new-england-to.html |archive-date=March 1, 2024 |access-date=March 1, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=March 10, 1917 |title=First Train Crosses Hell Gate Bridge |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-first-train-cro/142455453/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301200609/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-first-train-cro/142455453/ |archive-date=March 1, 2024 |access-date=March 1, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=5 |via= |issn= }}</ref> In addition, the state leased Wards Island from the city for 50 years beginning in 1914.<ref name="The New York Times 1914 n685">{{cite web |date=March 16, 1914 |title=State Gets Wards Island; Fifty-Year Lease Made as Result of Protracted Negotiations. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/03/16/archives/state-gets-wards-island-fiftyyear-lease-made-as-result-of.html |access-date=April 14, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=September 7, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250907200729/https://www.nytimes.com/1914/03/16/archives/state-gets-wards-island-fiftyyear-lease-made-as-result-of.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=16 Mar 1914 |title=State Leases Ward's Island for Fifty Years: Will Continue Manhattan Hospital--city to Pay for New Buildings |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-state-leases-wards-isl/145382739/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |work=New-York Tribune |page=13 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|575230931}} |archive-date=September 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925234231/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-state-leases-wards-isl/145382739/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Mabon Building was erected south of the Wards Island asylum by the early 1920s.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 18" /><ref name="Bergoffen p. 10" /> After 27 people died in a fire at the Manhattan Psychiatric Center in 1923,<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Verzoni |first1=Angelo |date=January 2, 2019 |title=Looking Back - High Risk |url=http://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Publications-and-media/NFPA-Journal/2019/January-February-2019/News-and-Analysis/Looking-Back |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210805070041/http://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Publications-and-media/NFPA-Journal/2019/January-February-2019/News-and-Analysis/Looking-Back |archive-date=August 5, 2021 |access-date=June 30, 2021 |website=NFPA Journal |language=en}}</ref> investigators blamed the fire on overcrowding<ref>{{cite web |date=March 14, 1923 |title=Ward's Island Loss Laid to Crowding; State Hospital Board Doubts Deaths in Asylum Fire Would Have Occurred Otherwise. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/03/14/archives/wards-island-loss-laid-to-crowding-state-hospital-board-doubts.html |access-date=April 6, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406205847/https://www.nytimes.com/1923/03/14/archives/wards-island-loss-laid-to-crowding-state-hospital-board-doubts.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and said the island's fire apparatus could not sufficiently protect the island's buildings.<ref name="p1237252934">{{cite news |date=19 Feb 1923 |title=Ward's Island Fire Apparatus Failed 6 Times: Hose Often Found Useless, Engines Broken Down in Previous Conflagrations at the Institution |work=New-York Tribune |page=2 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1237252934}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=1923-02-19 |title=Wards Island Buildings Firetraps, Say Probers |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-wards-island-bu/144891185/ |access-date=2024-04-15 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=1 |archive-date=April 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406205847/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-wards-island-bu/144891185/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The city was studying the possibility of erecting a sewage disposal plant on the island by that year.<ref name="The New York Times 1923 t703">{{cite web |date=April 3, 1923 |title=Miller Says City is Studying Sewage; Sites for Disposal Plants Sought on Ward's Island and Two Riverfronts. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/04/03/archives/miller-says-city-is-studying-sewage-sites-for-disposal-plants.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227164141/https://www.nytimes.com/1923/04/03/archives/miller-says-city-is-studying-sewage-sites-for-disposal-plants.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By 1926, the Manhattan State Hospital had an estimated population of 7,000.<ref name="SM p. 183" /><ref name="Schuldenrein p. 18" /> Additional buildings on the island's northern tip were completed by the 1920s.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 11" /> In addition, Mayor John Hylan proposed a sewage treatment plant on Wards Island in 1925.<ref name="The New York Times 1925 l490">{{cite web |date=January 14, 1925 |title=First Hylan Bills Reach Legislature; One Would Prohibit Holding Companies for Public Utility Corporations. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1925/01/14/archives/first-hylan-bills-reach-legislature-one-would-prohibit-holding.html |access-date=April 17, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417011025/https://www.nytimes.com/1925/01/14/archives/first-hylan-bills-reach-legislature-one-would-prohibit-holding.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Randalls Island changes ==== In the mid-1870s, a seawall was built around Randalls Island, along with some docks,<ref name="HSS p. 9" /> and there were also proposals to lay a freshwater pipe to the island.<ref name="The New York Times 2023 l783" /> By the following decade, Randalls Island had the House of Refuge, the Children's Hospital, and the Idiot Asylum,<ref name="The New York Times 2023 f112" /> and there were complaints over the mistreatment of people at the House of Refuge.<ref name="p5728784196">{{cite news |date=14 May 1880 |title=The News at Albany: a Sharp Report on a State Refuge the Establishment on Randall's Island Criticised |work=New-York Tribune |page=5 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|572878419}}}}</ref> The city's Charities Department took over Randalls Island's schools from the Department of Education in 1888.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 12" /> The Randall's Island Hospital and Schools were created in 1892 through a merger of the Randalls Island Hospital, Idiot School, and Asylum for Juvenile Idiots.<ref name="p1221685657">{{cite news |last=Hazelrigg |first=Hal |date=April 28, 1935 |title=Bridge to Banish City's Wards From Old Randall's Island Home: Tri-Borough Span Needs Site, So New York Must Find Other Accommodations for Ailing Children Who Look to It for Shelter and Sustenance |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=A1 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1221685657}}}}</ref><ref name="HSS p. 10">{{harvnb|Horn|Schaefer|Saunders|2012|ps=.|page=10}}</ref> Randalls Island was still home to sick children, orphans, juvenile delinquents, and mentally disabled children.<ref name="The New York Times 2023 h845">{{cite web |date=16 Nov 1893 |title=Unfortunate Little Tots; Their Care and Plans to Better Their Condition Discussed. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1893/11/16/archives/unfortunate-little-tots-their-care-and-plans-to-better-their.html |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=September 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250910045222/https://www.nytimes.com/1893/11/16/archives/unfortunate-little-tots-their-care-and-plans-to-better-their.html |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news |date=1893-05-17 |title=Tots of Randall's Island |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-evening-world-tots-of-randalls-isla/145236737/ |access-date=2024-04-12 |work=The Evening World |pages=6 |archive-date=September 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925231124/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-evening-world-tots-of-randalls-isla/145236737/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The House of Refuge stopped accepting prisoners in 1897 because of unsanitary conditions,<ref name="The New York Times 2023 z5832">{{cite web |date=14 Apr 1897 |title=Refuge Under Quarantine; No More Juvenile Delinquents May Be Sent to the Randall's Island Institution |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1897/04/14/archives/refuge-under-quarantine-no-more-juvenile-delinquents-may-be-sent-to.html |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227163150/https://www.nytimes.com/1897/04/14/archives/refuge-under-quarantine-no-more-juvenile-delinquents-may-be-sent-to.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=14 Apr 1897 |title=The Refuge Quarantined: Health Board's Action on the Randall's Island House Its Sanitary Condition Sam to Be Bad--a Statement for Alexander E. Orr, President of the Society Which Has Charge of the Institution |work=New-York Tribune |page=7 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|574415334}}}}</ref> and there were reports of high infant mortality on the island,<ref>{{Cite news |date=1897-08-01 |title=Death to Babies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-sunday-morning-news-death-to/145319102/ |access-date=2024-04-13 |work=The Buffalo Sunday Morning News |pages=14 |archive-date=September 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925232411/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-sunday-morning-news-death-to/145319102/ |url-status=live }}</ref> including an inflammatory editorial protest in the new Yiddish socialist newspaper, ''Forverts''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grisar |first=P. J. |date=2022-04-22 |title=The year was 1897. Here's what Jews were doing. |url=https://forward.com/culture/500112/forward-birthday-yiddish-1897-mahler-proust-eugene-v-debs/ |access-date=2026-04-22 |website=The Forward |language=en}}</ref> New facilities were planned on Randalls Island in the late 1890s, including a steam plant, a nurses' home,<ref>{{Cite news |date=1899-10-05 |title=$100,000 to Improve the Wallabout Basin |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-100000-to-imp/145239355/ |access-date=2024-04-12 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=18}}</ref> and a playroom building.<ref name="p574691683">{{cite news |date=17 Dec 1899 |title=A Playroom on Randall's Island |work=New-York Tribune |page=A6 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|574691683}}}}</ref>

Randalls Island's industrial school burned down in 1900.<ref name="p570776937">{{cite news |date=4 May 1900 |title=Fire on Randall's Island: Industrial School Burned Down but Nobody Hurt |work=New-York Tribune |page=1 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|570776937}}}}</ref> The Infants' Hospital was combined with the Randalls Island Hospital and School in 1902, and the latter organization became Randalls Island Hospitals, Schools, and Asylum.<ref name="HSS p. 10" /> During the first decade of the 20th century, there were calls to relocate the boys' reformatory from Randalls Island.<ref name="The New York Times 1901 e951">{{cite web |date=January 24, 1901 |title=To Abandon Randall's Island; State Board of Charities Favors Removal of House of Refuge to the Country. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1901/01/24/archives/to-abandon-randalls-island-state-board-of-charities-favors-removal.html |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227162616/https://www.nytimes.com/1901/01/24/archives/to-abandon-randalls-island-state-board-of-charities-favors-removal.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Though the state passed legislation to allow the House of Refuge's relocation in 1904,<ref name="The New York Times 1904 j487">{{cite web |date=May 13, 1904 |title=Boys' School Bill Signed; End of Randall's Island Institution Is in Sight. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/05/13/archives/boys-school-bill-signed-end-of-randalls-island-institution-is-in.html |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227182513/https://www.nytimes.com/1904/05/13/archives/boys-school-bill-signed-end-of-randalls-island-institution-is-in.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=5 June 1904 |title=House of Refuge to Move From Randall's Island: Work Carried on by This Institution for Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents |work=New-York Tribune |page=A3 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|571456925}}}}</ref> the reformatory remained for three decades.<ref name="Dolkart et al p. 12" /> In the mid-1900s, there was a proposal to convert Randalls Island into a public park,<ref name="p1013639892">{{cite news |date=17 Dec 1903 |title=House of Refuge Site for City Park: Recommendation of the State Board of Charities Committee Investigation of Institution Shows Inmates Are Badly Clothed and Poorly Fed--other Findings |work=The New York Times |page=16 |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|1013639892}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite news |date=10 Nov 1903 |title=Wants Randall's Island for a Park |work=New-York Tribune |page=2 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|571363602}}}}</ref> as well as a plan for a new tuberculosis hospital on that island.<ref name="p571905109">{{cite news |date=1 July 1907 |title=City Dormitory for Consumptives: Plan to House Patients on Randall's Island Wile Permitting Them to Work |work=New-York Tribune |page=4 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|571905109}}}}</ref> On Wards Island, Manhattan State Hospital was facing overcrowding by the 1900s,<ref name="The New York Times 1903 n1792">{{cite web |date=March 15, 1903 |title=Tuberculosis Among Insane; New Methods of Treatment to Be Tested on Ward's Island. How Patients of the State Institution Are Kept Busy and Their Mental Condition Improved. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/03/15/archives/tuberculosis-among-insane-new-methods-of-treatment-to-be-tested-on.html |access-date=April 13, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227163807/https://www.nytimes.com/1903/03/15/archives/tuberculosis-among-insane-new-methods-of-treatment-to-be-tested-on.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=15 Feb 1903 |title=For Consumptives: What the City is Doing Insane Patients in Tents on Ward's Island--care at Blackwell's |work=New-York Tribune |page=A1 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|571236935}}}}</ref> and there were continuing concerns about the flammability of the buildings on Wards Island.<ref name="p571537095">{{cite news |date=8 Jan 1904 |title=City Wards in Danger: Fire Apparatus Poor Ward's Island Has Old Hose and Engines--blackwell's Better |work=New-York Tribune |page=2 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|571537095}}}}</ref> The state agreed to sell its land on Randalls Island to the city in 1907,<ref name="The New York Times 1907 j225">{{cite web | title=State Squares With City; Transfer of Randall's Island Property to New York Approved. | website=The New York Times | date=November 15, 1907 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1907/11/15/archives/state-squares-with-city-transfer-of-randalls-island-property-to-new.html | access-date=April 14, 2024 | postscript=none | archive-date=December 24, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241224012922/https://www.nytimes.com/1907/11/15/archives/state-squares-with-city-transfer-of-randalls-island-property-to-new.html | url-status=live }}; {{Cite news|date=1907-11-15|title=State and City Exchange Buildings|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-state-and-city-exchange/145373274/|access-date=2024-04-14|work=New-York Tribune|pages=8|archive-date=September 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925233731/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-state-and-city-exchange/145373274/|url-status=live}}</ref> while the city concurrently planned to lease Wards Island to the state for a new psychiatric hospital.<ref name="The New York Times 1908 f640">{{Cite news |date=1908-03-19 |title=Wards Island Bill Passed |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-wards-island-bill-passe/145373798/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |work=New-York Tribune |pages=2 |archive-date=September 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925234009/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-wards-island-bill-passe/145373798/ |url-status=live }}</ref> City government architect Raymond F. Almirall filed plans for a four-story nurses' home on Randalls Island the next year;<ref name="n145374741">{{Cite news |date=1908-01-10 |title=Many New City Projects |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-many-new-city-projects/145374741/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |work=New-York Tribune |pages=12 |postscript=none |archive-date=September 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925234112/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-many-new-city-projects/145374741/ |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news |date=1908-01-10 |title=City Hospital Improvements |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sun-city-hospital-improvements/145374867/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |work=The Sun |pages=12 }}</ref> that building opened in 1912.<ref name="p1221685657" />

In the 1910s, Almirall drew up plans to redevelop Randalls Island into a park, but the Municipal Art Commission rejected his proposal.<ref name="n145375749">{{Cite news |date=1910-02-10 |title=Art Plans Go Over: Commission Fails to Approve Randall's Island Layout |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-art-plans-go-over-comm/145375749/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |work=New-York Tribune |pages=14 |archive-date=September 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925225709/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-art-plans-go-over-comm/145375749/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Part of the island was also used for the construction of the Hell Gate Bridge.<ref name="n142367701" /> The city took over the state-owned section of Randalls Island in 1914.<ref name="The New York Times 1914 z027">{{cite web |date=August 19, 1914 |title=The Real Estate Field; Columbia Leasehold Residence Purchased for Business -Deal in Greenwich Village -- Randall's Island Transfer to City -- Private House Sales -- Suburban Buyers. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/08/19/archives/the-real-estate-field-columbia-leasehold-residence-purchased-for.html |access-date=April 14, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227162149/https://www.nytimes.com/1914/08/19/archives/the-real-estate-field-columbia-leasehold-residence-purchased-for.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=19 Aug 1914 |title=Gets Randall's Island |work=New-York Tribune |page=10 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|575301929}}}}</ref> The state government also began investigating conditions on the island in the mid-1910s, following allegations of mismanagement.<ref name="The New York Times 1915 v399">{{cite web |date=April 2, 1915 |title=Will Investigate Randall's Island; State Board of Charities to Begin an Inquiry Monday Into Its General Conditions |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/04/02/archives/will-investigate-randalls-island-state-board-of-charities-to-begin.html |access-date=April 14, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=August 27, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250827235103/https://www.nytimes.com/1915/04/02/archives/will-investigate-randalls-island-state-board-of-charities-to-begin.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The poor conditions prompted proposals to rebuild the 75 structures on Randalls Island,<ref name="p575550521">{{cite news |date=5 Mar 1916 |title=Science to Aid Feeble Minded: Dr. Cornell, of Baltimore, Selected to Create Reform at Randall's Island |work=New-York Tribune |page=3 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|575550521}}}}</ref> The city's public charities commissioner devised plans to rebuild the Children's Hospital and School in 1916,<ref name="The New York Times 1916 d963">{{cite web | title=To Spend $1,600,000 on City Defectives; Model Hospital and Schools for Children to be Built at Randall's Island | website=The New York Times | date=March 17, 1916 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1916/03/17/archives/to-spend-1600000-on-city-defectives-model-hospital-and-schools-for.html | access-date=April 14, 2024 | postscript=none | archive-date=December 27, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227163011/https://www.nytimes.com/1916/03/17/archives/to-spend-1600000-on-city-defectives-model-hospital-and-schools-for.html | url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=28 Aug 1916 |title=City Completes Hospital Plans: Kingsbury Ready to Double Capacity of Randall's Island Institution |work=New-York Tribune |page=7 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|575602751}}}}</ref> and work on the new buildings began the following year.<ref name="The New York Times 1917 d557">{{cite web |date=September 25, 1917 |title=New Era in Charity is Seen by Mayor; Tells at Cornerstone Laying of City's Broader Conception of Duty to Wards |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1917/09/25/archives/new-era-in-charity-is-seen-by-mayor-tells-at-cornerstone-laying-of.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=December 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241229031613/https://www.nytimes.com/1917/09/25/archives/new-era-in-charity-is-seen-by-mayor-tells-at-cornerstone-laying-of.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=25 Sep 1917 |title=Randall Island School Cornerstone Is Laid: Mayor Declares Ceremony Marks New Era in Treatment of City's Child Wards |work=New-York Tribune |page=12 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|575809631}}}}</ref> During the late 1910s, a park on Randalls Island was again proposed,<ref name="SM p. 184">{{harvnb|Seitz|Miller|2011|ps=.|page=184}}</ref><ref name="p509705438">{{cite news |date=19 Sep 1916 |title=Randall's Island Park Proposed |work=The Christian Science Monitor |page=6 |issn=0882-7729 |id={{ProQuest|509705438}}}}</ref> along with a home for mentally disabled women.<ref name="The New York Times 1918 n968">{{cite web |date=January 27, 1918 |title=Favor Colony Here for Feebleminded; Women's City Club Supports Plan for Institution on Randall's Island |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1918/01/27/archives/favor-colony-here-for-feebleminded-womens-city-club-supports-plan.html |access-date=April 14, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227162335/https://www.nytimes.com/1918/01/27/archives/favor-colony-here-for-feebleminded-womens-city-club-supports-plan.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=27 Jan 1918 |title=Women's Club Plans A Colony for Girls: Ready to Finance Institution for Feeble-Minded if City Agrees |work=New-York Tribune |page=9 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|575822355}}}}</ref> In addition, the city's public charities department introduced reforms to the island's hospital, including hiring additional physicians and attendants.<ref name="n145382971">{{Cite news |last=Stevens |first=Jeanne |date=1917-11-04 |title=Randall's Island Transformed Into Clean Home for City Waifs |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-randalls-island-transf/145382971/ |access-date=2024-04-15 |work=New-York Tribune |pages=36 |postscript=none |archive-date=September 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925234411/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-randalls-island-transf/145382971/ |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news |date=1917-10-15 |title=Humane Reforms Make Inmates Life on Randalls Island More Cheerful |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-humane-reforms/145383269/ |access-date=2024-04-15 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=7 }}</ref>

=== Mid-20th century to present ===

==== 1930s ==== Construction of a second bridge across the two islands—the Triborough (now RFK) Bridge, connecting Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx—began in 1929.<ref name="Feuer 2009">{{cite web |last=Feuer |first=Alan |date=June 28, 2009 |title=Deconstructing the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/nyregion/28bridge.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105203005/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/nyregion/28bridge.html |archive-date=November 5, 2018 |access-date=November 5, 2018 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The next year, the city's Sanitary Commission requested funding from the city's Board of Estimate for a new sewage treatment plant on Wards Island.<ref name="The New York Times 1930 t647">{{cite web |date=March 13, 1930 |title=To Ask $7,433,000 for a Sewage Plant; Sanitary Commission Seeks Appropriation From Board for Ward's Island Project |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/03/13/archives/to-ask-7433000-for-a-sewage-plant-sanitary-commission-seeks.html |access-date=April 6, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=April 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406205847/https://www.nytimes.com/1930/03/13/archives/to-ask-7433000-for-a-sewage-plant-sanitary-commission-seeks.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |id={{ProQuest|1113132819}} |title=20 Million Sewage Plant Planned on Wards Island |date=February 27, 1930 |page=3 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646}}</ref> The Board of Estimate approved $7.67 million for the sewage plant that October,<ref name="The New York Times 1930 z717">{{cite web |date=October 4, 1930 |title=Approval is Voted for Sewage Plant; Board of Estimate Acts to Speed Work on $7,670,000 Units of Ward's Island Job |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/10/04/archives/approval-is-voted-for-sewage-plant-board-of-estimate-acts-to-speed.html |access-date=April 6, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406205847/https://www.nytimes.com/1930/10/04/archives/approval-is-voted-for-sewage-plant-board-of-estimate-acts-to-speed.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and preliminary work began the next month;<ref name="The New York Times 1930 c476">{{cite web |date=November 30, 1930 |title=Big Sewage Plant for Ward's Island; Work Has Started on $17,000,000 Improvement to Purify City Waters. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/11/30/archives/big-sewage-plant-for-wards-island-work-has-started-on-17000000.html |access-date=April 6, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406205848/https://www.nytimes.com/1930/11/30/archives/big-sewage-plant-for-wards-island-work-has-started-on-17000000.html |url-status=live }}</ref> a groundbreaking ceremony for the {{convert|50|acre|adj=on}} treatment plant occurred in 1931.<ref name="The New York Times 1931 h517">{{cite web |date=July 6, 1931 |title=City Ready to Build Huge Sewage Plant; Walker to Break Ground for $30,000,000 Ward's Island Unit, First of 33, Tomorrow |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/07/06/archives/city-ready-to-build-huge-sewage-plant-walker-to-break-ground-for.html |access-date=April 6, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=April 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406205848/https://www.nytimes.com/1931/07/06/archives/city-ready-to-build-huge-sewage-plant-walker-to-break-ground-for.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=July 6, 1931 |title=Work to Start Tomorrow on Sewage Plants: Roosevelt, Larson and Cross to See Walker Break Ground on Ward's Island |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=9 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1114187327}}}}</ref> Plans for an administration building and several other structures on the northeast part of Wards Island were filed in 1931,<ref name="p1114270500">{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|1114270500}} |title=Ward's Island Jobs To Cost $3,194,000 |date=January 8, 1931 |page=38 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646}}</ref> and plans for a fertilizer building and storage building were filed the next year.<ref name="The New York Times 1932 y216">{{cite web |date=February 5, 1932 |title=Plans the Foundation for Federal Building; Cass Gilbert Submits Drawings to the Treasury -- Bids to Be Sought on Their Approval. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/02/05/archives/plans-the-foundation-for-federal-building-cess-gilbert-submits.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=August 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824225601/https://www.nytimes.com/1932/02/05/archives/plans-the-foundation-for-federal-building-cess-gilbert-submits.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Part of Wards Island, which had never been deeded to the city, was sold to Metropolitan-Columbia Stockholders Inc. in 1933;<ref name="p1114641490">{{cite news |date=April 16, 1933 |title=Lienors Take Title to Ward's Island Plot: Columbia Assurance Group Buys Waterfront Tract From Geo. S. Van Shaick |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=C11 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1114641490}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite news |date=March 4, 1933 |title=Pays $1,100 for a Grant On Ward's Island Land |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/03/04/archives/pays-1100-for-a-grant-on-wards-island-land.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |work=The New York Times |page=27 |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|100739160}}}}</ref> this land was later seized for the bridge.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 10, 1938 |title=Suit for $525,792 Nets Two $1 Each |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-suit-for-5257/145016623/ |access-date=April 8, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=5 |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408221118/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-suit-for-5257/145016623/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The construction of the Triborough Bridge required the demolition of buildings on both islands,<ref>{{cite web |date=April 5, 1934 |title=Triborough Span Ousting A Hospital; Removal of Child Patients From Several Buildings on Randall's Island Asked |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/04/05/archives/triborough-span-ousting-a-hospital-removal-of-child-patients-from.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107030237/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/04/05/archives/triborough-span-ousting-a-hospital-removal-of-child-patients-from.html |archive-date=November 7, 2018 |access-date=November 6, 2018 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and patients were sometimes moved to more crowded facilities.<ref name="SM p. 184" /> The New York City Department of Hospitals planned to replace the hospitals with Seaview Hospital on Staten Island.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 8, 1935 |title=City Seeks $800,000 For New Hospital; Goldwater Asks PWA Loan for Institution to House Patients Ousted by Triborough Span. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/05/08/archives/city-seeks-800000-for-new-hospital-goldwater-asks-pwa-loan-for.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108224932/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/05/08/archives/city-seeks-800000-for-new-hospital-goldwater-asks-pwa-loan-for.html |archive-date=November 8, 2018 |access-date=November 8, 2018 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The House of Refuge's youth were relocated upstate,<ref name="p1114584285">{{cite news |date=May 20, 1932 |title=Stone Placed by Lehman For Boys' Training School: Warwick Institution Replaces Randall's Island Home |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=7 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1114584285}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite news |date=May 20, 1932 |title=Lehman Lays Stone at Training School: Acting Governor Says Institution at Warwick Should Be a Check to Juvenile Crime |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/05/20/archives/lehman-lays-stone-at-training-school-acting-governor-says.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |work=The New York Times |page=21 |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|99666183}} |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408165628/https://www.nytimes.com/1932/05/20/archives/lehman-lays-stone-at-training-school-acting-governor-says.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Dolkart et al p. 12">{{harvnb|ps=.|Dolkart et al.|2000|page=12}}</ref> and the patients in the Children's Hospital were moved to Flushing, Queens.<ref name="The New York Times 1935 g784">{{cite web |date=July 31, 1935 |title=500 Child Patients Soon to Be Moved; Randall's Island Inmates Will Be Transferred Aug. 25 to Flushing Institution. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/07/31/archives/500-child-patients-soon-to-be-moved-randalls-island-inmates-will-be.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408185343/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/07/31/archives/500-child-patients-soon-to-be-moved-randalls-island-inmates-will-be.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |id={{ProQuest|1242902558}} |title=Vacant Flushing School To House Child Hospital: Loaned for Mental Cases From Randalls Island |date=July 31, 1935 |page=3 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646}}</ref>

The first two phases of the sewage plant were finished in 1934.<ref name="The New York Times 1934 p412">{{cite web |date=July 12, 1934 |title=Big Sewage Plant Advanced a Step; Board Authorizes Bids on the $15,584,000 Third Section, Dependent on PWA Loan. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/07/12/archives/big-sewage-plant-advanced-a-step-board-authorizes-bids-on-the.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408185345/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/07/12/archives/big-sewage-plant-advanced-a-step-board-authorizes-bids-on-the.html |url-status=live }}</ref> That April, in anticipation of the Triborough Bridge's completion, city parks commissioner Robert Moses announced that he would convert {{convert|140|acre}} on Randalls Island to parkland.<ref name="The New York Times 1934 r570">{{cite web |date=May 15, 1934 |title=Huge Island Park Planned for City; Moses Hopes to Have 140-Acre Tract at Randall's Island Ready by July 1, 1936 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/05/15/archives/huge-island-park-planned-for-city-moses-hopes-to-have-140acre-tract.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=November 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107185429/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/05/15/archives/huge-island-park-planned-for-city-moses-hopes-to-have-140acre-tract.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=May 20, 1934 |title=Twin Island Park Projected With New Triborough Bridge: 400-Acre Playground for New Yorkers on Randall's and Ward's Islands Being Developed Coincident With the Building of New Span Location of Proposed 400-Acre Playground for New Yorkers |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=A1 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1114826013}}}}</ref> The park plans were announced in February 1935,<ref name="The New York Times 1935 j304">{{cite web |date=February 6, 1935 |title=Randall's Island to Be Play Centre; Park Department's Plans, Now Ready, Call for a Stadium to Seat 10,000. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/02/06/archives/randalls-island-to-be-play-centre-park-departments-plans-now-ready.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=November 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108224933/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/02/06/archives/randalls-island-to-be-play-centre-park-departments-plans-now-ready.html |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news |date=February 5, 1935 |title=Sports Center for Randall's Island Planned |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-sports-center-f/145008814/ |access-date=April 8, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=9 |postscript=none |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408185343/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-sports-center-f/145008814/ |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=May 20, 1934 |title=City Will Make Randall's Island Sports Center: Will Raze 87 Building and Landscape 150 Acres Near Triborough Bridge Park Department's Plan for Interborough Athletic Center |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=A1 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1330095214}}}}</ref> and work began soon thereafter.<ref name="p101433801">{{cite news |last=Duffus |first=R.L. |date=July 21, 1935 |title=East River Islands to See Big Changes: Welfare, Wards and Randalls to Lose Their Unsightliness and Become Play Places for the City |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/07/21/archives/east-river-islands-to-see-big-changes-welfare-wards-and-randalls-to.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |work=The New York Times |page=E10 |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|101433801}} |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408185343/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/07/21/archives/east-river-islands-to-see-big-changes-welfare-wards-and-randalls-to.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Most of Randalls Island's 87 buildings were to be razed and replaced with various athletic facilities such as a stadium.<ref name="The New York Times 1935 j304" /> Moses wanted to expand the park onto Sunken Meadow and Wards Island,<ref name="The New York Times 1934 r570" /> but Manhattan State Hospital on Wards Island was still leased by the state until 1943.<ref name="p101433801" /> The sewage plant's fourth phase was funded in 1935 after several years of delays.<ref name="The New York Times 1935 i087">{{cite web |date=July 16, 1935 |title=500 Subway Cars Ordered for City: Board of Estimate Authorizes $19,288,026 Purchases From 3 Companies. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/07/16/archives/500-subway-cars-ordered-for-city-board-of-estimate-authorizes.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none}}; {{cite news |date=July 16, 1935 |title=City Provides 7 Millions for Sewage Plant: Board Allocates P. W. A. Funds for Fourth Part of Ward's Island Project Ends Three-Year Delay Sanitation Department Has Asked Bids on 2 Tunnels |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=12 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1221712914}}}}</ref> The following year, Moses canceled his plan to convert Wards Island into a park due to difficulties in relocating the hospital.<ref name="n145013107">{{Cite news |date=March 6, 1936 |title=Moses Gives Up Plan for Park on Wards Isle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-moses-gives-up/145013107/ |access-date=April 8, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=5 |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408202603/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-moses-gives-up/145013107/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Triborough Bridge formally opened in July 1936,<ref name="The New York Times 1936" /> along with the Randalls Island Stadium<ref name="The New York Times 1936 p186">{{cite web |date=July 12, 1936 |title=Two 1932 Olympic Title Winners Among Legion of Defeated Stars; Anderson and Gordon Fail to Qualify in Randalls Island Trials -- Losers, With Hopes Shattered, Wrapped in Gloom As Successful Athletes Dance in Jubilation. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/07/12/archives/two-1932-olympic-title-winners-among-legion-of-defeated-stars.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408202602/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/07/12/archives/two-1932-olympic-title-winners-among-legion-of-defeated-stars.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and Randalls Island Park.<ref name=":3" /> A police boat repair shop on Randalls Island was completed in March 1937,<ref name="The New York Times 1937 e037">{{cite web |date=March 21, 1937 |title=Police Boat Shop is Ready for Use; Repair Plant on Randalls Island Is Completed--New Playground Opened |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/03/21/archives/police-boat-shop-is-ready-for-use-repair-plant-on-randalls-island.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408202603/https://www.nytimes.com/1937/03/21/archives/police-boat-shop-is-ready-for-use-repair-plant-on-randalls-island.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and the sewage plant was finished that October.<ref name="The New York Times 1937 m5912">{{cite web |date=October 24, 1937 |title=Ickes Lauds Mayor for Public Works; Gives Credit to 'Persuasiveness' of La Guardia at Dedication of New Sewage Plant |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/10/24/archives/ickes-lauds-mayor-for-public-works-gives-credit-to-persuasive-ness.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408202602/https://www.nytimes.com/1937/10/24/archives/ickes-lauds-mayor-for-public-works-gives-credit-to-persuasive-ness.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=October 24, 1937 |title=Ickes Praises Mayor's Public Works Record: Sewage Plant Dedication Speech Seen as Offsetting Farley's Aid to Mahoney Praises Mayor LaGuardia |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=1 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1222269832}}}}</ref> A low-level bridge between the islands opened the same year, replacing a ferry line from Manhattan to Wards Island.<ref name="n145013248">{{cite web |date=May 16, 1937 |title=Wards Island Span Open; Low-Level Bridge in East River Replaces Ferry Service |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/05/16/archives/wards-island-span-open-lowlevel-bridge-in-east-river-replaces-ferry.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=November 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101191833/https://www.nytimes.com/1937/05/16/archives/wards-island-span-open-lowlevel-bridge-in-east-river-replaces-ferry.html |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news |date=May 13, 1937 |title=Randalls Is. Bridge Opening Saturday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-randalls-is-bridge-opening-s/145013248/ |access-date=April 8, 2024 |work=Daily News |pages=54 |postscript=none |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408202602/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-randalls-is-bridge-opening-s/145013248/ |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=May 14, 1937 |title=Triboro Bridge Link to Open Tomorrow |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-triboro-bridge-link-to-open/145013271/ |access-date=April 8, 2024 |work=Times Union |pages=3 |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408202604/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-triboro-bridge-link-to-open/145013271/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Plans to convert Wards Island into a park were revived in early 1938, when the state government agreed to close Manhattan State Hospital.<ref name="The New York Times 1938 g710">{{cite web |date=January 10, 1938 |title=Park to Be Begun on Wards Island; State Agreement With Moses Will Expedite Reclamation of Part of Area |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/01/10/archives/park-to-be-begun-on-wards-island-state-agreement-with-moses-will.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408202603/https://www.nytimes.com/1938/01/10/archives/park-to-be-begun-on-wards-island-state-agreement-with-moses-will.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=January 11, 1938 |title=Wards Island Park Speeded by Lehman |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-wards-island-park-speeded-by/145012986/ |access-date=April 8, 2024 |work=Daily News |pages=264 |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408202601/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-wards-island-park-speeded-by/145012986/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Works Progress Administration began developing the southern end of Wards Island that year, demolishing what was left of the Homeopathic Hospital.<ref name="Bergoffen p. 11" /><ref name="Davenport p. 5" /> The city took over Sunken Meadow Island in 1939 for an expansion of Wards Island's sewage treatment plant,<ref name="n145020163">{{Cite news |date=May 31, 1942 |title=Lone Woman Battles for Title to Island |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-lone-woman-batt/145020163/ |access-date=April 8, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=7 |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408221117/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-lone-woman-batt/145020163/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="p1258030300">{{cite news |date=December 1, 1939 |title=Sunken Meadow Island's Price to City Is Slashed |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=22A |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1258030300}}}}</ref> and a set of clay tennis courts opened on Randalls Island the same year.<ref name="p1244981625">{{cite news |date=August 13, 1939 |title=Randall's Island Scene of Public Parks Tennis |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=B5 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1244981625}}}}</ref>

==== 1940s to 1960s ==== thumb|Looking east from the footbridge at the mouth of the Little Hell Gate waterway toward the Triborough Bridge viaduct, 2008 Work on a restroom, field house, and five softball fields on Randalls Island began in 1941.<ref name="The New York Times 1941 k642">{{cite web |date=October 17, 1941 |title=City Plans 5 Ballfields; Recreation Center Will Cover Part of Randalls Island |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1941/10/17/archives/city-plans-5-ballfields-recreation-center-will-cover-part-of.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408205040/https://www.nytimes.com/1941/10/17/archives/city-plans-5-ballfields-recreation-center-will-cover-part-of.html |url-status=live }}</ref> To allow public access to the new fields, city officials wanted to build a causeway from Randalls Island to the Bronx.<ref name="The New York Times 1940 b193">{{cite web |date=August 28, 1940 |title=Plans New Ballfield on Randalls Island; Park Department Says Overpass Will Connect With Bronx |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/08/28/archives/plans-new-ballfield-on-randalls-island-park-department-says.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408221117/https://www.nytimes.com/1940/08/28/archives/plans-new-ballfield-on-randalls-island-park-department-says.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=August 28, 1940 |title=Easier Approach Planned To Randalls Island Area: Dike and Overpass Across Are Listed in 1941 Budget |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=38 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1247569192}}}}</ref> Wards Island Park was delayed during the 1940s,<ref name="The New York Times 1942 o899">{{cite web |date=September 18, 1942 |title=Beach Plans Await End of Pollution; Moses Proposes to Restore Bathing Areas to Public When Waters Are Clean Again |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/09/18/archives/beach-plans-await-end-of-pollution-moses-proposes-to-restore.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408221117/https://www.nytimes.com/1942/09/18/archives/beach-plans-await-end-of-pollution-moses-proposes-to-restore.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and Manhattan State Hospital remained open past 1943, despite having been ordered to shut down.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 19">{{harvnb|Schuldenrein|2012|ps=.|page=19}}</ref><ref name="Davenport p. 5" /> In early 1946, the city and state agreed to extend the state's lease of Wards Island to 1948, after which part of the island would become a city park; the state would retain control of the island's northwest corner.<ref name="The New York Times 1946 j436">{{cite web |date=February 1, 1946 |title=City, State Arrange Wards Island Deal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/02/01/archives/city-state-arrange-wards-island-deal.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408221118/https://www.nytimes.com/1946/02/01/archives/city-state-arrange-wards-island-deal.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=February 1, 1946 |title=Plan Is Pushed For a City Park At Wards Island: Albany Bill Provides for Completion of Transfer by State on April 7, '48 |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=21 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1284532834}}}}</ref> The same year, the state announced that it would rebuild Manhattan State Hospital. The rest of Wards Island was to be converted into a park, and a new bridge would be built from Manhattan to Wards Island.<ref name="The New York Times 1946 z5312">{{cite web |date=May 12, 1946 |title=Mental Hospital to Be Built in City; Albany Announces $15,000,000 Project for 3,160 Patients on Ward's Island |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/05/12/archives/mental-hospital-to-be-built-in-city-albany-announces-15000000.html |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408221118/https://www.nytimes.com/1946/05/12/archives/mental-hospital-to-be-built-in-city-albany-announces-15000000.html |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news |date=1946-05-12 |title=Ward's Island Site for New Mental Home |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-wards-island-site-for-new-me/145231640/ |access-date=2024-04-12 |work=Daily News |pages=56 |archive-date=September 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240926001317/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-wards-island-site-for-new-me/145231640/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="p1267961537">{{cite news |date=May 12, 1946 |title=State to Rebuild Ward's Island Insane Hospital: $15,000,000 Plant of 3,160 Beds to Replace Buildings Dating Back to Civil War |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=33 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1267961537}}}}</ref> The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) also announced that it would build an overpass to the Bronx and infill Bronx Kill to make way for additional recreational fields on Randalls Island.<ref name="The New York Times 1946 c312">{{cite web |date=June 23, 1946 |title=Island Being Expanded; Randalls to Benefit From Fill Placed in Bronx Kills |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/06/23/archives/island-being-expanded-randalls-to-benefit-from-fill-placed-in-bronx.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408221117/https://www.nytimes.com/1946/06/23/archives/island-being-expanded-randalls-to-benefit-from-fill-placed-in-bronx.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=June 23, 1946 |title=City Enlarging. Randalls Island At Bronx Kill: Moses Announces Project to Fill In Stream, Provide More Recreation Area Where City Plans Expansion of Randalls Island |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=19 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1267971864}}}}</ref>

The Wards Island Bridge opened in 1951, along with the recreational facilities on Wards Island.<ref name="The New York Times 1951 b382">{{cite web |date=May 19, 1951 |title=Wards Island Footbridge and Park Open; Moses Calls 'Planning Experts' No Help |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/05/19/archives/wards-island-footbridge-and-park-open-moses-calls-planning-experts.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=November 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101191834/https://www.nytimes.com/1951/05/19/archives/wards-island-footbridge-and-park-open-moses-calls-planning-experts.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=May 19, 1951 |title=Bridge to Wards Island Opened; 500 Tour City's New Park There: $2,100,000 Wards Island Pedestrian Bridge Opened |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=11 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327568093}}}}</ref> Initially, there was a playground, picnic grove, three softball fields, and three baseball fields on Wards Island. Though NYC Parks originally planned to expand the park onto Manhattan State Hospital's site,<ref name="The New York Times 1951 y076">{{cite web |date=June 4, 1951 |title=New Wards Island Park Proving a Boon to Manhattanites; Crowds Visit Wards Island Park As New Bridge Makes It Handier |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/06/04/archives/new-wards-island-park-proving-a-boon-to-manhattanites-crowds-visit.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408221117/https://www.nytimes.com/1951/06/04/archives/new-wards-island-park-proving-a-boon-to-manhattanites-crowds-visit.html |url-status=live }}</ref> the city government ultimately decided to allow the state to keep operating Manhattan State Hospital.<ref name="The New York Times 1952 k706">{{cite web |date=February 12, 1952 |title=State Will Retain Wards Island Site; Bill to Keep Mental Hospital There, as Favored by City, Is Passed by Senate |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/02/12/archives/state-will-retain-wards-island-site-bill-to-keep-mental-hospital.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408221117/https://www.nytimes.com/1952/02/12/archives/state-will-retain-wards-island-site-bill-to-keep-mental-hospital.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Two chapels were developed on the island in the mid-1950s.<ref name="The New York Times 1953 f110">{{cite web |date=March 23, 1953 |title=New Hospital Chapels; Ground Broken for Two Units to Be Built on Wards Island |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/03/23/archives/new-hospital-chapels-ground-broken-for-two-units-to-be-built-on.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408221117/https://www.nytimes.com/1953/03/23/archives/new-hospital-chapels-ground-broken-for-two-units-to-be-built-on.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By the mid-1950s, Wards Island Park had few visitors. Whereas Randalls Island Park was easily accessible via car, Wards Island Park's only public access was via the footbridge (the span over Little Hell Gate span was for hospital visitors only).<ref name="The New York Times 1954 d416">{{cite web |date=July 12, 1954 |title=Big Park Ignored Despite Beauties; Wards Island Attracts Fewer Than 1,000 Sunday Visitors for Baseball and Picnics |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/07/12/archives/big-park-ignored-despite-beauties-wards-island-attracts-fewer-than.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408221117/https://www.nytimes.com/1954/07/12/archives/big-park-ignored-despite-beauties-wards-island-attracts-fewer-than.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Sunken Meadow, which had been reserved for an expansion of the Wards Island sewage plant,<ref name="n145020163" /><ref name="The New York Times 1955 m964">{{cite web |date=July 7, 1955 |title=Randalls Island Soon to Grow by 46 Acres In No-Cost Project Benefiting Everyone |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/07/07/archives/randalls-island-soon-to-grow-by-46-acres-in-nocost-project.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408221117/https://www.nytimes.com/1955/07/07/archives/randalls-island-soon-to-grow-by-46-acres-in-nocost-project.html |url-status=live }}</ref> was freed up for recreational uses when the city decided in the mid-1950s to build a treatment plant elsewhere.<ref name="The New York Times 1955 m964" /> Despite Moses's efforts to take over Wards Island, additional hospital buildings were approved in 1954.<ref name="SM pp. 184–185">{{harvnb|Seitz|Miller|2011|ps=.|pages=184–185}}</ref> Three new buildings were erected for Manhattan State Hospital.<ref name="Schuldenrein p. 19" /> The older hospital buildings were destroyed, and a homeless shelter, rehabilitation center, and other structures were built on that site.<ref name="Davenport p. 5" />

The city government announced in 1955 that it planned to connect Randalls and Wards Islands by allowing private contractors to dump debris within Little Hell Gate for free.<ref name="The New York Times 1955 m964" /> After the channel had been infilled, NYC Parks would expand the two islands' parks.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="The New York Times 1955 m964" /> Moses also proposed closing Little Hell Gate and erecting a yacht marina on the former stream's site.<ref name="The New York Times 1955 f965">{{cite web |date=December 11, 1955 |title=Moses Proposes New Yacht Basin in East River |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/12/11/archives/moses-proposes-new-yacht-basin-in-east-river-project-awaiting-army.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408230525/https://www.nytimes.com/1955/12/11/archives/moses-proposes-new-yacht-basin-in-east-river-project-awaiting-army.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority announced in 1962 that it would allow contractors to fill the eastern portion of Little Hell Gate and the northern corner of Randalls Island.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/08/18/archives/fill-project-to-add-to-randalls-island-for-new-play-fields.html |title=Fill Project to Add To Randalls Island For New Play Fields |date=August 18, 1962 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=October 24, 2013 |archive-date=February 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225043243/https://www.nytimes.com/1962/08/18/archives/fill-project-to-add-to-randalls-island-for-new-play-fields.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Randalls and Wards Islands were conjoined by the late 1960s,<ref name="BOE p. 11">{{harvnb|Board of Education|1968|ps=.|page=11}}</ref> allowing the construction of more recreational facilities on the filled land.<ref name="SM p. 184" />

Randalls Island hosted opera performances by the Popular Price Grand Opera Company until 1961, when the city demanded that the singers pay a $250 license fee.<ref name="The New York Times 1961 y272">{{cite web |last=Maiorana |first=Ronald |date=August 23, 1961 |title=Randalls Island Operas to End Because of $250 City License; After 19 Years of Not Paying the Fee, Impresario Says Ruling Puts Undue Burden on Popular-Price Troupe |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/08/23/archives/randalls-island-operas-to-end-because-of-250-city-license-after-19.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=August 28, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250828060232/https://www.nytimes.com/1961/08/23/archives/randalls-island-operas-to-end-because-of-250-city-license-after-19.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A mental research laboratory on Wards Island was proposed in 1960.<ref name="p1325112557">{{cite news |date=21 Apr 1960 |title=Mental Research Lab Slated For Wards Island |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=5 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1325112557}}}}</ref> Wards Island Park remained underused, and ''The New York Times'' said in 1963 that the park was generally neglected and full of garbage.<ref name="The New York Times 1963 i501">{{cite web |last=Benjamin |first=Philip |date=July 20, 1963 |title=Widespread Debris Indicates Neglect at Manhattan's Only Park With Picnic Grounds |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/07/20/archives/widespread-debris-indicates-neglect-at-manhattans-only-park-with.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241229012408/https://www.nytimes.com/1963/07/20/archives/widespread-debris-indicates-neglect-at-manhattans-only-park-with.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Work on a 200-bed hospital for mentally disabled children on Wards Island began in 1965,<ref name="The New York Times 1965 w275">{{cite web |date=November 16, 1965 |title=Child Mental Unit to Be Built Here; Clearing of a Site on Wards Island Begun by Rockefeller |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/11/16/archives/child-mental-unit-to-be-built-here-clearing-of-a-site-on-wards.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227162313/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/11/16/archives/child-mental-unit-to-be-built-here-clearing-of-a-site-on-wards.html |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news |date=1965-11-16 |title=Rocky Plots Pure Water Program |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/press-and-sun-bulletin-rocky-plots-pure/145416603/ |access-date=2024-04-15 |work=Press and Sun-Bulletin |pages=24 |archive-date=September 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925235333/https://www.newspapers.com/article/press-and-sun-bulletin-rocky-plots-pure/145416603/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and New York governor Nelson Rockefeller announced a mental hospital complex on that island in 1967.<ref name="The New York Times 1967 f845">{{cite web |date=September 16, 1967 |title=New State Hospital Like Shopping Mart Will Be Built Here |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/09/16/archives/new-state-hospital-like-shopping-mart-will-be-built-here.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227162337/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/09/16/archives/new-state-hospital-like-shopping-mart-will-be-built-here.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A rehabilitation center at the base of the Manhattan State Hospital was built on the island in the late 1960s.<ref name="The New York Times 1967 a044">{{cite web |date=September 24, 1967 |title=Concrete Piers to Dominate State Hospital Unit |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/09/24/archives/concrete-piers-to-dominate-state-hospital-unit.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=September 6, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250906094111/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/09/24/archives/concrete-piers-to-dominate-state-hospital-unit.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A {{convert|45|acre|adj=on}} recreation area with ballfields and a fieldhouse was built on the former Sunken Meadow Island after the filling operation was complete;<ref name="The New York Times 1967 w7832">{{cite web |date=December 18, 1967 |title=Randalls Island to Get Sports Park in Spring |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/12/18/archives/randalls-island-to-get-sports-park-in-spring.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=December 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241228221358/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/12/18/archives/randalls-island-to-get-sports-park-in-spring.html |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news |last=Loetterle |first=Fred |date=1967-12-18 |title=State Will Sew Green Patches on City's Quilt |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-state-will-sew-green-patches/145420048/ |access-date=2024-04-15 |work=Daily News |pages=248 |archive-date=September 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240926003504/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-state-will-sew-green-patches/145420048/ |url-status=live }}</ref> the recreation area opened in 1968.<ref name="The New York Times 1968 x419">{{cite web |date=June 16, 1968 |title=City Gets a Park on Randalls Island and a Speech From Robert Moses |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/06/16/archives/city-gets-a-park-on-randalls-island-and-a-speech-from-robert-moses.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227165423/https://www.nytimes.com/1968/06/16/archives/city-gets-a-park-on-randalls-island-and-a-speech-from-robert-moses.html |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news |last=Moses |first=Robert |date=1968-06-22 |title=Sunken Meadow Reclaimed From Hell Gate |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition-sunken-meadow-r/145420094/ |access-date=2024-04-15 |work=Newsday |pages=14 |archive-date=September 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240926004510/https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition-sunken-meadow-r/145420094/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The city's parks commissioner also sought to designate both Randalls and Wards Islands as an area for large gatherings.<ref name="The New York Times 1967 z954">{{cite web |date=May 1, 1967 |title=Central Park Ban is Put on Activists; Heckscher Says They Upset the Pleasure Seekers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/05/01/archives/central-park-ban-is-put-on-activists-heckscher-says-they-upset-the.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241228080346/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/05/01/archives/central-park-ban-is-put-on-activists-heckscher-says-they-upset-the.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== 1970s to early 1990s ==== A new running track was installed in Randalls Island's Downing Stadium in 1970<ref name="p118684516">{{cite news |date=12 Apr 1970 |title=2 School Records Set on New Track: Barndeis Meet Run on Latex Surface at Randalls Island |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/04/12/archives/2-school-records-set-on-new-track-barndeis-meet-run-on-latex.html |access-date=2024-04-15 |work=The New York Times |page=S3 |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|118684516}} |archive-date=December 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241228200718/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/04/12/archives/2-school-records-set-on-new-track-barndeis-meet-run-on-latex.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="p993738445">{{cite news |last=Rosner |first=Dave |date=17 Apr 1983 |title=Getting a Stadium Back on Track: Renovation of facilities 'brings meets to Downing once again |work=Newsday |page=F32 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|993738445}}}}</ref> and again in 1979.<ref name="p993738445" /> Residents of nearby areas frequented Randalls Island Park, and particularly the Sunken Meadow recreation area, during that decade.<ref name="p118913168">{{cite news |last=Gansberg |first=Martin |date=3 Aug 1970 |title=Family Happiness Is Randalls Island |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/03/archives/family-happiness-is-randalls-island.html |access-date=2024-04-15 |work=The New York Times |page=33 |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|118913168}} |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227170834/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/03/archives/family-happiness-is-randalls-island.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Meanwhile, Wards Island's hospitals had been split into three units by the early 1970s, and robberies, rapes, and break-ins on the island were common.<ref name="SM pp. 185–186">{{harvnb|Seitz|Miller|2011|ps=.|pages=185–186}}</ref> There were allegations of mismanagement at Wards Island's hospitals,<ref name="SM pp. 185–186" /><ref name="p119947497">{{cite news |last=Schumach |first=Murray |date=24 Aug 1974 |title=Family Happiness Is Randalls Island |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/24/archives/hospital-better-than-willowbrook-and-yet-wards-island-is-better.html |access-date=2024-04-15 |work=The New York Times |page=57 |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|119947497}} |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227175810/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/24/archives/hospital-better-than-willowbrook-and-yet-wards-island-is-better.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and the drug-treatment facility there closed in 1971.<ref name="p226657664">{{Cite news |date=8 May 1971 |title=Wards Island Addict Center Closes May 26 |work=New York Amsterdam News |page=4 |id={{proQuest|226657664}}}}</ref> A facility for severely mentally disabled patients on Wards Island opened in 1974 and closed three years later.<ref name="The New York Times 1977 l454">{{cite web |date=September 14, 1977 |title=Difficulty Reported in Relocating; Retarded Patients at Closing Unit |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/09/14/archives/difficulty-reported-in-relocating-retarded-patients-at-closing-unit.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=January 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250126124125/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/09/14/archives/difficulty-reported-in-relocating-retarded-patients-at-closing-unit.html |url-status=live }}</ref> During the decade, a training academy for the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) was built on the two islands, opening in 1975.<ref name="Urbanowicz 2002 p. 107">{{cite book |last=Urbanowicz |first=G.R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DGa9I7p_N88C&pg=PA107 |title=Badges of the Bravest: A Pictorial History of Fire Departments in New York City |publisher=Turner Publishing Company |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-56311-797-8 |page=107 |access-date=April 6, 2024 |archive-date=April 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406174131/https://books.google.com/books?id=DGa9I7p_N88C&pg=PA107 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="SM p. 185">{{harvnb|Seitz|Miller|2011|ps=.|page=185}}</ref> The Manhattan State Hospital became the Manhattan Psychiatric Center in the late 1970s, and its population decreased by nearly 90 percent from 1926 to the late 20th century.<ref name="SM p. 187">{{harvnb|Seitz|Miller|2011|ps=.|page=187}}</ref>

A homeless shelter opened on Wards Island in 1980,<ref name="The New York Times 1980 j421">{{cite web |last=Fowler |first=Glenn |date=January 4, 1980 |title=Koch Pays Visit To New Shelter On Wards Island; A Move to Obey Court Order |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/01/04/archives/koch-pays-visit-to-new-shelter-on-wards-island-a-move-to-obey-court.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=June 14, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250614141822/https://www.nytimes.com/1980/01/04/archives/koch-pays-visit-to-new-shelter-on-wards-island-a-move-to-obey-court.html |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news |last=Herbert |first=Bob |date=1980-01-04 |title=City shelters homeless in their cold war |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-city-shelters-homeless-in-the/145434982/ |access-date=2024-04-15 |work=Daily News |pages=21 |archive-date=September 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240926003221/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-city-shelters-homeless-in-the/145434982/ |url-status=live }}</ref> following a court order.<ref name="The New York Times 1979 m767">{{cite web |last=Kaiser |first=Charles |date=December 9, 1979 |title=A State Justice Orders Creation of 750 Beds For Bowery Homeless; Suit Names Carey and Koch |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/09/archives/a-state-justice-orders-creation-of-750-beds-for-bowery-homeless.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 30, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250430005650/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/09/archives/a-state-justice-orders-creation-of-750-beds-for-bowery-homeless.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Known as the Charles H. Gay Homeless Shelter, the facility faced opposition from the outset<ref name="SM p. 186">{{harvnb|Seitz|Miller|2011|ps=.|page=186}}</ref> and also became overcrowded;<ref name="The New York Times 1980 i628">{{cite web |last=Herman |first=Robin |date=December 30, 1980 |title=New York City Resists State on Shelters for Homeless in Residential Areas; Crowding on Wards Island The Riverdale Proposal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/12/30/archives/new-york-city-resists-state-on-shelters-for-homeless-in-residential.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241224012922/https://www.nytimes.com/1980/12/30/archives/new-york-city-resists-state-on-shelters-for-homeless-in-residential.html |url-status=live }}</ref> it was thus expanded in 1982.<ref name="Haberman 1982 c539">{{cite web |last=Haberman |first=Clyde |date=July 31, 1982 |title=New York Day by Day; Meanwhile, on the Bowery |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/31/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-meanwhile-on-the-bowery.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=January 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250126051229/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/31/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-meanwhile-on-the-bowery.html |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news|date=1982-07-27|first=James|last=Harney|title=E. New York shelter won't close down|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-e-new-york-shelter-wont-clo/145435195/|access-date=2024-04-15|work=Daily News|pages=81|archive-date=September 26, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240926002433/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-e-new-york-shelter-wont-clo/145435195/|url-status=live}}</ref> Downing Stadium was also renovated in the early 1980s,<ref name="p993738445" /> but the stadium continued to decay and had to be renovated again within half a decade.<ref name="The New York Times 1987 b870">{{cite web |last=Anderson |first=Susan Heller |date=April 25, 1987 |title=Arena Ready for Athletes on Randalls I. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/25/nyregion/arena-ready-for-athletes-on-randalls-i.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=January 31, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250131144006/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/25/nyregion/arena-ready-for-athletes-on-randalls-i.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="p277890638">{{cite news |last=Hanc |first=John |date=9 Aug 1987 |title=Recapturing Downing Glory Will renovations attract top meets? |work=Newsday |page=1B |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|277890638}}}}</ref> A maximum-security mental health facility was developed on the island in 1984.<ref name="The New York Times 1984 j271">{{cite web |last=Sullivan |first=Ronald |date=January 22, 1984 |title=New Hospital for Criminally Insane Gets No Funds |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/22/nyregion/new-hospital-for-criminally-insane-gets-no-funds.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=January 25, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250125074012/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/22/nyregion/new-hospital-for-criminally-insane-gets-no-funds.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By the late 1980s, the Wards Island sewage treatment plant was operating over capacity,<ref name="Johnson 1988 j949">{{cite web | last=Johnson | first=Kirk | title=New York Has 4 Months to Improve Sewage Plan | website=The New York Times | date=October 9, 1988 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/09/nyregion/new-york-has-4-months-to-improve-sewage-plan.html | access-date=April 15, 2024 | postscript=none | archive-date=January 27, 2025 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250127034216/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/09/nyregion/new-york-has-4-months-to-improve-sewage-plan.html | url-status=live }}; {{cite news |id={{ProQuest|277930972}} |title=Sewer Hookup Halt Threatened |first=Bob |last= Liff |date=23 July 1988 |page=7 |work=Newsday|issn=2574-5298}}</ref> prompting city officials to announce an expansion of the plant.<ref name=p278094460>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|278094460}} |title=City to Upgrade Sewer Plant $100-million plan set for Wards Island |first=Mark |last= McIntyre |date=9 Feb 1989 |page=8 |work=Newsday|issn=2574-5298}}</ref> In addition, part of the Charles H. Gay Shelter was converted to a women's jail in 1989 to accommodate the increasing number of inmates in the city.<ref name="Rimer 1989 q255">{{cite web | last=Rimer | first=Sara | title=New York City Alters 2 Homeless Shelters For More Jail Space | website=The New York Times | date=April 11, 1989 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/11/nyregion/new-york-city-alters-2-homeless-shelters-for-more-jail-space.html | access-date=April 15, 2024 | archive-date=January 25, 2025 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250125073859/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/11/nyregion/new-york-city-alters-2-homeless-shelters-for-more-jail-space.html | url-status=live }}</ref> A ''Newsday'' report from the late 1980s found the island's park to be relatively safe but also poorly maintained.<ref name="p278020569">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=8 Aug 1988 |title=Manhattan Neighborhoods Profiles of Three of Manhattan's Parks |work=Newsday |page=19 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|278020569}}}}</ref> The park was used by dozens of local schools at the time and had various baseball, rugby, tennis, softball, soccer, lacrosse, and cricket fields.<ref name="The New York Times 1987 b870" />

==== 1990s and early 2000s redevelopment plan ==== The city considered building an incinerator on Wards Island in the early 1990s,<ref name="p278438912">{{cite news |last=Cottman |first=Michael H. |date=6 Sep 1991 |title=City Considering New Incinerators |work=Newsday |page=21 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|278438912}}}}</ref> as well as a facility to convert waste into sludge.<ref name="Specter 1992 y061">{{cite web |last=Specter |first=Michael |date=June 29, 1992 |title=Ocean Dumping Is Ending, but Not Problems; New York Can't Ship, Bury or Burn Its Sludge, but No One Wants a Processing Plant |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/29/nyregion/ocean-dumping-ending-but-not-problems-new-york-can-t-ship-bury-burn-its-sludge.html |access-date=April 17, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=April 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417011026/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/29/nyregion/ocean-dumping-ending-but-not-problems-new-york-can-t-ship-bury-burn-its-sludge.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |last=Olmeda |first=Rafael A. |date=1 July 1992 |title=City Finally Ends Its Sludge-Dumping Era |work=Newsday |page=29 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|278523995}}}}</ref> NYC Parks also agreed in 1990 to allow the American Golf Corporation to develop and operate a 36-hole miniature golf course on Randalls Island,<ref name="Egan 1990 k508">{{cite web |last=Egan |first=Timothy |date=November 7, 1990 |title=An Unlikely Pairing Gets Closer: Golfers and New York |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/07/nyregion/an-unlikely-pairing-gets-closer-golfers-and-new-york.html |access-date=April 16, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241229011656/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/07/nyregion/an-unlikely-pairing-gets-closer-golfers-and-new-york.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="n145447938">{{Cite news |last=Moore |first=Keith |date=1990-10-10 |title=Parks Dept.: Play Ball on Randalls Isle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-parks-dept-play-ball-on-ran/145447938/ |access-date=2024-04-16 |work=Daily News |pages=140 |archive-date=September 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240926001407/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-parks-dept-play-ball-on-ran/145447938/ |url-status=live }}</ref> in addition to a driving range and batting cages.<ref name="n145447938" /> Work began in 1992,<ref name="The New York Times 1992 a436">{{cite web |date=January 19, 1992 |title=Postings: Teeing Off on Randalls Island; Mostly for Golfers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/19/realestate/postings-teeing-off-on-randalls-island-mostly-for-golfers.html |access-date=April 16, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=January 31, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250131152211/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/19/realestate/postings-teeing-off-on-randalls-island-mostly-for-golfers.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and the golf center opened the next year.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lennon |first=David |date=1993-06-06 |title=A Home on the Range Randalls Island fits city to a tee |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-a-home-on-the-range-randalls-isl/145447977/ |access-date=2024-04-16 |work=Newsday |pages=166 |archive-date=September 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240926001429/https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-a-home-on-the-range-randalls-isl/145447977/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The New York Riding Academy also had a horse stable on the island in the 1990s.<ref name="p2642587826">{{Cite news |last=Tatum |first=Elinor |date=11 May 1996 |title=Black owned riding school grows on Randall's Island |work=New York Amsterdam News |page=28 |id={{proQuest|2642587826}}}}</ref> The Randall's Island Sports Foundation (RISF) was founded in 1992 to maintain Randalls Island Park.<ref name="SM p. 181" /> During the next two years, RISF took over much of the islands' maintenance.<ref name="Martin 1994 g482">{{cite web |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=July 18, 1994 |title=Plan Takes Shape for a Randalls Island City Recreation Center |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/18/nyregion/plan-takes-shape-for-a-randalls-island-city-recreation-center.html |access-date=April 23, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423234415/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/18/nyregion/plan-takes-shape-for-a-randalls-island-city-recreation-center.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The city devised plans to restore Downing Stadium,<ref name="n145569443">{{Cite news |last=Lewis |first=David L. |date=1993-05-27 |title=City 20M sport for Randalls Is. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-city-20m-sport-for-randalls-i/145569443/ |access-date=2024-04-18 |work=Daily News |pages=1396 |archive-date=April 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418011515/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-city-20m-sport-for-randalls-i/145569443/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and by 1994 there were plans to spend $227 million on recreational facilities.<ref name="Martin 1994 g482" /> At the time, the islands' many sporting facilities were very hard to access.<ref name="Martin 1994 g482" /><ref name="PA 1995-03">{{cite magazine |last=Gratz |first=Roberta Brandes |date=Mar 1995 |title=Filling the void in public works |url=https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1995-03.PDF |magazine=Progressive Architecture |page= |pages=39–40 |volume=76 |issue=3 |access-date=April 23, 2024 |archive-date=April 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417050915/https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1995-03.PDF |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, there were fears that the presence of the Charles H. Gay Center and the Wards Island Bridge were contributing to increased crime in neighboring East Harlem.<ref name="The New York Times 1994 r709">{{cite web |last=Bloom |first=Jennifer Kingson |date=November 13, 1994 |title=Neighborhood Report: Harlem; Anticrime Tactic: Shut Footbridge |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/13/nyregion/neighborhood-report-harlem-anticrime-tactic-shut-footbridge.html |access-date=April 23, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423234412/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/13/nyregion/neighborhood-report-harlem-anticrime-tactic-shut-footbridge.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

RISF presented proposals for a redevelopment of the two islands in 1995.<ref name="PA 1995-03" /><ref name="The New York Times 1995 j236">{{cite web |date=February 12, 1995 |title=Postings: Plan for Randalls and Wards Island Parks; A Workshop And an Exhibit |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/12/realestate/postings-plan-for-randalls-and-wards-island-parks-a-workshop-and-an-exhibit.html |access-date=April 18, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418011515/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/12/realestate/postings-plan-for-randalls-and-wards-island-parks-a-workshop-and-an-exhibit.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Other developments took place on the islands in the mid- and late 1990s, including a renovation of a FDNY library<ref name="Finder 1996 x905">{{cite web |last=Finder |first=Alan |date=May 29, 1996 |title=City Awarded 4 Contracts To a Defunct Corporation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/29/nyregion/city-awarded-4-contracts-to-a-defunct-corporation.html |access-date=April 25, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240425002055/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/29/nyregion/city-awarded-4-contracts-to-a-defunct-corporation.html |url-status=live }}</ref> a new homeless shelter,<ref name="Barron 1996 r917">{{cite web |last=Barron |first=James |date=February 3, 1996 |title=Queens Shelter Is Ordered To Remain Open All Day |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/03/nyregiona/queens-shelter-is-ordered-to-remain-open-all-day.html |access-date=April 24, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> an expansion of the Randalls Island golf center,<ref name="Martin 1998 a309">{{cite web |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=June 2, 1998 |title=Golf Course Will Rise From a Bronx Garbage Heap |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/02/nyregion/golf-course-will-rise-from-a-bronx-garbage-heap.html |access-date=April 25, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240425010311/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/02/nyregion/golf-course-will-rise-from-a-bronx-garbage-heap.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and additional sporting fields.<ref name="Martin 1998 o136">{{cite web |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=April 5, 1998 |title=On Playing Fields, a Turf Battle; More Sports and Teams Mean a Shortage of Space |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/05/nyregion/on-playing-fields-a-turf-battle-more-sports-and-teams-mean-a-shortage-of-space.html |access-date=April 25, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240425002049/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/05/nyregion/on-playing-fields-a-turf-battle-more-sports-and-teams-mean-a-shortage-of-space.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1999, the New York City government proposed allowing a private development project on Randalls and Wards Island to raise money for a renovation of Randalls Island Park.<ref name="Martin1999" /><ref name="n145569318">{{Cite news |last=Feiden |first=Douglas |date=1998-12-11 |title=For a Revival |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-for-a-revival/145569318/ |access-date=2024-04-18 |work=Daily News |pages=35 |archive-date=April 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418011513/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-for-a-revival/145569318/ |url-status=live }}</ref> By then, the island accommodated up to 50,000 people per day during the summer, accommodating various children's and adults' sports teams.<ref name="Martin1999" /> The plan entailed demolishing Downing Stadium; adding an amphitheater and new athletic facilities, restoring wetlands; building trails, marinas, restaurants, and ferry stops; and constructing a water park.<ref name="Martin1999">{{cite news |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=May 9, 1999 |title=City Seeks Private Development for Randalls Island |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/09/nyregion/city-seeks-private-development-for-randalls-island.html |access-date=2024-04-15 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 5, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250905024540/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/09/nyregion/city-seeks-private-development-for-randalls-island.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="n145569318" /> The proposal, known privately as Operation Grand Slam, was to be funded by RISF, city, state, and federal governments.<ref name="n145569318" /> RISF successor Randall's Island Park Alliance hired Zurita Architects in 2000 to devise a master plan for the park's redevelopment.<ref name="Archinect g569">{{cite web |title=Ricardo Zurita Architecture & Planning P.C. |url=https://archinect.com/rzaps/project/randall-s-island-master-plan |access-date=April 23, 2024 |website=Archinect |archive-date=April 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423234416/https://archinect.com/rzaps/project/randall-s-island-master-plan |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Mid-2000s to present ==== thumb|right|250px|Fields on Wards Island, 2008Icahn Stadium opened on Randalls Island in 2005, replacing the old Downing Stadium.<ref name="Katz 2005 c068">{{cite web |last=Katz |first=Celeste |date=April 24, 2005 |title=Icahn Stadium Recalls Glory of Bygone Days |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2005/04/24/icahn-stadium-recalls-glory-of-bygone-days-2/ |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=New York Daily News |postscript=none |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408165627/https://www.nydailynews.com/2005/04/24/icahn-stadium-recalls-glory-of-bygone-days-2/ |url-status=live }}; {{cite web |last=Brick |first=Michael |date=April 24, 2005 |title=Children Celebrate Opening of Stadium |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/nyregion/children-celebrate-opening-of-stadium.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408165627/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/nyregion/children-celebrate-opening-of-stadium.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A water park was approved on Randalls Island in 2006<ref name="Williams 2006 d925">{{cite web |last=Williams |first=Timothy |date=April 10, 2006 |title=Randalls Island Water Park Set for Final Approval Vote |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/10/nyregion/randalls-island-water-park-set-for-final-approval-vote.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none }}; {{cite web |last=Mao |first=Tien |date=January 11, 2006 |title=Water Park for Randall's Island |url=https://gothamist.com/news/water-park-for-randalls-island |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=Gothamist |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408202601/https://gothamist.com/news/water-park-for-randalls-island |url-status=live }}</ref> but was canceled the next year over financing difficulties;<ref name="New York Daily News 2007 e400">{{cite web |date=September 21, 2007 |title=City sinks planned water park on Randalls Island |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2007/09/21/city-sinks-planned-water-park-on-randalls-island/ |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=New York Daily News |postscript=none |archive-date=September 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924111320/https://www.nydailynews.com/2007/09/21/city-sinks-planned-water-park-on-randalls-island/ |url-status=live }}; {{cite web |last=Williams |first=Timothy |date=September 22, 2007 |title=With Financing in Doubt, City Cancels Plans for Randalls Island Water Park |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/22/nyregion/22randalls.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times }}</ref> the water park's investors later sued the city for mismanagement.<ref name="Ross 2012 i305">{{cite web |last=Ross |first=Barbara |date=August 8, 2012 |title=Developers sue city for pulling plug on Randalls Island water park |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2012/08/08/developers-sue-city-for-pulling-plug-on-randalls-island-water-park/ |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=New York Daily News |postscript=none |archive-date=September 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924111024/https://www.nydailynews.com/2012/08/08/developers-sue-city-for-pulling-plug-on-randalls-island-water-park/ |url-status=live }}; {{cite web |date=August 7, 2012 |title=Developers Sue NYC Over Failed $215M Water Park Project |url=https://www.law360.com/articles/367803/developers-sue-nyc-over-failed-215m-water-park-project |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=Law360 |archive-date=September 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916103223/https://www.law360.com/articles/367803/developers-sue-nyc-over-failed-215m-water-park-project |url-status=live }}</ref> In April 2006, the first section of a waterfront pathway opened on Randalls Island, and officials began restoring the Little Hell Gate wetlands.<ref name="New York City Department of Parks & Recreation 2006 t242">{{cite web |date=April 13, 2006 |title=Waterfront Pathway Opens At Randall's Island : NYC Parks |url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/randalls-island/dailyplant/19830 |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation |postscript=none |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227170314/https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/randalls-island/dailyplant/19830 |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |date=9 Apr 2006 |title=Neighborhood Report. Scenic Pathway |work=New York Daily News |page=52 |issn=2692-1251 |id={{ProQuest|306018041}}}}</ref> The salt marsh on Randalls and Wards Island was restored in the 2000s,<ref name="OPE+ 2008 c900">{{cite web |date=November 10, 2008 |title=Randall's Island salt marsh restoration a model for urban renewal |url=https://ope-plus.com/2008/11/10/randalls-island-salt-marsh-restoration-a-model-for-urban-renewal/19871/ |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=OPE+ |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408165628/https://ope-plus.com/2008/11/10/randalls-island-salt-marsh-restoration-a-model-for-urban-renewal/19871/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and additional recreational fields were built on the island as well.<ref name="Anderson 2010 b241">{{cite web |last=Anderson |first=Jenny |date=June 14, 2010 |title=On Randalls Island Fields, Private Schools Play Free |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/nyregion/14randalls.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408205040/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/nyregion/14randalls.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The city government proposed allowing private schools to fund many of the new fields, which were expected to cost $70 million in total.<ref name="Anderson 2010 b242">{{cite web |last=Anderson |first=Jenny |date=June 14, 2010 |title=On Randalls Island Fields, Private Schools Play Free |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/nyregion/14randalls.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408205040/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/nyregion/14randalls.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite web |last=Yakas |first=Ben |date=June 15, 2010 |title=Private Schools Dominate Fields At Randall's Island |url=https://gothamist.com/news/private-schools-dominate-fields-at-randalls-island |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=Gothamist |archive-date=September 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240920214529/https://gothamist.com/news/private-schools-dominate-fields-at-randalls-island |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Gonzalez 2006 f382">{{cite web |last=Gonzalez |first=Juan |date=October 25, 2006 |title=Poor Kids Losing Turf War |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2006/10/25/poor-kids-losing-turf-war/ |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=New York Daily News |archive-date=September 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924112325/https://www.nydailynews.com/2006/10/25/poor-kids-losing-turf-war/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2007, a group of 20 private schools agreed to pay the city government $52.4 million, in exchange for the exclusive use of two-thirds of the island's fields during weekday afternoons.<ref name="Williams2007a">{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Timothy |date=June 15, 2007 |title=Lawsuit Seeks to Break Deal Over Use of Randalls I. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/15/nyregion/15suit.html |access-date=2024-04-15 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |postscript=none |archive-date=June 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240625174018/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/15/nyregion/15suit.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite web |date=January 10, 2008 |title=East Harlem Versus City Over Randall's Island Plan |url=https://ny.curbed.com/2008/1/10/10580530/east-harlem-versus-city-over-randalls-island-plan |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=Curbed NY |archive-date=September 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240919071917/https://ny.curbed.com/2008/1/10/10580530/east-harlem-versus-city-over-randalls-island-plan |url-status=dead }}</ref> This prompted a lawsuit from families of East Harlem public-school students,<ref name="Williams2007a" /><ref name="Durkin 2007 q516">{{cite web |last=Durkin |first=Erin |date=August 3, 2007 |title=Work Begins on Randall's Island Fields as Opponents Cry Foul |url=https://www.nysun.com/article/new-york-work-begins-on-randalls-island-fields-as |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Sun |archive-date=December 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241224012922/https://www.nysun.com/article/new-york-work-begins-on-randalls-island-fields-as |url-status=live }}</ref> who were forced to share the remaining fields.<ref name="Gonzalez 2006 f382" /> Amid the lawsuit, the city began constructing 63 fields on the island in August 2007.<ref name="Durkin 2007 q516" /> State courts twice invalidated the private schools' agreement with the city,<ref name="Bagli 2009">{{cite news |last=Bagli |first=Charles V. |date=Dec 22, 2009 |title=New Randalls Island Deal With Private Schools Is Rejected |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/nyregion/23randalls.html |access-date=2024-04-15 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |postscript=none |archive-date=June 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240625064242/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/nyregion/23randalls.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite web |date=December 22, 2009 |title=Judge Rules Randall's Island Sports Fields Should Remain Public |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20091222/east-harlem/judge-rules-randalls-island-sports-fields-should-remain-public/ |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=DNAinfo New York |archive-date=September 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240920220225/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20091222/east-harlem/judge-rules-randalls-island-sports-fields-should-remain-public/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the private schools ended up receiving exclusive control over the fields for free.<ref name="Anderson 2010 b242" />

The Randalls Island Connector footbridge opened in 2015, connecting the island with the Bronx.<ref name="Casteel 2015 b3812">{{cite web |last=Casteel |first=Kathryn |date=November 20, 2015 |title=Randall's Island Connector opens in Port Morris |url=https://motthavenherald.com/2015/11/20/long-awaited-randalls-island-connector-opens-port-morris/ |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=Mott Haven Herald |postscript=none |archive-date=July 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240719221701/https://motthavenherald.com/2015/11/20/long-awaited-randalls-island-connector-opens-port-morris/ |url-status=live }}; {{Cite web |last=Small |first=Eddie |date=November 11, 2015 |title=Long-Awaited Randall's Island Connector to Open This Weekend |url=http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20151111/port-morris/long-awaited-randalls-island-connector-open-this-weekend |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118162820/http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20151111/port-morris/long-awaited-randalls-island-connector-open-this-weekend |archive-date=November 18, 2015 |access-date=November 17, 2015 |website=DNA Info }}</ref> The George Rosenfeld Center for Recovery opened in September 2017 on Wards Island.<ref name="Blain 2017 m688">{{cite web |last=Blain |first=Glenn |date=September 6, 2017 |title=State opens $25M drug treatment center on Wards Island as it battles opioid epidemic |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2017/09/06/state-opens-25m-drug-treatment-center-on-wards-island-as-it-battles-opioid-epidemic/ |access-date=April 7, 2024 |website=New York Daily News |postscript=none |archive-date=April 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240407014549/https://www.nydailynews.com/2017/09/06/state-opens-25m-drug-treatment-center-on-wards-island-as-it-battles-opioid-epidemic/ |url-status=live }}; {{cite web |last=Solis |first=Gustavo |date=September 7, 2017 |title=$25M In-Patient Drug Treatment Center Opens in Wards Island |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170907/randalls-island/in-patient-drug-treatment-center-george-rosenfeld-center-for-recovery-oddyssey-house/ |access-date=April 7, 2024 |website=DNAinfo New York |archive-date=June 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240618205923/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170907/randalls-island/in-patient-drug-treatment-center-george-rosenfeld-center-for-recovery-oddyssey-house/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Randall's Island Park received $950,000 in 2021<ref name="Garber 2021 h298">{{cite web |last=Garber |first=Nick |date=July 29, 2021 |title=Randall's Island Park Gets $1M To Upgrade Pathways |url=https://patch.com/new-york/upper-east-side-nyc/randalls-island-park-gets-1m-upgrade-pathways |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=Upper East Side, NY Patch |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408205040/https://patch.com/new-york/upper-east-side-nyc/randalls-island-park-gets-1m-upgrade-pathways |url-status=live }}</ref> and another $22 million in 2022 for upgrades to Randalls and Wards Island's pathways.<ref name="Saltonstall 2022 c693">{{cite web |last=Saltonstall |first=Gus |date=May 11, 2022 |title=Randall's Island Park Gets $22M To Repair Roadways, Improve Bike Lanes |url=https://patch.com/new-york/harlem/randalls-island-park-gets-22m-repair-roadways-improve-bike-lanes |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=Harlem, NY Patch |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408205040/https://patch.com/new-york/harlem/randalls-island-park-gets-22m-repair-roadways-improve-bike-lanes |url-status=live }}</ref> A short-lived migrant shelter opened at Randalls Island in 2022<ref name="The Associated Press 2022"/> and was replaced by a larger shelter in 2023.<ref name="Kliger 2023 k514"/> There was public opposition to the migrant shelter, which took up several soccer fields.<ref name="Newman 2023 u7182">{{cite web |last=Newman |first=Andy |date=August 11, 2023 |title=The Latest Migrant Battleground: NYC Soccer Fields |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/11/nyregion/nyc-migrant-crisis-eric-adams.html |access-date=April 23, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=April 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423234415/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/11/nyregion/nyc-migrant-crisis-eric-adams.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite web |last1=John |first1=Asar |last2=Honan |first2=Katie |last3=Fractenberg |first3=Ben |date=August 11, 2023 |title=City Commissioner Leads Soccer League Protesting Randall's Island Migrant Tents |url=https://www.thecity.nyc/2023/08/10/randalls-island-migrants-soccer-vilda-mayuga/ |access-date=April 23, 2024 |website=THE CITY - NYC News |archive-date=April 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423234412/https://www.thecity.nyc/2023/08/10/randalls-island-migrants-soccer-vilda-mayuga/ |url-status=live }}</ref> One of the island's homeless shelters, the Clarke Thomas Mental Health Shelter, closed in 2022.<ref name="Ostadan Brand 2023 d272">{{cite web |last1=Ostadan |first1=Bahar |last2=Brand |first2=David |date=February 17, 2023 |title=Troubled Wards Island homeless shelter tied to ex-Gov. Cuomo's sister quietly closes |url=https://gothamist.com/news/troubled-wards-island-homeless-shelter-tied-to-ex-gov-cuomos-sister-quietly-closes |access-date=April 11, 2024 |website=Gothamist |archive-date=September 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240920215816/https://gothamist.com/news/troubled-wards-island-homeless-shelter-tied-to-ex-gov-cuomos-sister-quietly-closes |url-status=live }}</ref> Migrants began sleeping outside the Randalls Island migrant shelter following a series of violent crimes there, but the outdoor encampment was dismantled in August 2024.<ref>{{cite web | last=Ferré-Sadurní | first=Luis | title=NYC Moves to Shut Down a Growing Migrant Encampment | website=The New York Times | date=August 19, 2024 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/19/nyregion/homeless-migrants-encampment-randalls-island-sweep.html | access-date=August 20, 2024 | archive-date=August 19, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240819235706/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/19/nyregion/homeless-migrants-encampment-randalls-island-sweep.html | url-status=live }}</ref> That October, the city government announced that the larger migrant shelter would close in February 2025.<ref>{{cite web |last=Stratman |first=Josephine |date=October 9, 2024 |title=Controversial Randalls Island migrant shelter to close |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/10/09/controversial-randalls-island-migrant-shelter-to-close/ |access-date=October 10, 2024 |website=New York Daily News |postscript=none |archive-date=October 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241010002754/https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/10/09/controversial-randalls-island-migrant-shelter-to-close/ |url-status=live }}; {{cite web |last1=Ferré-Sadurní |first1=Luis |last2=Colon |first2=Shayla |date=October 9, 2024 |title=Randall's Island Migrant Shelter Will Close in February, Adams Says |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/09/nyregion/randalls-island-nyc-migrant-shelter-closing.html |access-date=October 10, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=October 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241010005801/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/09/nyregion/randalls-island-nyc-migrant-shelter-closing.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In September 2025, the Randall's Island Park Alliance began constructing a nature center for $6 million.<ref>{{cite web | title=Work Breaks Ground on The Nature Center on Randall's Island | website=New York YIMBY | date=September 28, 2025 | url=https://newyorkyimby.com/2025/09/work-breaks-ground-on-the-nature-center-on-randalls-island.html | access-date=September 30, 2025 | postscript=none | archive-date=September 29, 2025 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250929130932/https://newyorkyimby.com/2025/09/work-breaks-ground-on-the-nature-center-on-randalls-island.html | url-status=live }}; {{cite web | last=Ratliff | first=Laura | title=Randall's Island Park breaks ground on snazzy $6 million nature center, which will host free public programs starting in 2026 | website=Time Out New York | date=September 23, 2025 | url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/randalls-island-park-breaks-ground-on-snazzy-6-million-nature-center-which-will-host-free-public-programs-starting-in-2026-092325 | access-date=September 30, 2025 }}</ref>

== Parks and recreation == === Randalls Island Park === thumb|Hell Gate Bridge walking path Randalls Island Park was created in 1936<ref name=":4" /> and was originally centered around the Triborough Bridge's T-shaped viaduct.<ref name="The New York Times 1935 j304" /> Wards Island Park, which is connected with Randalls Island Park, was acquired by the city in 1936 and 1939.<ref name="NYC Parks Wards">{{cite web |title=Wards Island Park Highlights : NYC Parks |url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/wards-island-park/history |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation |archive-date=December 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219122924/https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/wards-island-park/history |url-status=live }}</ref> The park is operated by the Randall's Island Park Alliance (RIPA), a 501(c)(3) organization.<ref name="GuideStar Profile t437">{{cite web |title=Randall's Island Park Alliance, Inc. |url=https://www.guidestar.org/profile/13-3787630 |access-date=April 6, 2024 |website=GuideStar Profile}}</ref> RIPA was founded in 1992 as the Randall Island Sports Foundation,<ref name="SM p. 181" /><ref name=":3" /> and it operates free youth programs and workshops throughout the year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Things to See & do |url=https://randallsisland.org/things-to-see-do/ |access-date=February 12, 2019 |archive-date=February 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213005625/https://randallsisland.org/things-to-see-do/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The park has also hosted music concerts and festivals, including the Governors Ball Music Festival,<ref name="Editors of Time Out 2014 p. 27">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8NRWAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT27 |title=Time Out New York |publisher=Time Out |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-84670-271-6 |series=Time Out Guides |page=27 |access-date=April 15, 2024}}</ref> Panorama Music Festival,<ref name="Brooks 2019 q533">{{cite magazine |last=Brooks |first=Dave |date=January 19, 2019 |title=Panorama Festival Not Returning in 2019: Exclusive |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/panorama-festival-not-returning-2019/ |access-date=April 15, 2024 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=January 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125220712/https://www.billboard.com/pro/panorama-festival-not-returning-2019/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Rock the Bells, Farm Aid, Underground Garage Festival, and Electric Zoo Festival.<ref name="SM p. 193">{{harvnb|Seitz|Miller|2011|ps=.|page=193}}</ref> The park also hosts One Bite Pizza Festival by Dave Portnoy, an annual pizza festival organized by the production company Medium Rare.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nawab |first=Faiz |date=2024-06-25 |title=Dave Portnoy’s Pizza Festival at Randall’s Island this fall. |url=https://www.amny.com/entertainment/things-to-do/dave-portnoy-one-bite-pizza-festival-randalls-island/ |access-date=2026-01-03 |website=www.amny.com |language=en-US |archive-date=December 11, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251211124609/https://www.amny.com/entertainment/things-to-do/dave-portnoy-one-bite-pizza-festival-randalls-island/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sosa |first=Jon |date=2024-09-19 |title=Dave Portnoy’s One Bite Pizza Fest Hits NYC |url=https://www.amny.com/lifestyle/eat-and-drink/dave-portnoys-one-bite-pizza-festival-randalls-island/ |access-date=2026-01-03 |website=www.amny.com |language=en-US |archive-date=August 12, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250812054832/https://www.amny.com/lifestyle/eat-and-drink/dave-portnoys-one-bite-pizza-festival-randalls-island/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to RIPA, in the 2010s, Randalls Island Park had 30 to 40 percent of Manhattan's baseball fields.<ref name="SM p. 193" /> The park includes the Randall's Island Park Golf Center, which covers {{convert|18|acre}}. The golf center opened in 1990 with a driving range, miniature golf course, and pro shop; the driving range was renovated in 2008 with 82 stalls.<ref name="Klavon 2019 t419">{{cite magazine |last=Klavon |first=Ken |date=November 5, 2019 |title=Technology, trends shape Randall's Island Park facelift |url=https://www.si.com/golf/travel/feature-2019-11-05-technology-trends-shape-randalls-island-park-facelift |access-date=April 8, 2024 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408205040/https://www.si.com/golf/travel/feature-2019-11-05-technology-trends-shape-randalls-island-park-facelift |url-status=live }}</ref> The Sportime Randall's Island Tennis Center opened in 2009 and contains ten Har-Tru clay courts (all outdoors), five DecoTurf courts (five indoors and five outdoors), a fitness center, recreation room, and pro shop.<ref name="DeLessio v801">{{cite web |last=DeLessio |first=Joe |title=Sportime Stadium at Randall's Island |url=https://nymag.com/listings/attraction/sportime-stadium/ |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=NYMag.com |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408205040/https://nymag.com/listings/attraction/sportime-stadium/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The center houses the John McEnroe Tennis Academy.<ref name="Pflaumer 2023 y873">{{cite web |last=Pflaumer |first=Erin |date=November 20, 2023 |title=McEnroe brothers hold tennis clinic for kids on Randall's Island |url=https://pix11.com/sports/mcenroe-brothers-hold-tennis-clinic-for-kids-on-randalls-island/ |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=PIX11 |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408205040/https://pix11.com/sports/mcenroe-brothers-hold-tennis-clinic-for-kids-on-randalls-island/ |url-status=live }}</ref> There are various recreational fields that are used by public and private schools.<ref name="Anderson 2010 b241" /> Randalls Island Park contains over {{Convert|8|mi}} of pedestrian and bike pathways<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pathways |work=Randall's Island Park Alliance |url=https://randallsisland.org/visit/pathways/ |access-date=February 13, 2019 |archive-date=February 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214002837/https://randallsisland.org/visit/pathways/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and connects with Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens.<ref>[http://www.nycedc.com/press-release/nycedc-announces-launch-construction-randalls-island-connector-project NYCEDC Announces Launch of Construction of Randall's Island Connector Project] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202095444/http://www.nycedc.com/press-release/nycedc-announces-launch-construction-randalls-island-connector-project |date=February 2, 2019 }}, New York City Economic Development Corporation, December 18, 2013.</ref> The proposed Harlem River Greenway, which started construction in 2025, would connect Randalls Island with the Bronx's Van Cortlandt Park to the north.<ref>{{cite web | title=DOT begins constructing Harlem River Greenway | website=News 12 - Default | date=May 28, 2025 | url=https://bronx.news12.com/dot-begins-constructing-harlem-river-greenway | access-date=May 30, 2025 | archive-date=May 28, 2025 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250528222012/https://bronx.news12.com/dot-begins-constructing-harlem-river-greenway | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Ferdowsi | first=Samir | title=Construction starts on 4 miles of Bronx greenway bike lanes | website=Gothamist | date=May 28, 2025 | url=https://gothamist.com/news/construction-starts-on-4-miles-of-bronx-greenway-bike-lanes | access-date=May 30, 2025 | archive-date=May 29, 2025 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250529033926/https://gothamist.com/news/construction-starts-on-4-miles-of-bronx-greenway-bike-lanes | url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Stadiums ==== thumb|Icahn StadiumThe first stadium built on the island was Downing Stadium,<ref name="Collins 2004 e269" /> a 25,000-seat venue with a {{convert|30|ft|m|-wide|adj=mid}} running track, which surrounded a grass field for other sports.<ref name="The New York Times 1936 t6402">{{cite web |date=May 8, 1936 |title=$1,000,000 Randalls Island Sports Project Impresses Olympic Officials |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/05/08/archives/1000000-randalls-island-sports-project-impresses-olympic-officials.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=July 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722220917/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/05/08/archives/1000000-randalls-island-sports-project-impresses-olympic-officials.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite news |last=Abramson |first=J.P. |date=May 8, 1936 |title=Athletic Officials Praise Randalls Island Stadium, Hail Progress of Work, on Inspection Tour: Final Olympic Iryouts Are Set for July 11–12 |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=25 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1237439440}}}}</ref> It opened as the Randalls Island Stadium on July 12, 1936,<ref name="The New York Times 1936 p186" /> and consisted of a {{convert|30|ft|m|-wide|adj=mid}} running track, which surrounded a grass field for other sports.<ref name="The New York Times 1936 t6402"/> The venue was renamed in 1955 for NYC Parks employee John J. Downing.<ref name="SM p. 184" /><ref name="Collins 2004 e269">{{cite web |last=Collins |first=Glenn |date=August 20, 2004 |title=Built for Speed, And Local Pride; Track Stadium Emerges On Randalls Island |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/20/nyregion/built-for-speed-and-local-pride-track-stadium-emerges-on-randalls-island.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=May 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516112501/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/20/nyregion/built-for-speed-and-local-pride-track-stadium-emerges-on-randalls-island.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Among Downing Stadium's notable events were the 1936 Olympic track-and-field trials,<ref name="Collins 2004 e269" /> as well as the 1964 Olympic track-and-field trials for the American women's team.<ref name="The New York Times 1964 b676">{{cite web |last=Litsky |first=Frank |date=July 3, 1964 |title=Olympic Track Trials to Begin Today |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/07/03/archives/olympic-track-trials-to-begin-today-8-finals-listed-on-opening-card.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227171754/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/07/03/archives/olympic-track-trials-to-begin-today-8-finals-listed-on-opening-card.html |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news |last=Stewart |first=John W. |date=2 July 1964 |title=Track Trials Start Today: New York Host to Round of Olympic Qualifying |work=The Sun |page=20 |id={{ProQuest|533641948}}}}</ref> Over the years, the stadium also hosted track, football, and soccer games,<ref name="p2316203163">{{cite news |last=Jeansonne |first=John |date=12 June 1991 |title=Randalls Island Reborn: Randalls Island Redux Memories rekindled at old site |work=Newsday |page=160 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|2316203163}}}}</ref> though it hosted no major events from 1966 to 1991.<ref name="The New York Times 1991 h202">{{cite web |date=May 9, 1991 |title=Sports People: Track and Field; Heroes, Old and New, Revisit Randalls Island |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/09/sports/sports-people-track-and-field-heroes-old-and-new-revisit-randalls-island.html |access-date=April 17, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417005442/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/09/sports/sports-people-track-and-field-heroes-old-and-new-revisit-randalls-island.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Its other events had included the Lollapalooza music festival and the Gay Games.<ref name="PA 1995-03" />

Downing Stadium was demolished in 2002<ref name="Collins 2004 e269" /> and replaced by Icahn Stadium, which opened on April 23, 2005.<ref name="Katz 2005 c068" /> Icahn Stadium is named for Carl Icahn, the venue's primary financier, and contains 4,754 seats. Its running track was designed by Hillier Group Architecture and was intended to host major track-and-field events.<ref name="Collins 2004 e269" />

=== Wetlands === There are two saltmarshes and a freshwater wetland on the island. Through the process of excavating over {{convert|20000|cuyd|m3}} of debris, installing clean sand, and planting native marsh grasses, {{convert|4|acre|ha}} of saltmarsh has been created surrounding the Little Hell Gate Inlet on the western edge of Randalls and Wards Island. Just across from the Little Hell Gate saltmarsh, {{convert|4|acre|ha}} of freshwater wetlands were also established.<ref name="Great Ecology">{{cite web |url=http://greatecology.com/projects/randalls-island-salt-marsh-restoration/ |title=Randall's Island Salt Marsh Restoration |access-date=October 24, 2013 |publisher=Great Ecology |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101113614/http://greatecology.com/projects/randalls-island-salt-marsh-restoration/ |archive-date=November 1, 2019}}</ref> After the removal of almost {{convert|15000|cuyd|m3}} of debris and fill, the freshwater wetland site was planted with native herbaceous, shrub, and tree species, such as switchgrass, aster, dogwood, and oak.<ref name="Great Ecology" /> The wetlands are part of a stormwater filtration system across Randalls and Wards Island.<ref name="Randalls Island 2024 t773">{{cite web |date=February 24, 2024 |title=Waterfront & Natural Areas |url=https://randallsisland.org/programs/waterfront |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=Randall&#039;s Island}}</ref> A footbridge crosses the salt marsh as well.<ref name="Margolies 2012 j336">{{cite web |last=Margolies |first=Jane |date=October 11, 2012 |title=Randalls Island Paths for Urban Biking |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/12/nyregion/randalls-island-paths-for-urban-biking.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref>

In 2012, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation approved a $1 million contract with Natural Currents Energy Services to generate renewable energy in the park. The project was expected to produce {{nowrap|200 kW}} of solar, wind, and tidal energy to power the island's facilities. The project was planned to include a solar-powered marine research and information kiosk that would have been open to visitors of the island.<ref>{{cite news |last=Colvin |first=Jill |title=Solar, Wind and Tidal Energy to Power Randall's Island |url=http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120326/upper-east-side/solar-wind-tidal-energy-power-randalls-island |access-date=October 24, 2013 |newspaper=DNAinfo |date=March 26, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029220145/http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120326/upper-east-side/solar-wind-tidal-energy-power-randalls-island |archive-date=October 29, 2013 }}</ref>

==Facilities== [[File:Manhattan Psychiatric Center.jpg|thumb|The Manhattan Psychiatric Center and Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center (behind the spans of the Triborough Bridge), 2013]]

=== Hospitals and shelters === Wards Island is home to the Manhattan Psychiatric Center and the Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center, both operated by the State Office of Mental Health. The Kirby Center houses some of New York state's violent mentally ill patients.<ref name="Correal 2019 l075">{{cite web |last=Correal |first=Annie |date=December 13, 2019 |title=Why Workers Fear Moving 50 Criminally Insane Patients |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/13/nyregion/Kirby-Forensic-Psychiatric-Center.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> The island also contains homeless shelters run by the New York City Department of Homeless Services.<ref>Mindlin, Alex (July 6, 2008). [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/nyregion/thecity/06home.html "On a Bus for the Homeless, a Push to Forgive the Fare"]. ''The New York Times''.</ref> These include the Charles H. Gay Homeless Shelter,<ref name="SM p. 186" /> which accommodated 900 men by the 2000s, making it the largest homeless shelter in New York City.<ref name="Kilgannon 2006 m976">{{cite web |last=Kilgannon |first=Corey |date=July 20, 2006 |title=At Homeless Encampment, Some Favor Mayor's Plan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/20/nyregion/20homeless.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref>

The George Rosenfeld Center for Recovery, operated by Odyssey House, opened in September 2017 on Wards Island.<ref name="Blain 2017 m688" /> It has about 230 beds for women and older adults.<ref name="Odyssey House 2017 w376">{{cite web |date=March 8, 2017 |title=The George Rosenfeld Center for Recovery |url=https://odysseyhousenyc.org/george-rosenfeld-center-for-recovery/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506130456/https://odysseyhousenyc.org/george-rosenfeld-center-for-recovery/ |archive-date=May 6, 2021 |access-date=April 7, 2024 |website=Odyssey House}}</ref> The treatment center includes a childcare center.<ref name="Blain 2017 m688" /><ref name="Odyssey House 2021 v187">{{cite web |date=February 4, 2021 |title=Early Head Start |url=https://odysseyhousenyc.org/evidence-based-practices/early-head-start/ |access-date=April 7, 2024 |website=Odyssey House}}</ref>

In October 2022, amid a citywide migrant housing crisis caused by a large influx of migrants seeking asylum in the United States, the administration of mayor Eric Adams announced that the city government would open an {{convert|84000|ft2|adj=on}} shelter on Randalls Island.<ref name="Sundaram 2022">{{cite web |last=Sundaram |first=Arya |date=October 19, 2022 |title=NYC's first tent encampment on Randall's Island is open for business |url=https://gothamist.com/news/nycs-first-tent-encampment-on-randalls-island-is-open-for-business |access-date=November 11, 2022 |website=Gothamist |postscript=none}}; {{cite news |last=Zraick |first=Karen |date=October 18, 2022 |title=New York to Open Tent Camp for Migrants on Randalls Island |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/18/nyregion/migrant-tents-randalls-island.html |access-date=November 11, 2022 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The shelter consisted of 500 beds for male migrants,<ref name="Chang 2022">{{cite web |last=Chang |first=Clio |date=October 19, 2022 |title=The Randalls Island Migrant Shelter Is Looking a Lot Less Temporary |url=https://www.curbed.com/2022/10/randalls-island-tent-shelter-migrants-temporary.html |access-date=November 11, 2022 |website=Curbed}}</ref> but fewer than half of the beds were filled within two weeks of the shelter's opening.<ref>{{Cite news |last=de Freytas-Tamura |first=Kimiko |date=November 4, 2022 |title=Tent Shelter for Migrants an Unlikely Draw for Other Homeless Men |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/04/nyregion/nyc-immigrants-tent-shelters-randalls-island.html |access-date=November 11, 2022 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The Adams administration closed the migrant shelter in November 2022 due to a decrease in the number of new migrants.<ref name="The Associated Press 2022">{{cite web |author=The Associated Press |date=November 10, 2022 |title=NYC Closing Just-Opened Randall's Island Migrant Center Due to Slowing Numbers |url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/investigations/migrant-crisis/nyc-closing-just-opened-randalls-island-migrant-center-due-to-slowing-numbers/3951974/ |access-date=November 11, 2022 |website=NBC New York |postscript=none}}; {{cite news |last=Stack |first=Liam |date=November 10, 2022 |title=Migrant Shelter on Randalls Island Will Close After Opening Last Month |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/10/nyregion/migrant-shelter-randalls-island-close.html |access-date=November 11, 2022 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In August 2023, a migrant shelter for 3,000 people opened at Randalls Island after the number of asylum seekers traveling to the city increased sharply.<ref name="Kliger 2023 k514">{{cite web |last=Kliger |first=Hannah |date=August 20, 2023 |title=As asylum seekers begin to arrive, CBS New York tours Randall's Island shelter |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/as-asylum-seekers-begin-to-arrive-cbs-new-york-tours-randalls-island-shelter/ |access-date=August 22, 2023 |website=CBS New York |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Moses |first=Dean |date=August 20, 2023 |title=Biggest one yet: City opens immense Randall's Island migrant center for 3,000 people as officials plead for fed aid amid crisis |url=https://www.amny.com/new-york/manhattan/biggest-one-yet-city-opens-immense-randalls-island-migrant-center-for-3000-people-as-officials-plead-for-fed-aid-amid-crisis/ |access-date=August 22, 2023 |website=amNewYork}}</ref>

=== Emergency services and utilities ===

==== Fire and police facilities ==== The New York State Police has a station on Wards Island, Troop NYC, which serves the New York City metropolitan area.<ref name="New York State Police 2014 s344">{{cite web |date=November 7, 2014 |title=Troop NYC |url=https://troopers.ny.gov/location/troop-nyc |access-date=April 7, 2024 |website=New York State Police}}</ref> The station also includes a barracks.<ref name="Mueller 2017 p838">{{cite web |last=Mueller |first=Benjamin |date=June 26, 2017 |title=Cuomo's Use of Troopers in New York City Frustrates Police Leaders |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/26/nyregion/cuomos-deployment-of-troopers-in-city-frustrates-police-leaders.html |access-date=April 7, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> The New York City Parks Enforcement Patrol operates a training academy on Randalls Island.<ref name="City Life Org 2022 k316">{{cite web |date=April 3, 2022 |title=NYC Parks Commemorates 40th Anniversary of Parks Enforcement Patrol |url=https://thecitylife.org/2022/04/03/nyc-parks-commemorates-40th-anniversary-of-parks-enforcement-patrol/ |access-date=April 7, 2024 |website=City Life Org}}</ref> NYC Parks' Five Borough Administrative Building is located on Randalls Island; that building complex contains a green roof.<ref name="CBS New York 2013 m814">{{cite web |last=Bindelglass |first=Evan |date=April 22, 2013 |title=Inaccessible New York Earth Day Special: The 5 Boro Green Roof Garden |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/inaccessible-new-york-earth-day-special-the-5-boro-green-roof-garden/ |access-date=April 16, 2024 |website=CBS New York}}</ref> The New York City Police Department Street Crime Unit was headquartered on Randalls Island until it was disbanded in 1999.<ref name="The New York Times 1999 q499">{{cite web |last=Blair |first=Jayson |date=October 16, 1999 |title=Street Crime Unit Will Be Split Into 8 Pieces |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/16/nyregion/street-crime-unit-will-be-split-into-8-pieces.html |access-date=April 25, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref>

{{anchor|Fire academy}}The New York City Fire Department operates a training academy on Randalls Island.<ref name="SM p. 185" /> Designed by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates, the complex consists of nine buildings, which include classroom structures as well as mockups of real New York City buildings.<ref name="p120373492">{{cite news |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=8 Dec 1975 |title=Family Happiness Is Randalls Island |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/12/08/archives/innovative-building-victim-of-a-dispute.html |access-date=2024-04-15 |work=The New York Times |page=35 |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|120373492}}}}</ref> The academy's facilities include classrooms, a water supply tank, a replica of a subway tunnel with tracks and two railcars, a training course for engine drivers, a helicopter pad, a replica ship, and multiple buildings.<ref name="SM p. 185" /><ref name="fdny">{{cite web |title=FDNY Fire Academy |url=http://home.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/units/fire_academy/fa_index.shtml |work=FDNY website |publisher=New York City |access-date=October 24, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029194740/http://home.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/units/fire_academy/fa_index.shtml |archive-date=October 29, 2013 }}</ref> The streets in the academy are named in honor of several firefighters who died while on duty. The fire academy is also used by film and TV series directors who conduct shoots there.<ref name="SM p. 185" />

==== Sewage plant<span class="anchor" id="Wards Island Water Pollution Control Plant"></span> ==== thumb|Wards Island Wastewater Treatment Plant

A wastewater treatment plant, the '''Wards Island Water Pollution Control Plant''', is operated by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.<ref name="nycdep" /> It is located northeast of the Hell Gate railroad bridge.<ref name="p1267961537" /><ref name="BOE p. 11" /> Before the plant was developed, sewage from these areas was dumped directly into the city's rivers.<ref name="The New York Times 1935 t463">{{cite news |date=August 18, 1935 |title=Sewage Project to Go on; Plant on Ward's Island Will Cut Pollution at Hell Gate -- Federal Loan Assured |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/08/18/archives/sewage-project-to-go-on-plant-on-wards-island-will-cut-pollution-at.html |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> The plant originally occupied {{Convert|77|acre}} on Wards Island's northeast corner<ref name="p1267961537" /> and could treat up to {{convert|180|e6gal|e6L|sp=us}}{{Efn|Sometimes cited as {{convert|190|e6gal|e6L|sp=us}}<ref name="Davenport p. 5" />}} of raw sewage daily when it opened in 1937.<ref name=NYCL-1128/><ref name="The New York Times 1937 m5912" /> A series of tunnels transports sewage to the plant from Upper Manhattan and the Bronx.<ref name="The New York Times 1937 l086">{{cite news |date=June 8, 1937 |title=Five-mile Sewer is Holed Through; Sandhogs Complete Drilling for the Wards Island Treatment System |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/06/08/archives/fivemile-sewer-is-holed-through-sandhogs-complete-drilling-for-the.html |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> {{As of|2024}}, the modern plant has a capacity of {{convert|275|e6USgal|sp=us|abbr=off}} per day.<ref name="nycdep">{{cite web |title=New York City's Wastewater Treatment System |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/wastewater/wwsystem-plants.shtml |work=New York City DEP |publisher=New York City |access-date=October 24, 2013 |archive-date=July 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701044118/http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/wastewater/wwsystem-plants.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Water Technology 2010 y707">{{cite web |title=Wards Island Water Pollution Control Plant | website=Water Technology |publisher=Verdict Media Limited |date=January 25, 2010 |url=https://www.water-technology.net/projects/wards-island/ |access-date=April 15, 2024 |archive-date=June 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240623171448/https://www.water-technology.net/projects/wards-island/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> The city planned to install 7 megawatts of solar power at the plant as of 2021.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2021/02/25/nyc-installing-solar-at-nearly-50-public-schools-other-facilities/ |title=NYC installing solar at nearly 50 public schools, other facilities |first=Joe |last=Bebon |magazine=PV Magazine USA |publisher=pv magazine group GmbH & Co |access-date=April 12, 2024 |date=February 25, 2021}}</ref>

The treatment plant receives sewage from two "grit chambers", one each in Manhattan and the Bronx, which filter out debris before the sewage reaches the plant.<ref name="Techno Consult Inc. c672">{{cite web |title=NYCDEP Wards Island Grit Chambers Reconstruction in Manhattan and Bronx |publisher=Techno Consult Inc. |url=https://techno-eng.com/project-experience/water-waste-water/nycdep-wards-island-grit-chambers-reconstruction-in-manhattan-and-bronx |access-date=April 12, 2024}}</ref><ref name="Kilgannon 2006 r191">{{cite news |last=Kilgannon |first=Corey |title=What Goes Down Drain Eventually Bobs Up Here |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 23, 2006 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/23/nyregion/23garbage.html}}</ref> The Bronx chamber is a New York City designated landmark.<ref name=NYCL-1128>{{cite report |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1128.pdf |title=Bronx Grit Chamber of the Ward's Island Sewage Treatment Works |date=June 8, 1982 |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |access-date=12 Apr 2024 |page=2}}</ref><ref name="Diamonstein-Spielvogel 2011 p. 639">{{cite landmarks |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=o8ym5NeiylkC&pg=PA639 639]}}</ref>

== Transportation<span class="anchor" id="Bridges"></span> ==

=== Road and rail bridges === [[File:Hell Gate and Triborough Bridges New York City Queens.jpg|thumb|A 2004 aerial view from above Queens looking towards Wards Island, with one part of the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (then known as the Triborough Bridge) at the left, and the Hell Gate Bridge (right). Also visible in the distance is the 103rd Street Footbridge to Manhattan.]] A rail bridge between Queens and the Bronx, via Randalls Islands, was first planned in the late 19th century to link the tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New Haven Railroad.<ref name="n142012554">{{Cite news |date=April 24, 1892 |title=A Connecting Railroad |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-a-connecting-ra/142012554/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224214546/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-a-connecting-ra/142012554/ |archive-date=February 24, 2024 |access-date=February 24, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=20 |via=newspapers.com |issn=2577-9397}}</ref> This became the Hell Gate Bridge, which was dedicated March 9, 1917.<ref name=":2" /> The Hell Gate Bridge includes plate girder spans across both islands, as well as a through arch bridge across Hell Gate to the southeast.<ref name="The New York Times 1912 c124">{{cite web |date=November 10, 1912 |title=Hell Gate Structure Now Being Built Will Be an Important Link in the System of the Connecting Railroad That Will Change the Relation of Manhattan Island to the Mainland for Commercial Ends. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/11/10/archives/hell-gate-structure-now-being-built-will-be-an-important-link-in.html |access-date=April 14, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="In 2024 q032">{{cite web |last=Oviatt-Lawrence |first=Alice |date=February 22, 2024 |title=Engineering History |url=https://www.structuremag.org/?p=778 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227012755/https://www.structuremag.org/?p=778 |archive-date=February 27, 2024 |access-date=February 27, 2024 |website=Structure magazine}}</ref> The bridge also includes an inverted bowstring truss section, with four {{convert|300|ft|m|adj=on}} long spans, across Little Hell Gate.<ref>{{cite book |last=Reier |first=Sharon |title=The Bridges of New York |publisher=Dover Publications |year=2000 |isbn=0-486-41230-X |page=62}}</ref>

The Triborough Bridge opened on July 11, 1936, providing a direct road connection from the then-separate islands to the rest of the city.<ref name="The New York Times 1936">{{cite web |date=July 12, 1936 |title=200,000 Rush to Use New Bridge By Auto, Bus, Cycle and on Foot; Presidential Party First to Drive Over 17 1/2 Miles of Span – Rush at All Approaches When Barriers Are Lifted on Word Flashed by Police Radio – Boy Bicyclist First at Toll Booth |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/07/12/archives/200000-rush-to-use-new-bridge-by-auto-bus-cycle-and-on-foot.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111002004/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/07/12/archives/200000-rush-to-use-new-bridge-by-auto-bus-cycle-and-on-foot.html |archive-date=November 11, 2018 |access-date=November 10, 2018 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The bridge consists of spans across the Harlem River, Hell Gate, and Bronx Kill, as well as a T-shaped viaduct that crosses the islands and connects the three spans.<ref name="Duffus 1936">{{cite web |last=Duffus |first=R. L. |date=July 5, 1936 |title=Bridge Will Speed Up Traffic; Breaking Down Barriers That Have Impeded the Flow In and Out of New York, It Is Part of a Vast and Growing Road System |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/07/05/archives/bridge-will-speed-up-traffic-breaking-down-barriers-that-have.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111001614/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/07/05/archives/bridge-will-speed-up-traffic-breaking-down-barriers-that-have.html |archive-date=November 11, 2018 |access-date=November 10, 2018 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The bridge includes various pedestrian ramps connecting the islands with the Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens.<ref name="Ashaboglu 2016 t831">{{cite web |last=Ashaboglu |first=Selin |date=January 21, 2016 |title=Randalls Island Connector |url=https://www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/randalls-island-connector_o |access-date=April 25, 2024 |website=Architect}}</ref> In 2008, the Triborough Bridge was renamed after Robert F. Kennedy.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jacob |last=Gershman |url=http://www.nysun.com/new-york/enduring-wish-may-come-true-in-rfk-bridge/69058/ |date=January 8, 2008 |access-date=January 9, 2008 |title=Enduring Wish May Come True in RFK Bridge |newspaper=The New York Sun |archive-date=September 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906194158/http://www.nysun.com/new-york/enduring-wish-may-come-true-in-rfk-bridge/69058/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority erected an art deco administration building, which still stands on the island.<ref name="Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) 2011">{{cite web |url=http://www.mta.info/news/2011/01/18/bt-archive-robert-moses-building |title=From the B&T Archive: The Robert Moses Building |date=January 18, 2011 |website=Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) |access-date=November 14, 2018 |archive-date=November 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114224207/http://www.mta.info/news/2011/01/18/bt-archive-robert-moses-building |url-status=live}}</ref> The M35 bus connects the islands to Manhattan.<ref name="Not For Tourists 2015 p. 205">{{cite book |author=Not For Tourists |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dl2CDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT205 |title=Not For Tourists Illustrated Guide to New York City |publisher=Not For Tourists |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-63450-087-6 |page=205 |access-date=April 17, 2024}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

In May 1937, the islands were connected by a low-level bridge, carrying Central Drive over Little Hell Gate.<ref name="n145013248" /><ref name=":0" /> The three-span steel arch road bridge, designed by the engineer Othmar Ammann, was northwest of the rail bridge;<ref name=":0" /> it measured {{Convert|1000|ft}} long.<ref name="PA 1995-03" /><ref name=":5" /> The Little Hell Gate bridge was rendered obsolete when the Little Hell Gate was filled, and a service road was built alongside the deteriorating bridge. The New York City Department of Transportation proposed demolishing it in the 1990s.<ref name=":5">{{cite news |title=Parks and Transportation Departments Debate Future of Former Link Between Randalls and Wards Islands |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/16/realestate/postings-parks-transportation-departments-debate-future-former-link-between.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 16, 1995 |access-date=February 13, 2010}}</ref> Despite efforts to save the bridge, it was demolished.<ref name=":0" />

=== Footbridges === [[File:Ward's Island Bridge, New York City.JPG|thumb|Wards Island Bridge central span in raised position, 2007]]

In 1937, Moses developed plans for a pedestrian bridge across the Harlem River from Manhattan to Wards Island Park,<ref name="The New York Times 1937 o961">{{cite web |date=November 8, 1937 |title=Foot Bridge Urged for Wards Island; Moses Wants 790-Foot Span to Link Manhattan to Park Site at 103d Street |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/11/08/archives/foot-bridge-urged-for-wards-island-moses-wants-790foot-span-to-link.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none}}; {{cite news |date=November 8, 1937 |title=Moses Suggests Foot Bridge to Ward's Island |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=13 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1222271107}}}}</ref> though construction of the Wards Island Bridge did not begin until October 1949.<ref name="The New York Times 1949 h8432">{{cite web |date=June 9, 1949 |title=Bridge to Be Built to Wards Island; Pedestrian Span Across the Harlem Will Open New Park Facilities to East Siders |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/06/09/archives/bridge-to-be-built-to-wards-island-pedestrian-span-across-the.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none}}; {{cite news |date=October 15, 1949 |title=Breaking Ground for Pedestrian Bridge to Wards Island: Ground Broken For Footbridge To Wards Island O'Dwyer Spades Up Gravel for Link Between Upper East Side and New Park |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=5 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327375883}}}}</ref> Designed by Othmar Hermann Ammann and built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,<ref>{{cite web |title=NYC Bridges & Tunnels 2009 Annual Report, page 81 |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/2009_bridgereport.pdf |publisher=New York City Department of Transportation}}</ref> the footbridge was originally known as the Harlem River Pedestrian Bridge.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rastorfer |first=Darl |title=Six Bridges: The Legacy of Othmar H. Ammann |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2000 |isbn=0-300-08047-6 |page=31}}</ref> The bridge opened on May 18, 1951, and connects with FDR Drive and 103rd Street on Manhattan Island.<ref name="The New York Times 1951 b382" /> It is a vertical-lift bridge with twelve spans.<ref name="NYC DOT 1980 p380" /> Since 1967, the bridge has also been open to cyclists.<ref name="The New York Times 1967 d249">{{cite web |date=September 15, 1967 |title=Bridge to Wards Island Is Opened to Bicyclists |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/09/15/archives/bridge-to-wards-island-is-opened-to-bicyclists.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref>

A ground-level footbridge over the Bronx Kill was proposed in 2006;<ref name="Evelly 2012 b049">{{cite web |last=Evelly |first=Jeanmarie |date=May 24, 2012 |title=City Strikes a Deal for Bronx Bridge to Randall's Island |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120524/port-morris/city-strikes-deal-for-bronx-bridge-randalls-island/ |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=DNAinfo New York |archive-date=November 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120021142/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120524/port-morris/city-strikes-deal-for-bronx-bridge-randalls-island/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> the footbridge, known as the Randalls Island Connector, ran under the Hell Gate Bridge.<ref name="Johnson 2009 n939">{{cite web |last=Johnson |first=Taylor |date=May 26, 2009 |title=Federal stimulus funds will open Randall's Island to Bronxites |url=https://motthavenherald.com/2009/05/26/federal-stimulus-funds-will-open-randall%E2%80%99s-island-to-bronxites/ |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=Mott Haven Herald}}</ref> An agreement was reached in 2012,<ref name="Evelly 2012 b049" /> and the connector's construction commenced in 2013.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hu |first1=Winnie |date=July 28, 2015 |title=Connector Between Randalls Island and the Bronx to Open This Summer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/29/nyregion/connector-between-randalls-island-and-the-bronx-to-open-this-summer.html |access-date=July 28, 2015 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> The Randalls Island Connector opened in November 2015.<ref name="Casteel 2015 b3812" />

==See also== * List of New York City parks * List of smaller islands in New York City

==References== ===Notes=== {{notelist}}

===Citations=== {{Reflist}}

=== Sources === * {{cite report |first=Celia J. |last=Bergoffen |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/arch_reports/287.pdf |title=Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority Triborough Bridge Rehabilitation Project, Randall's and Ward's Islands, Manhattan: Phase 1A Archaeological Assessment Report |via=nyc.gov |date=March 8, 2001}} * {{Cite report |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/arch_reports/1841.pdf |title=Phase IA Literature Search and Archaeological Sensitivity Assessment; Ward's Island Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Boiler Building Gas Line Installation |last=Davenport |first=Michelle L. |date=Mar 14, 2019 |publisher=RGA Inc. |via=nyc.gov}} * {{cite magazine |last=Davenport |first=W.H. |date=December 1868 |title=The Nurseries of Randall's Island |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hkpGAAAAcAAJ |magazine=Harper's New Monthly Magazine |publisher=Harper |volume=36 |number=211 |series=Harper's New Monthly Magazine}} * {{Cite report |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/arch_reports/427.pdf |title=Randalls Island Cultural Resources Assessment |first1=Andrew |last1=Dolkart |last2=Kearns |first2=Betsy |last3=Kirkorian |first3=Cece |date=Dec 2000 |publisher=Historical Perspectives |last4=Schaefer |first4=Richard |via=nyc.gov|ref={{harvid|Dolkart et al.|2000}}}} * {{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED027221/page/n23/mode/2up |title=ERIC ED027221: Operation Ward's Island, A Guide to the Trees and Other Features of Ward's Island |date=1968 |publisher=New York City Board of Education |ref={{Harvid|Board of Education|1968}} |access-date=April 10, 2024 |via=Internet Archive}} * {{cite book | title=House of Refuge | publisher=Syracuse University Press | date=1969 | isbn=978-1-68445-008-4 | doi=10.1353/book.61593 | chapter=VII. The Road to Albany |first=Robert |last=Pickett |chapter-url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/204/oa_monograph/chapter/2188744/pdf}} * {{Cite report |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/arch_reports/1428.pdf |title=Phase IA Archaeological Documentary Study Randall's Island Living Shoreline Recreation Area Part of Block 1819, Lot 203 Randall's Island, New York County, New York |first1=Julie Abell |last1=Horn |last2=Schaefer |first2=Richard |last3=Saunders |first3=Cece |date=February 2012 |publisher=Historical Perspectives |last4= |first4= |via=nyc.gov}} * {{cite report |first1=Joseph |last1=Schuldenrein |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/arch_reports/1383.pdf |title=Final Report: Phase 1b Archaeological Assessment for the Proposed Waterfront Pathway Project, Randall's Island, Manhattan, New York |first2=Juan |last2=Arista |first3=Johnathan |last3=Garland |via=nyc.gov |date=August 2, 2012 |publisher=Geoarcheology Research Associates}} * {{cite report |first=Joseph |last=Schuldenrein |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/arch_reports/1472.pdf |title=Final Report: Phase 1b Archaeological Investigation for the Randall's Island Sports Field Development Project |via=nyc.gov |date=August 2, 2012 |publisher=Geoarcheology Research Associates}} * {{cite book |last1=Seitz |first1=Sharon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zRjMPZW4heMC&pg=PA185 |title=The Other Islands of New York City: A History and Guide |last2=Miller |first2=Stuart |publisher=Countryman Press |year=2011 |edition=Third |isbn=978-1-58157-886-7}} * {{cite book |last=Wilson |first=Rufus Rockwell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qD8WAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA352 |title=New York: Old and New, Its Story, Its Streets and Landmarks |publisher=Lippincott |year=1902 |issue=v. 2}}

==Further reading==

* {{cite book |last=Nichols |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6TNuDwAAQBAJ |title=Hell Gate: A Nexus of New York City's East River |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4384-7141-9 |series=Excelsior Editions}} * {{cite book |last=Stoddard |first=W.O. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IR1CAQAAMAAJ |title=Walled in: A True Story of Randall's Island |publisher=F.H. Revell Company |year=1899}}

==External links== {{commons category}} * [http://www.randallsisland.org Randall's Island Park Alliance] * [http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=6515 History of Randall's Island] * [http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=12869 History of Wards Island] * [http://www.eastrivernyc.org/content/history/hell-gate/index.html Map] from 1885 showing Little Hell Gate * {{HAER |survey=NY-314 |id=ny1830 |title=Little Hell Gate Bridge, Connecting Randalls & Wards Islands, New York, New York County, NY |photos=9 |cap=1}}

{{Manhattan}} {{New York City Islands}} {{Protected areas of New York City}}

Category:Randalls and Wards Islands Category:Harlem River Category:History of Manhattan Category:Islands of Manhattan Category:Islands of the East River Category:Neighborhoods in Manhattan