Did you ever play with the Fisher Price Little People when you were a kid? Or Lego village sets? Did you ever notice how every store was simply named for its purpose, and there was zero competition? For example, the market was called "Market," the barber shop was called "Barber Shop," and the pet store was called "Pet Store"? Apparently, Roosevelt Island is modeled after this revolutionary idea!
Though Roosevelt Island has its share of interesting sights, its Main Street has to be one of the most depressing places in New York City. Lined with ugly, box-shaped brown buildings that block out the sun, it seems to exist in perpetual darkness.
Main Street is the commercial district for the island, and consists of about ten or fifteen shops, all of which I noticed the other day seem to be named like the Fisher Price Main Street. Want your nails done? Go to "Nail Salon" at #570!
Looking to brighten your girlfriend's day? Perhaps a trip to the "Flower Shop" is in order!
Of course, it's nice to get a discount once in a while, and for that you need go no farther than "The Thrift Store."
Need a new hammer? Looking to rent that silly mall cop movie that recently came out? You're in luck - on Roosevelt Island, you can do both at the same establishment.
Sure, most churches are named after a particular saint or martyr...but not on Roosevelt Island!
Finally, when you need to send your children to school...well, you get the idea.
The most creatively named place is the "Cards 'n' Gifts" shop across the street, the quirky yet satisfying reduction of the word "and" to a single letter suggesting a level of creativity far superior to that of their neighbors:
And lest you think these are ancient holdovers from a bygone era, I happened upon an island sign putter-upper hanging a brand new "Senior Citizens Center" sign.
I'm being a bit facetious - some of these stores sort of have actual names hidden in the shadows of Main Street's alleyways. But I get the sense that, with such little space available, perhaps the island designated each storefront for a particular purpose, and regardless of the current tenant, say, #570 will always be "Nail Salon." Ha, I always liked the idea of the perfect archetypal Lego Main Street, but now I'm not so sure...
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Roosevelt Island - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Roosevelt Island City Guide - Reviews and Recommendations by ...
There are things to enjoy on the island, like evening walks along the river, and from most places where you stand, you can SEE the water on both sides of you. That's really kind of amazing. You can spend years in Manhattan without ever seeing the rivers. There are pleasant parks and playgrounds. My small children walked themselves to school and home again. My son learned how to ride a 2-wheeler there. The crappy cramped supermarket was replaced by a market that rivals the suburbs in its expansive aisles. You can walk to a Costco over the bridge to Long Island City.
When I lived there, I worked at Bloomingdale's and had an insanely pleasant commute-- by tram! It was awesome. My spirits rose every time the car lifted off.
Yes, there were things to complain about, but I've lived all over the country in many different situations, and if you want to complain, there will always be ample opportunity. My years at Roosevelt Island were not all that bad! And I especially never focused on the generic shop names. They were what they were, a convenience of sorts.
2. Main St. in Flushing has become something a new China Town, and was once pretty neat to visit, but at last check it’s just dirty.
3. My posted commentary was a reaction to a story about storefront signs on a “Main St.” in NYC, and it was meant as a contrast to the dismal portrayal of the published article about Roosevelt Island.
4. Apologies to anyone whom I've offended. I'm from NY. I have thick skin. Maybe you're new here. If you think this is rough – you should have been here before Guliani arrested all the homeless people.
Anyway, watch out for the crazy buses with too little room on the road to operate safely, pick-pockets who mark you as soon as you emerge from the Subway, and the young pimps & whores that tend to stay to the side by shadowy door thresholds. Past the safety of a Burger King logo you will find a plethora of dumpling shops and fish markets that are so sketchy I'd recommend you get back underground and ride the 7 Train to another place. Roosevelt Ave. in Jackson Heights might seem like a decent choice, but please bring an English-to-Spanish dictionary to navigate your way underneath the elevated train tracks. You’ll also notice plenty of Punjabi translated phonetically into English signs as New York City's lingual melting pot continues to evolve.
In contrast the Riverwalk Commons area of Roosevelt Island is owned by a private landlord and is a thriving and lively retail area.
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