Back Islas Randalls y Wards Spanish Randalls and Wards Islands Estonian Randalls and Wards Islands Dutch
 Looking southwest; Randalls Island is in the foreground and Wards Island is behind it. Roosevelt Island and Manhattan can be seen in the background. | |
  Randalls and Wards Islands Location of Randalls and Wards Islands  Randalls and Wards Islands Randalls and Wards Islands (New York)  Randalls and Wards Islands Randalls and Wards Islands (the United States) | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | East River, Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 40°47′15″N 73°55′31″W / 40.78750°N 73.92528°W |
| Area | 2.09 km2 (0.81 sq mi) |
| Administration | |
| State | New York |
| City | New York City |
| Borough | Manhattan |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 1,648 (2010) |
| Pop. density | 788.5/km2 (2042.2/sq mi) |
Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Island, in New York City.[1][2][3] 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.
- ^ 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."
- ^ Feature Detail Report for Wards Island
- ^ "Randall's Island Park". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2011.