Research

• Full Finding Aid
• Overview
• Arrangement
• Administrative History
• Scope and Contents
• Access Restrictions
• Access Terms

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Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation Photographic Files

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Overview of the Records

Arrangement

Unarranged.

Administrative History

The New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC) guided development on Roosevelt Island as one of the only urban "new communities" under the federal Great Society programs of the 1960s and early 1970s. Development was authorized by a 99-year ground lease and guided by an accompanying General Development Plan (GDP).

The General Developmental Plan (GDP) has been amended from time to time and provides for the development of housing, shops, and community facilities for a mixed income, accessible, residential neighborhood. As an island community, Roosevelt Island requires specialized operations and capital infrastructure maintenance, such as aerial tramway, underground pneumatic tube garbage collection system, and seawall improvements. The photographs document construction related to various structures and projects, including the seawall, the stabilization of historic structures, the Automated Vacuum Collection (AVAC) sanitation system, as well as document community relations and services.

Scope and Content Note

This series consists of black-and-white/color photographs, slides, and negatives that document community development and the construction of urban housing and structures on Roosevelt Island. Included are photographic materials that document the construction of housing developments; sanitation systems; modes of transportation, such as Tramway; hospitals; recreational spaces; historic structures; and other buildings. These records also depict community related projects and services.

Also included are ten videotapes of local news broadcasts about Roosevelt Island and reference materials, such as color prints of architectural models and illustrative site plans proposed by architectural firms.

Access Restrictions

Photographs in two folders of Box 10 cannot be viewed due to severe water damage.

Access Terms