Tag: Roosevelt Island

“Horrors” of Roosevelt Island: Grampa Al


Before going any further, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention its most famous monster man, the godfather of Roosevelt Island and one of the most original New Yorkers who ever lived – Al ‘Grampa Munster’ Lewis.

Perhaps these days it’s difficult to understand a man like Al. He’s a crusty mix of old school vaudevillian and opinionated local celebrity who ingratiated himself with cantankerous and uncommon familiarity. Everybody seems to have an Al Lewis story. I met Grampa Munster only once in the 90s, years after his Greenwich Village restaurant — naturally called Grampa’s Bella Gente, (at 252 Bleecker Street) — had opened in April 1987. He was sitting in a rocking chair, cackling the night away. But how I wished I had taken my friend’s offer a few years later; he was having a drink with Al at Roosevelt Island’s only bar (I believe it was Julie’s Back Page).

Bigger celebrities have certainly lived on Roosevelt Island — Sarah Jessica Parker started her acting career living there — but none as beloved or as representitive of a certain type of true-blue New Yorker.

Lewis was either born here in Brooklyn, or out in Wolcott, NY; in the year 1910 or (more likely) 1923; with the birth name of Alexander or Albert. Depending on who Al was talking to, and when, the details of his life would tranform with the same dexterity that his TV persona Grampa Munster used to change into a cheap rubber bat. He purported to have a doctorate in child psychology at Columbia University, although his occupations were also purported to include a hotdog vendor at Ebbets Field, a store detective a former circus performer, and a Marine in World War II.

His big television break came with two seasons, Car 54, Where Are You?, playing a wacky Bronx police officer, cracking kooky cases with his partner, played by Fred Gwynne. Two years later he would join Gwynne in another series in the role that would define him. Literally. Like another vampirical player Bela Lugosi, Lewis would wear the cloak and mantel of Grampa Munster throughout the rest of his life, to nearly everything. For three campy seasons, “The Munsters” gave us Lewis amidst bubbling beakers and electrified gadgets in the basement of 1313 Mockingbird Lane, hocking sarcastic barbs at his Franken-son-in-law Herman.

Lewis would keep working in television and film but his political leanings would coax him into activism of an often surprising sort. (Mitchel Cohen remembers first meeting him in 1971 at a Black Panthers demonstration!) With his wife Karen, whom he married in 1979, Lewis became closely associated with the Green Party. In 1998 actually ran for New York governor against George Pataki, a rather ambitious challenge for a man well in his 70s. He tried to run as ‘Grampa Al Lewis’ but was rejected by the Board of Elections. He did receive 52,000 votes, of which I believe I was one of them.

He settled with his family in Roosevelt Island and slowly became involved in radio broadcasting. He had a show for many years on WBAI which Karen took over once became ill. One story claims he ‘pestered’ himself into the job by constantly calling with “comments, [to] correct mistakes or complain about what was on the air.” He well known to New Yorkers of the early 90s for being a frequent guest on the Howard Stern, once memorably haranguing the FCC with a flurry of bleepable expletives.

According to a recollection by Cohen, “I remember when Al was already sick, a Reclaim the Streets party/demo had ended up on Roosevelt Island. We marched past Al and Karen’s apartment, and I started the chant: “We love you
Grandpa, we miss you, get better!” and pretty soon the hundreds of us took up the chant, lights came on in the apartments, people looked out the windows, and everyone waved, knowing whom we were chanting about as we snaked by.”

He died at his Roosevelt Island home on February 3, 2006. At his funeral, one friend said,
“Who was Al Lewis? A raconteur. The de facto mayor of Roosevelt Island. The best-dressed man on Roosevelt Island. He held court in front of 546 Main Street, the senior citizens center…” It should be noted that Grampa Munster’s signature ride, the ‘dragula’ gold coffin on wheels, rolled up to the door of the church.

“Horrors” of Roosevelt Island: Renwick Ruins

With apologies to the people who reside there, I must admit that Roosevelt Island has always freaked me out. Which is why I like it actually. Over the next few days, I’ll highlight some of my favorite Roosevelt Island places and people, some familiar to New Yorkers who have never ventured there.

The “little Apple”, i.e. the mini-Manhattan island floating below the Queensboro Bridge in the East River, Roosevelt Island is an anomaly. Although just across the water from lucrative real estate and everchanging Manhattan and Queens landscapes, it seems completely frozen in time.

Over the years, its been called Hogs Island, Blackwell Island, and Welfare Island, none exactly a draw to trendsetters or developers. (Although, I guess if Hell’s Kitchen can become a ‘hot neighborhood, anything can.) It was given its current name in 1973 to welcome a spectacular new memorial to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, designed by the renowned Louis Kahn. If you’re wondering why you’ve never heard of it, its because it was never built. So even its name harbors a certain incompleteness. (However believe it or not, there are still plans to build it!)

Our first stop along the Roosevelt Island is probably its most recognizable feature, at least to most Queens or Manhattan residents — the Renwick Ruins, on the southernmost point of the island. Delightfully lit year round, it rises out of the East River like a haunted castle, with stark turrets and dark windows peering back at the city. More impressive than its Halloween-like trappings is the fact that such a large ruin has managed to survive near Manhattan at all without being torn down and turned into a glass condominium. For that reason, Renwick Ruins should creep you out and impress you in equal parts.

I went over a couple weeks ago and took some snaps close up. (Not the best pics you’ll ever see of it, but you get the idea. Some better daytime shots can be found on Flickr.)

The almost fairytale Gothic structure was designed by James Renwick — most notable for St Patrick’s Cathedral, Grace Church, and the Smithsonian Institute in D.C. — as the location of a hospital for smallpox patients. It was built in 1856 using labor from the neighboring lunatic asylum and in fact supplanted a fort built by one of its more passionate inmates. (More on that later.)

Roosevelt’s relative isolation made it an ideal spot for a smallpox hospital, and the rooms were soon filled with hundreds of patients, many of them poor immigrants too distrusting of our country’s immunization practices, or Union soldiers shipped here to recover from the illness. Within twenty years, the New York Board of Health took over the building and made into a nurses residences and school maintained by City Hospital. That too was then abandoned when City Hospital was transferred off of Roosevelt to Queens.

Luckily the deteriorating structure was saved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in the 60s and has only been preserved to the extent that its structure is maintained. It remains beautifully spooky to this day and a testament to the notion that not every inch of New York real estate need be functional.

The Roosevelt Island Historical Society has a more detailed history as well as a fine description of its architectural details. The site is closed to the public, but its home in Southpoint Park is occasionally opened for special events.

NOTE: As per the time of year, I’m only highlighting Roosevelt’s spookier elements. It’s obviously a normal and healthy place to live, mostly free of ghosts and insane lunatics. I promise. There are two good blogs that deal specifically with Roosevelt Island — Roosevelt Island360 and Roosevelt Islander.