Removal of Hell Gate rocks

Hell Gate is a narrow tidal strait in the East River in New York City. It separates Astoria, Queens, from Randall's and Wards Islands.

The Hell Gate Bridge, originally the New York Connecting Railroad Bridge or the East River Arch Bridge, is a 1,017-foot (310 m) steel through arch railroad bridge in New York City. Originally built for four tracks, the bridge currently carries two tracks of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and one freight track across the Hell Gate, a strait of the East River, between Astoria in Queens and Randalls and Wards Islands in Manhattan. The arch across the Hell Gate is the largest of three bridges that form the Hell Gate railroad viaduct. An inverted bowstring truss bridge with four 300-foot (91.4 m) spans crosses the Little Hell Gate, a former strait that is now filled in, and a 350-foot (106.7 m) fixed truss bridge crosses the Bronx Kill, a strait now narrowed by fill. Together with approaches, the bridges are more than 17,000 feet (3.2 mi; 5.2 km) long. The designs of the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle, England and the Sydney Harbour Bridge in New South Wales, Australia were derived from the Hell Gate Bridge.

Astoria Park is a 59.96-acre (24.26 ha) public park in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens in New York City. The park is situated on the eastern shore of the Hell Gate, a strait of the East River, between Ditmars Boulevard to the north and Hoyt Avenue to the south. The Robert F. Kennedy (Triborough) and Hell Gate Bridges respectively pass over the park's southern and northern sections. Astoria Park contains a playground, a soccer field, a running track, a skate park, and courts for tennis, basketball, and bocce. Astoria Park also includes the Astoria Play Center, which consists of a recreation center and a pool. The park and play center are maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks). While Astoria Park was planned in 1905, the land was not acquired until October 1913. Astoria Park was formally named after the surrounding neighborhood in December 1913 and recreational facilities gradually opened within the park over the two following decades. The pool and bathhouse were designed by John Hatton during a Works Progress Administration project in 1935–1936 and was used for the United States Olympic Trials for swimming during 1936, 1952, and 1964. The park was extensively renovated in the 1980s and the late 2010s. The Astoria Play Center was designated a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2007.

Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Islands, in New York County, New York City, 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. The two islands were formerly separated, with Randalls Island to the north of Wards Island. The channel between them, Little Hell Gate, was infilled 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 island had a population of 1,648 living on 2.09 square kilometers (520 acres) in 2010. Most of the island is parkland, spanning a total of 432.69 acres (175.10 ha), and managed by Randall's Island Park Alliance. The park offers 91 athletic fields, a driving range, greenways, playgrounds and picnic grounds. The island also has a history of being used for asylums, hospitals, and cemeteries, and is currently home to several public facilities, including a psychiatric hospital known as the Manhattan Psychiatric Center, Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center a Drug and Alcohol Treatment facility named Odyssey House, a daycare, 2 state police stations, FDNY fire academy, a DEP wastewater treatment plant, Icahn Stadium, HELP Clarke Thomas Mens Homeless Shelter, Keener Employment Homeless Mens Shelter, Schwartz Homeless Mens Shelter, HELP USA Supportive Employment Center, and an Urban Farm. Outside of these institutions and buildings, there is no residential housing for the general public on the island. The island is crossed by the Triborough and Hell Gate bridges. The island can be reached by the Triborough Bridge; the Wards Island Bridge, which serves pedestrians and bicyclists and links the island to East Harlem in Manhattan; or by the Randalls Island Connector, a pedestrian and cycling bridge crossing the Bronx Kill and connecting to the Port Morris neighborhood of the Bronx. Randalls Island is the home of three music festivals: Governors Ball Music Festival, Panorama Music Festival, and Electric Zoo Festival.

Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center is a maximum-security facility for the mentally ill on Wards Island in New York City, operated by the New York State Office of Mental Health as one of two psychiatric hospitals in the state that treat felony patients. The building, described as "fortresslike", is adjacent to the Manhattan Psychiatric Center. Of its more than 200 patients, 50 are deemed criminally insane; it houses pre-trial detainees unfit to stand trial as well as convicted defendants granted an insanity plea. Among its famous historical inmates was murderer and cannibal Daniel Rakowitz.

The Manhattan Psychiatric Center is a New York-state run psychiatric hospital on Wards Island in New York City. As of 2009, it was licensed for 509 beds, but holds only around 200 patients. The current building is 17 stories tall. The building strongly resembles the main building of the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens. It is adjacent to Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center, a specialized facility for patients with criminal convictions.

St. Joseph's Chapel of the Manhattan State Hospital is a former Roman Catholic parish church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located in the vicinity of Manhattan State Hospital on Ward Island Manhattan, New York City. The parish was established in 1872.

Icahn Stadium is a 5,000 seat track and field and multipurpose facility located on Randalls Island in Manhattan, New York City. Designed within the former site of Downing Stadium, it opened on April 23, 2005. Icahn Stadium is named after American businessman Carl Icahn, who made a $10 million donation towards the construction of the new stadium. The stadium features a World Athletics Class 1 certified running track with a 400-meter Mondo Super X Performance surface, and it has been the site of many international, national, and regional track and field events.

Downing Stadium, previously known as Triborough Stadium and Randall's Island Stadium, was a 22,000-seat stadium in New York City. It was renamed Downing Stadium in 1955 after John J. Downing, a director at the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. It was demolished in 2002 and the current Icahn Stadium was built on the site.

River Crest Sanitarium was a New York State licensed mental hospital located in Astoria, Queens. River Crest was founded in 1896 by John J. Kindred (1864-1937), a Virginia native who moved to Queens and was elected to the House of Representatives, serving from 1911 to 1913 and 1921 to 1929.

The John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA) is a tennis academy founded by tennis Hall of Famer John McEnroe in New York City. The academy was founded in September 2010, on a 20-court (10 deco turf, 10 clay courts) $18 million tennis complex, designed by Ricardo Zurita, on Randalls Island in Manhattan. McEnroe launched the academy in collaboration with Claude Okin, managing partner of Sportime New York. McEnroe's teaching philosophy emphasizes short intense periods of tennis training balanced by plenty of time pursuing other sports and activities.Alumni include Noah Rubin, who won the Boys' Singles tournament at Wimbledon in July 2014, and the 2014 U.S. Tennis Association's Boys 18s National Championships in both singles and doubles the following month, is a product of the academy. In September 2014, Rubin was ranked the No. 1 Division 1 college freshman by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) while playing for Wake Forest University, and sophomore Jamie Loeb – another product of the academy – was named the No. 1 Division 1 female college player while playing for University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

First Reformed Church of Astoria was organized and established in 1839 and continues to operate, both as a church and as a center for family and holiday-oriented events.