2. The only remaining undeveloped bedrock in Manhattan is next to Four Freedoms Park
From the southernmost tip of Four Freedoms Park, you can glimpse the piece of bedrock hailed as the ‘last remaining piece undeveloped land’ in Manhattan. The only residents on ‘Roosevelt Island Reef’ are the local seagulls, and the occasional seal, who enjoy their exclusive access to this waterside real estate. They can be sighted perching right on the edge of the bedrock or nestled into the side of it to enjoy a nap.
This small pseudo-island is not to be confused with its southern neighbor, officially named Belmont Island but also known as U Thant Island. Slightly larger and officially recognized as an island, Belmont is actually a man-made reef that formed from debris during the excavation for Steinway Tunnel, the original 7 train passageway between Manhattan and Queens. It was unofficially dubbed U Thant Island in the 1970s in honor of the Burmese former UN Secretary General.