"We used to call it 'The Rock' and we couldn't wait to move away," grins Chris Enock, talking about the Island. Sitting in his Manhattan Park apartment, this 35-year-old first came to Roosevelt Island in 1975 when his parents moved into Rivercross. "I guess the grass is always greener on the other side, for we felt we were not quite from New York City. It was like being from the suburbs. We wanted to leave the nest and never come back." However, like many others who spent a substantial portion of their childhood on the Island, Chris moved away for a few years and then came right back. "We decided to live here for the same reasons that my parents thought of when moving here. The Island is affordable, it is a great place for kids to grow up and it is an alternative to living in the City," he says.

His contemporary, Olya Turcihin Stern, says she moved back after she had her first child. "I had lived here since I was thirteen years old. I moved out when I went to college in Binghamton and then lived for a few years in New Jersey. It was so lonely there, so isolating. When Ayla was born in 1996, I decided to move back because I knew that I wanted to live in a community. I joined the Mother and Baby Group and that saved my life. I came back for the community."

The same yearning for community life brought Justine Selekman back, too. "I came back because of my memories of the Island, the safety, the sense of security and the family atmosphere," says she. "I was still in a carriage when my parents moved here in 1976. They were among the first residents here. One of my first memories of the place is of playing in Blackwell Park, roller-skating, and the Little League. I was in a tumbling class in Island Kids. Now, my seven-month-old son, Ryan, attends the Mother and Baby Group with me and will probably join the tumbling class next year. From a child's perspective, this is a great place to be. He will get the same sense of a tight-knit community that I had."

It also helps that her parents live across the street from her. Justine is able to work twice a week with developmentally-delayed children at the 92nd Street Y. "My mother takes care of Ryan while I am gone. It is a big help. She is an excellent support and was a deciding factor when we moved back from Brooklyn," admits Justine. Also, the housekeeper who helped raise Justine is still around to lend a hand for Ryan.

"I knew the place, my Mum had space in her apartment and this is a great environment for Desmond to grow up in," says Justin Towey, who moved off the Island when he went to college in South Carolina. He now works for Salomon Smith Barney in midtown and says he has absolutely no incentive to move out. His wife Kristi agrees, saying, "This is a big family place, we are in a great apartment and it is very safe."

Not everyone is back to raise kids here, though. Phoebe Flynn lived here between the ages of four and 14. At the time, she was sent to Ireland to a Quaker boarding school because her mother did not want her to study here. When she came back, she worked for a couple of years while living in her mother's apartment in Island House, and is still here. She is currently studying Political Science at Hunter College. "I am anxious to get out and would prefer not to live here, but it is comfortable and convenient," she says, laughing shyly. "I would stay on if I got a job in New York City and take advantage of the low rent."

Another person who is happy to be back is Damon La Scot. He has been living in Westview since he was 15 years old, having left for a few years to go to Berkelee College of Music in Boston. "I love the international flavor on the Island. It is like being in Europe. It is a special place." Damon, the lead guitarist with the band Meat Loaf, reminisces, "It used to be very secluded, very quiet, wild and untouched. My memories of the place include visions of all the kids playing the guitar. We had little bands and used to have jam sessions at Motorgate. Being a musician was cool and everyone in the community supported it. We used to camp near the Lighthouse and hang out together. I guess the increased population has taken some of the special things away. This place used to be pristine."

Olya agrees, saying, "There are fewer pockets of nature now and it is dirtier. There is garbage on the streets, the upkeep of the playground is poor and I once found glass on the promenade. When we moved here, this place was like something from a futuristic movie. The town was structured perfectly, everything was clean and new, there were wild parts on the Island including a forest where Manhattan Park is now. It was great for teenagers because we used to have get-togethers at the Octagon Park and the Lighthouse. We could go to the tip of the Island, where there was a geyser. There was an old church near the tennis courts and a leper's house."

Thinking of the fun things they did as kids, Olya said that about 50 kids used to hang out together. "We used to go roller-skating, skateboarding and walking on the promenade." Chris Enock added, "We kids spent a lot of time together, running with the pack, exploring underground tunnels, the Octagon building and the other buildings.we had a teenager's clubhouse, a wooden structure that lasted about six months.it was fun. We also had fights with the kids who came over from Long Island City. Some of them were these gangster types who would walk over and beat us Island kids." Damon remembered that one time a big fight had been scheduled but someone informed the police and the entire plan fizzled out.

Damon's special memory is of the time when it snowed and the kids played ice hockey on a basketball court in Blackwell Park. "Another cool thing was this guy on the red bridge. He would ask which apartment you were going to and give you a hand-written pass that you would have to display on your car. It had the details of whom you were visiting and for how long," he said. "It made the Island a special place to live and you had to have a purpose if you came over the bridge."

Phoebe Flynn remembers the time when Sylvester Stallone visited the Island, during the filming of a late seventies' film, Nighthawks. "We were told to leave our autograph books for him to sign, but he never did," she says. "He did talk to us, though, something about not doing drugs." Chris remembers that all the kids stood near the Tram, watching the sequence being filmed.

Nikki Leopold, who lived on the Island from 1976 onward, remembers the annual carnivals and the plays produced by the Main Street Theatre. "I don't think it was called that then but I remember acting in the plays. Everyone would get involved. It was so easy to meet people. We had a great feeling of security. It is a lot more crowded now but even so we know a lot of people." Nikki lives here with her husband and three daughters, having moved from Brooklyn after spending some time waiting to get into Westview. "I think this was a great place to grow up and I want the same for my daughters."

Nikki seems to have solved the only problem that some of the people said might be a "push factor" for them to leave the Island - the education issue. She sends her daughters to the Geneva School of Manhattan, where they get what she describes as "a classical Christian education... I know people who want to leave the Island so their kids can go to a good school but we are happy with the one they go to. I think the City is a very special place for them to grow up in. It is a unique experience," said Nikki. Olya is also concerned about the school her daughters would go to. "It is a tough decision to make. I want to stay here but want to be able to feel secure and give the kids a good education."

Damon was very emphatic when he said that he would not raise his children here. "There are loitering teenagers all over the place and it would be too intimidating for them. We were irreverent in our ways but we never hung out in the streets. People don't seem to mind their children anymore. I met a lady who pulled her kid out of the public school on the Island because she said her kid had begun talking like a thug." Phoebe says that though she might consider raising a family here, she is unhappy about the way kids behave on the streets. "I think young people are being allowed to get away with a lot more these days. We used to do the exact same things as them, hang out and all, but we did not swear at the top of our voices. These kids seem to ignore older people and mothers with strollers. They never move out. We were never allowed to sit on the steps leading to buildings, we had to go down to the river," she says.

Justine, who has lived in different buildings on the Island and is currently in Eastwood, pointed out what she thinks is a major problem and could be another "push factor" for many to leave. "The atmosphere has changed. Everyone is separate now, more segregated. Main Street is like a border, a dividing line. People are not as friendly as before and are sticking with their own kind. I think it has become a little colder. People don't connect any more. This place used to be middle class but is now leaning towards lower class. We should have more programs for people of different ethnic groups getting together to solve this problem." She admits that, despite this, the Island is "community-oriented."

Most of the others agree that even though there are problems on the Island, this is a wonderful place to live. "As kids we didn't appreciate the things on the Island that our parents did," said Chris. "We didn't really care about the trees and the water, but now we do - and that is why we are here."

Know others? For a future article like this one, contact The WIRE if you know other multi-generation Island families: 826-9055