4 minutes of your time for the BEST & cheapest panoramic view of NYC

You can catch the tram at Tram Plaza at 59th Street and Second Avenue in Manhattan. For more information, see Getting to Roosevelt Island and things to see while you are there. Walk to the southern tip of the island to see the ruins of infamous insane asylum of the 1900. (It was in fact a Smallpox Hospital, but the ruins, especially at night conjure up images of lunatics wailing and ghosts lingering.)  Hey, it's fun to pretend! Check it out: Smallpox Hospital ruins.