Karen Jennemann, a retired judge who lives on Roosevelt Island, has her routine down to a tee.
There are the usual activities, like book club, mahjong and trips into Manhattan. And then there’s the unusual. This spring, for a few hours each week, Ms. Jennemann, 70, dons a hot pink hi-vis vest and pink-framed sunglasses and becomes a “petal protector.”
As the island’s cherry blossoms reached peak bloom this month, about three dozen volunteers signed up for two-hour shifts to patrol the island’s promenades and warn visitors not to pluck blossoms or climb trunks.
“We love the cherry trees,” Ms. Jennemann said. “So it just seemed like an easy thing, a good thing to do.”
The Petal Protectors were born out of an hourlong Microsoft Teams meeting just before last year’s cherry blossom season, which attracts increased foot traffic to the quiet island enclave in the middle of the East River. On the call, organized by the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, the state authority that runs the island, a local resident, Jennifer Engstler, suggested asking islanders to volunteer as “cherry blossom rangers” to curb unruly behavior by nonresidents.
In that first year, about 25 people signed up. This year, there are 37.
“The Petal Protector program exemplifies how much the community cares about this island,” said B.J. Jones, 53, the president of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation.
The program also reflects the way that the corporation has tried to preserve the island’s character as a haven for residents while capitalizing on rising tourism, as social media has drawn thousands of visitors seeking panoramic views of Manhattan.
On Tuesday, photo shoots were taking place along the island’s West Loop Road, where bright pink blossoms were juxtaposed against the skyline of Midtown Manhattan and the steel beams of the Queensboro Bridge. The island has more than 100 cherry trees, including the yoshino, okame, kanzan and weeping higan varieties, according to the corporation.
Ms. Jennemann walked among the sightseers, introducing herself and answering questions. (The most common request was for directions to the nearest bathroom.)
In recent years, visitor congestion during cherry blossom season has gotten so bad that the island — reachable by ferry, subway and its famous overhead tram — has had to make adjustments, such as running extra shuttle buses and assigning additional staff to tram stations.
“The tram lines get a little insane this time of year,” said Rebecca Cohen, 44, who has lived on Roosevelt Island for two years. “The island is definitely bustling.”
That bustle was unfamiliar to Nicholas Bitar, 39, who was visiting from Paris but lived on the island 25 years ago. Mr. Bitar’s father worked as an interpreter at the United Nations, whose headquarters just across the East River employ many island residents.
“Back in my day, you didn’t see any tourists coming to Roosevelt Island, really; it was just the locals,” he said. “That’s one of the things that surprised me most.”
Ms. Jennemann said that many people are drawn to the island because of the tram, which offers an inexpensive way to view the skyline and was featured in a “Spider-Man” movie.
“They’ll just get on and turn around and go right back over,” she said.
Those quick visits inspired another aspect of the Petal Protectors’ job: drawing attention to local businesses. The volunteers hand out pamphlets with QR codes that provide a map of the island, directing visitors to shops and restaurants as well as flowering trees.
“The cherry blossoms are amazing, but we’re more than just cherry blossoms,” Mr. Jones said.
Lisa Tranter, 60, was visiting from England on Tuesday with her husband, David Harrison, 62, and their daughter. Ms. Tranter was entertained by how many “springstagrammers,” as she called them, had flocked to the promenades to take photos.
She said her family had planned to just ride the tram back and forth, but the sight of the cherry blossoms had prompted them to spend more time walking around the island.
“There’s so much more here than we thought, to be honest,” Ms. Tranter said.
Sun Kim, 35, who was visiting from Seoul, was also surprised to find that the island was much more than an Instagram backdrop.
“We thought that Roosevelt Island is a small island without any kind of residency,” she said. “But it’s totally different from our expectations.”
Gina Enoch, 61, who has lived on Roosevelt Island since 1996, said she thought the Petal Protector program was silly, but that she understood the need for a response to the increase in tourists.
“If they want to stop people from damaging the trees, why not?” Ms. Enoch said. “I wouldn’t do it — I’m shy.”
Shy is one thing Ms. Jennemann is not. She said she loved roaming back and forth along the promenade with her husband, meeting people.
“We walk all the time anyway,” Ms. Jennemann said. “And I’ll talk to anybody.”
Claire Fahy reports on New York City and the surrounding area for The Times.
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