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This is pretty interesting, a retired Port Authority worker buys an island of the coast of City Island in the Bronx. Im not sure if this has any important signficance. I hope he renames the Island which is known as Rat Island.
It would be kinda cool to sun bath there or spend a nice summer day there either all alone or with friends. But how will the owner not allow anyone els on the Island.
It would be fun to clean it all up and enjoy it as a natural preserve, or maybe plant wild flowers.....I love all that nature stuff.......
What I don't understand is, back in the day it was home to a hospital as the foundation is there, but wasn't it said somewhere when high tide comes in, the island is completely submerged in water??? How could there have of been a hospital then?
That's pretty ****ing awesome and 160k is a pittance in the scheme of things.
Well, I wouldn't say 160k is a pittance for a piece of rock that is only accessible by boat and has no power or water service. I don't think the new owner has an interest in building anything there -- which is good because as mc33433 stated that island is completely submerged during storms.
What I don't understand is, back in the day it was home to a hospital as the foundation is there, but wasn't it said somewhere when high tide comes in, the island is completely submerged in water??? How could there have of been a hospital then?
I was reading more about this, and apparently the hospital built a structure that was tall enough to exist despite tides.
History per Wikipedia:
Quote:
Rat Island was included in the purchase by Thomas Pell in 1654. During the typhoid fever scares of the 1800s, Rat Island was used by Pelham, New York as a typhoid quarantine hospital for about 40 infected people called the "Pelham Pesthouse".
The remains of cobblestone walls and foundations are still there. It was abandoned due to storm floods. Local legends say there was also a lighthouse for a while.
New York City purchased the island in 1888. It became a mini colony for writers and artists in the early 20th Century. It was bought by Dr. H. A. Parmentier in 1908. He subsequently leased the island to the Mount Vernon Club in 1931.
It was owned by a Brooklyn lawyer until 1972 when it was sold to Edmund "Red" Brennen. He said he bought it to do salvage work and store equipment. For many years crane buckets and lattice booms and other equipment were visible.
In March 2009 Brennan put Rat Island up for sale for $300,000. Many locals still falsely think it is owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, when in fact, they are trespassing on private property if they visit the island.
In summer months, it may have as many as 30 people on it, mostly fishermen. Some can be seen pitching tents. Others swim off the east side. In the past, during summer the Parks Department used to put waste drums so they may contain their garbage. This was not done Summer 2011.
Sometimes, the local first responders use it to practice rescue missions with boats and helicopters. On September 26, 2011, The New York Times published an article about the island, stating the property would go up for auction on October 2, 2011. It was sold at that auction for $160,000 to a retired Port Authority worker Alex Schibli, a resident of nearby City Island. Schibli said he has no immediate plans for physical changes to the island, but is considering renaming it Malina Island after his granddaughter.
And for it's name:
Quote:
It is not known how the island received its name. It has been proposed by Red Brennan and others including former prison workers that prisoners escaping from Hart Island nearby, nicknamed "rats", used the small island to rest before swimming on to City Island and freedom. Another theory is that when the island housed typhoid victims in the 19th century it presumably attracted vermin.
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