Abandoned island in the middle of NYC | Hacker News Reader

Abandoned island in the middle of NYC

backspac.es

675 pointszmitri108 comments

This is the island where Typhoid Mary (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoid_Mary), the first person in the US detected to carry typhoid without showing symptoms, was quarantined. There's a great Radiolab episode where they take a trip to the island; http://www.radiolab.org/2011/nov/14/, http://www.radiolab.org/2011/nov/14/typhoid-mary/

There are actually a couple of uninhabited islands in the East River: North Brother (the one in the article), South Brother, Mill Rock, and U Thant.

If you find this stuff interesting, you may want to check out Forgotten New York[1], a site run by movie location scout Kevin Walsh, who gets access to places few people get to see in the city. Another great blog is Abandoned NYC[2].

[1] http://forgotten-ny.com/

[2] http://abandonednyc.com/

There's an island named after the 3rd UN Secretary General? I did not know that. Cool!

Yup.

“There is a forlorn little spit of land in the middle of the East River by the United Nations, called U Thant Island.”

“In 1977, a group of United Nations employees who meditated with Sri Chinmoy, a Queens-based mystic, had the island re-christened in honor of the Burmese diplomat U Thant, who was the third Secretary General of the world body from 1961 to 1971.”

http://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/06/nyregion/fyi-652520.html

My uncle was very close friends with Sri Chinmoy, and I met him a few times in my youth. Fascinating man.

I remember my parents had a joke book from the 70s where one joke had a punchline of "No, U Thant." That did not age well.

Adding another movie scout [3] to the list of folks who have uncovered neat NYC artefacts.

[3] http://www.scoutingny.com/?page_id=1363

Well, that’s embarrassing. That’s the site I actually meant to link to! Nick Carr (Scoutingny) is a location scout, Kevin Walsh (Forgotten-ny) is not. I got the two mixed up. Both are good sites, but Scoutingny often shows places that only he can get in.

I’ve even linked to the site before: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5262259

If you ever do any exploring of old/abandoned buildings like this, you better use a respirator. Asbestos + neglect + vandalism is a nasty combo.

I want to emphasize this. Always use appropriate safety equipment when exploring old buildings. Steel-toed boots are also a very good idea, in addition to a respirator. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_exploration#Safety_and_le...

Got one here in the Bay Area: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawbridge,_California

Fun, though dangerous [active train track; passenger trains pass at 100kph], place to visit. Just walk out the trails from Alviso in the south bay. I've done it about 3 times. Old dead buildings falling into the marsh. Walkways lead from the tracks to the water's edge (for maintenance?).

Note: it's illegal to visit (dangerous + nature sanctuary), so go at night..

Even on this small island the groups split on religious lines!........:)

No, don't go at night. Don't go unless you are part of an organized tour. Drawbridge is along the train tracks used by Amtrak and ACE trains. At night, freight trains also use the tracks, and not on a set schedule. If you are at the wrong spot and a train is coming, there is literally nowhere to go except for a swim in the mud. I went there on a tour, I think through Palo Alto Baylands. I'm not sure if tours are offered anymore, a quick google search didn't come up with anything. It's an interesting spot, especially if there is someone along who knows the history, but there really isn't that much to see anymore, most of the houses have sunk into the mud.

IMHO the biggest risk out there is getting caught not the trains. The tracks leading up to that area have clear sight lines for miles. I've been out there 4 or 5 days over the years and have only really had to deal with trains a few times, and you always knew they were coming with many minutes to spare (10+ for a slow moving freighter, to just under 5 probably for an ACE train). Not to say it isn't dangerous, but if you can jump to the left or to the right and are worried about some mud I'm not sure that this is the place for you to explore :)

On the other hand I've had several friends get nasty fines from LEO's while out there, or on there way out there. YMMV

Tours are still offered through the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society.

http://sfbws.com/activities/2013/07/06/drawbridge-van-excurs...

I will be exploring this place remotely with an amphibious rover in about a month. Will post video :)

I love these islands.

Hashima island is one of these http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashima_Island in Japan. Or well the http://wikitravel.org/en/Shikoku is another place you can go and see the forgotten life.

Check this one too http://gakuran.com/gunkanjima-ruins-of-a-forbidden-island/

Ha! This picture [1] of Hashima Island instantly reminded me of the James Bond film Skyfall. Apparently it served as an inspiration.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%E8%BB%8D%E8%89%A6%E5%B3%B...

Probably. When I saw the movie I recall having the same though. Many of these islands are simply a jewell for photographers.

You're right. From wikipedia "In the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall, the island served as an inspiration for the lair of villain Raoul Silva but filming did not take place on the island itself. One section was recreated at Pinewood Studios in Great Britain and the rest via CGI"

http://www.theworld.org/2012/11/the-history-of-hashima-the-i...

It's a surprise to see my niche being brought up on Hacker News! I read the site regularly, so it's a little flattering to be mentioned.

Gunkanjima was a fascinating place to explore, but there are countless other much smaller sites with their own mystique and rich history. The 'Royal House' and 'Red Villas' are among many that I have explored and documented.

Shikoku is one of the four main islands of Japan. It's not in any way 'forgotten' in the urbex sense, but as with most everywhere in Japan, it has many abandoned buildings and sites to find, as well as some good diving sites, I hear.

Given real state prices in NYC, if find it hard to believe it's still "too expensive to build everything" now, if it was so in the 60's. Perhaps there is more to the story? Does anyone know why this place doesn't get developed?

Because it's an island with no infrastructure. There's still tons of cheap real estate in the Bronx that's pretty close to Manhattan. That'll get gentrified well before a poorly located abandoned island with no transit connections would.

> Because it's an island with no infrastructure.

There was a hydrant in the pictures, so they had water and most likely, sewage. Electricity as well, based on the appearance of things. Remember, the island was actively used up until the mid-sixties.

> There's still tons of cheap real estate in the Bronx that's pretty close to Manhattan.

This is mostly the reason. People who aren't local don't understand that while real-estate prices are sky-high at the center of town, you really don't need to go far before they come down to earth.

Fifty year old pipes that haven't been maintained make for a crumbling mess.

Correct. Also it seems that the whole island is covered by a marsh. The island's location is technically a river but it is very close to the ocean and ocean levels have risen quite a bit in the past 50 years.

So one can expect that the whole thing will be mud and it will be expensive to build anything useful on it.

But it would be interesting if some billionaire buys it to build a mansion on there. That would be the ultimate mark of exclusivity.

When I first read about these uninhabited islands, I had the same thought. The ultimate status symbol: private island in sight of Manhattan.

And I imagine commuting isn't a problem if you can afford to get around by helicopter.

Commuting still would be a problem because you have to land the helicopter somewhere. There are only 3 heliports in Manhattan.

A lot of skyscrapers have private helipads, is my point.

For a sufficiently-expensive executive officer, it actually makes sense to pay for a 15-minute skyscraper-to-skyscraper flight vs losing 45 minutes in a taxi.

Skyscrapers don't have private heliports in New York. That was my point. Even the "Goldman Sachs" heliport is in New Jersey.

Oh, then I was wrong. I hate that. :|

If you're looking for a city with rooftop helipads, that would be Los Angeles. Although they aren't really for executives.

http://clui.org/newsletter/spring-2010/elevated-descent-land...

They used to, until a pedestrian was killed during an accident and it occurred to them that it might not be the best idea. http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/16/may-16-1977-hel...

Included in "infrastructure," but worth noting separately: NYC real estate prices are very dependent upon transportation time. Without any bridges, tunnels, or public ferry service here, actual distance from Manhattan doesn't really matter -- it's very far away.

Speedboat? How long would it take?

About as long as a slow boat.

Is infrastructure really that expensive? I thought it was normal to lay new cables, pipes and build new roads whenever there's new development.

A nearby new area build a new bridge, even underground pipes that transfer garbage, new roads and of course fiber for internet.

Of course, an island is another thing..

And given real state prices, I can't understand how nobody's squatted it yet!

It's illegal to be there. It is patrolled regularly.

NYC loves to do all sorts of interesting things with its islands. Another island that most New Yorkers know nothing about is Roosevelt Island:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Island

It has had a very long history including having a prison/small pox hospital/mental hospital.

I've lived in Queens all my life (29yrs). This Spring was the first time I've stepped foot on Roosevelt Island, they have a decent indoor pool there that's pretty cheap.

They also have a tennis center and indoor basketball courts. The tram that runs between Roosevelt Island and Manhattan is also one of the things I recommend any NYC tourist do at least once:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Island_Tramway

I went there on Saturday, it's nice indeed ;)

Trash on Roosevelt Island isn't picked up by truck -- it's sucked through pneumatic tubes into the island's central waste center. All buildings on the island are hooked up.

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/08/trash-sucking-island/...

There used to be a fairly massive pneumatic tube system throughout Manhattan, mostly for mail. I had no idea there's a pneumatic trash system.

Another interesting island in NYC is Governor's Island, which the city is planning to develop into a recreation and tourism area:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governors_Island

It already is a recreation and tourism area.

That is true. I was recreating there two days ago, and New York's public interactive art festival, Figment NYC is held there.

I just visited yesterday, and it's a beautiful place to go. Most New Yorkers probably don't even know it exists, yet it's super easy to get to from Midtown and Downtown Manhattan, as well as Brooklyn.

Cornell (along with industry partners) is building an applied sciences and engineering grad campus on Roosevelt Island. http://now.cornell.edu/nyctech/

I watched this story unfold. I was more excited about the possibility of Standford building a satellite campus. They dropped out of the bidding war with other NYC schools as they believed that they were never going to be able to have a fair shake at submitting a winning bid (due to the clout that NYC schools have in NYC).

Here is one story about it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/17/education/stanford-exits-c...

Cornell is as much a NYC school as Stanford is a Pacific Grove school.

Instead of investing in making existing infrastructure better, Bloomberg decided to start from scratch. From the outside this seemed as much a poke-in-the-eye to the existing schools as it was a gift to the devil-you-don't-know Cornell.

Stanford probably had a good chance to win it but wisely decided not to dilute their brand with a campus they couldn't guarantee would be as good as their first.

> Cornell is as much a NYC school as Stanford is a Pacific Grove school.

I have no idea what Stanford's relationship is to Pacific Grove (presumably not much), but Cornell already has a very strong relationship with NYC:

- Cornell's medical campus in New York, also called Weill Cornell, is on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City.

- The Cornell Urban Scholars Program encourages students to pursue public service careers with organizations working with New York City's poorest children, families, and communities.

- The NYS College of Human Ecology and the NYS College of Agriculture and Life Sciences provide means for students to reach out to local communities by gardening and building with the Cornell Cooperative Extension.

- The Cornell College of Engineering's Operations Research Manhattan, in the city's financial district, brings together business optimization research and decision support services addressed to both financial applications and public health logistics planning.

- The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning has a facility on West 17th Street, near Union Square, to provide studio and seminar space for students and faculty.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_University#New_York_Cit...

If abandoned buildings is your thing, then this Russian site is a fantastic way to waste a lot of time.

http://lana-sator.livejournal.com/

Google translate will help with navigation.

Also, English Russia: http://englishrussia.com/category/exclusive/

For (but not limited to) the British: http://www.derelictlondon.com/

The Sleepy City site is also a great time sink:

http://sleepycity.net/

And this one: http://www.opuszczone.com/ (in Polish).

I like that in the last photograph, the bullet holes are clearly from someone shooting from the inside out. Who was trying to get inside, and where are the bodies?

Look again. Someone inside shot a smiley face in the shape of |:-)

If you like stuff like this, you should check out this photographer's flickr. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4019607

He takes photos of abandoned buildings. If you're in SF he's got some good ones of 140 Montgomery, the art deco building that is now being refurbished into new digs for Yelp and other companies. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tunnelbug/sets/7215761380385022...

He's also done Neverland Ranch, and the Jackling House Mansion (home to Steve Jobs and one point) http://www.flickr.com/photos/tunnelbug/sets/7215759415352040....

There is another island in the middle of NYC that has a mass grave where the government has buried over 850,000 people. It's not open to the public though, and apparently they go to great lengths to keep the public and the media away.

That would be Hart Island, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hart_Island,_New_York

It's the potter's field for the City of New York, where unclaimed remains and the remains of those who can't afford a burial are buried by Riker's inmates.

Thank you for that. I found that very sad, but addictive reading. The supposed origin of the term potters field was news to me too, and I didn't previously know what Judas did with his coins.

It's also the site of the worst NYC disaster prior to 9/11: http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/north-brother-island

Biggest thing that struck me in this piece wasn't really related to the topic, but was: "Art still remained from the heroin addicts who had lived in the rehab center" - reading that made me realise what a big disconnect I have in my head between the sort of people who would create "art" on their walls with the sort of people I think of as heroin addicts.

On a conscious level I know that anyone can be a heroin addict, I could become one, my brother/boss/friend might already be one... but I've only just realised what a predisposition I still hold onto.

Check out the "Outsider Art" movement if you would like to continue be challenged on who is capable of creating art.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outsider_art

It was more my mental picture of who heroin addicts are, rather than who artists aren't. I don't really have many views on artists, or much interest in most art - but thanks for the suggestion.

When I think of heroin addicts, I mostly think of artists and musicians. And Sherlock Holmes.

Holmes was actually a cocaine addict ;)

Jean-Michel Basquiat and Dash Snow died from heroin overdoses. Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Frida Kahlo, and many other artists used heroin or opium.

From the last picture, if the door was closed, the shots were fired from inside the building. Doubt the shots would have came from police at "nearby Riker's Island."

I thought the same thing. I believe what they intended to say was that police from Riker's came over and used the island, not that shots were fired from Riker's through the door.

Im surprised billionaires haven't snatched these up and turned them into private islands.

Limited accessibility make them less desirable.

Limited accessibility if you have your own Yacht or helicopter?

Yes. There are many weather conditions that occur in New York that make yachts and helicopters more dangerous than driving a car over a bridge.

It's just off the approach to Laguardia's runway 13. Helicopter might be problematic.

You're overestimating the appeal of an island in the middle of the East River.

I laughed because you're absolutely right. I just figured that if its near Manhattan, it can't be that bad.

Also, if you live there, you can’t be called ‘bridge and tunnel’, because there is neither a bridge nor a tunnel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_and_tunnel

Another NYC gem is the abandoned Cobble Hill Tunnel on the border of Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights. It is also the oldest cut and cover construction in North America for the subterranean fans out there. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobble_Hill_Tunnel

Another interesting island nearby is Hart Island. See http://googlesightseeing.com/2006/08/island-of-the-dead/, http://goo.gl/maps/VplQF

H.P. Lovecraft used similar imagery and atmosphere:

"The vast huddle of sagging gambrel roofs and peaked gables conveyed with offensive clearness the idea of wormy decay [...] Stretching inland from among them I saw the rusted, grass-grown line of the abandoned railway, with leaning telegraph-poles now devoid of wires, and the half-obscured lines of the old carriage roads to Rowley and Ipswich."

http://hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/soi.aspx

Lived here for 8 years and still learning something new. Got to love NYC! Also throwing it out there that Backspaces has really good, off-beat (in a good way), artistic content like this all the time.

Going through those photos, I was on the alert for Clickers...

What are Clickers?

The recent video game The Last of Us focuses on exploring abandoned and overgrown environments while being on the watch both for hostile humans, and for zombie-type creatures infested with a mutant Ophiocordyceps fungus that attacks humans instead of insects. "Clickers" are one such subtype of infected; their eyes have been overgrown with fungus so they use echolocation to find you and make distinctive screeching and clicking sounds.

Was thinking the same thing. These islands are perfect for settings of horror movies or video games. They are all a bit eerie and beautiful at the same time. Lots of these islands would be perfect settings for summer camps that somehow become the next zombie infestation.

Then there are islands like Dean Kamen's island (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Dumpling_Island) on the other hand that are kinda like Tony Stark's island. So expensive to have services on an island and get stuff to and fro. Kamen has solved the independent power grid problem there.

Awesome photos, and I never would have imagined that anyplace in NYC could be so abandoned, but further reading shows that the island is occasionally patrolled by authorities.

More info & images: http://www.businessinsider.com/north-brother-island-2012-2?o...

If you are into that sort of thing - some photos I took of the abandoned Harlem Valley Psych Hospital

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mva/sets/72157618704382364/with...

If you have any cool stories about those places to go along with the pictures, post them to backspaces and I'll make sure they get seen. I build the app with a friend.

This is for this kind of story that I love Backspaces. Makes the Internet a better place.

What is the legal status of a place like this? Is it trespassing to take a look around?

Yeah, you're not supposed to go out there.

Perfect plot for a cinema verite' horror flick: scene: "hey, I heard about this cool abandoned island off NYC, I double dare you to kayak over there and spend then might". Mayhem ensues... Kickstarter movie anyone?

I know someone from jersey who was approached about investing in the island back then. I thought it sounded pretty cool. He said "except that's where all the escapees from Rikers wash up."

I couldn't tell if he was joking.

Behold: The future of all civilization once man has left Earth to nature.

Why is half the available screen space of this website asking me to download their app? There's an app banner, another banner at the top, and a banner that floats with the text at the bottom.

The photo of a fire hydrant drowning under ivy is especially striking. For some reason it communicates "abandonment" to me more clearly than the ruined buildings.

Cool pics but this is for reddit, not HN.

Looks like something right out of the /r/nosleep subreddit.

I believe the "x-ray" machine is actually an iron lung.

It's vaguely beautiful ..

Nothing but flowers...

Dibs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Brother_Island,_East_Riv...

It's now a bird sanctuary, and it looks like it's illegal to be there.

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