Monday, March 5, 2007

NORTH BROTHER ISLAND

Photographs by: Rachelle Fernandez

North Brother Island, a 13 acre piece of history laying just southwest of Hunts Point in the East River, is a remnant of a long-forgotten era in New York. The clocks on North Brother stopped around 1962 when the city pulled the plug on Riverside Hospital, the main attraction on the island and a storied institution that opened in 1886 to treat and isolate victims and carriers of contagious illnesses. The island gained notoriety in the early 1900's as the involuntary home of "Typhoid" Mary Mallon, a carrier of typhus who was allegedly responsible for 3 deaths and 47 illnesses from 1907-1915.

But the 20th century seems to have bypassed North Brother's gaslight-lined streets, brownstone hospital buildings, crumbling doctors' houses, and sandy beaches littered with cookware and heavy glass tonic bottles. The island is a great repository for artifacts from 19th century New York, seemingly undisturbed by humans or the passing of time on the mainland just a canoe ride away.

The island does seem like a convincing movie set for a gothic horror story. And a good case could probably be made for calling in a paranormal specialist to investigate all the troubled souls that may still linger in and around the island. First and foremost would be Ms. Mallon, an accomplished cook who was quarantined in an isolation cottage on the island in 1907, after apparently causing outbreaks of typhus on Long island and in New York City. Mary was released by New York's Health Commissioner in 1910 after signing and affidavit stating that she would never again work in the food service industry. In 1915, after an investigation into an outbreak of typhus at a Manhattan hospital, health officials determined that Mary was once again working as a cook, although under an assumed name . She was send back to her cottage on the island, this time for good.

Mary never understood that she was probably a carrier of a possible deadly disease. Instead, she felt she was a victim of persecution at the hands of officials who could neither prove that she was the source of these outbreaks nor explain to her why she felt so healthy and why she seemed free of any of the typical symptoms of typhus. In 1938 she died on the island at the age of 69 due to complications from a stoke she had suffered six years earlier.

Also lending a tragic cast to the island's history was the General Slocum disaster, which took place on June 15th, 1904 and took the lives of 1141 people, most of them German immigrants from the Lower East Side on their way to a Sunday picnic on Long Island. Legend has it that the overcrowded steamer was set ablaze by a careless sailor who flicked a lit cigarette into a closet full of cotton rags. The boat ran aground on North Brother and patients as well as doctors rushed out of the hospital to try and save the hundreds of passengers who had jumped from the burning ship. Only 407 people, including a 1 year old baby, survived.

But on a recent visit to the island, no spirits or apparitions were in evidence. In fact, the most ghostly thing to pass before this visitor's eyes was a Bronx phone book from the year 1954, still open on the bench where its last user must have sat. And any ghosts remaining on the island would no doubt be driven out by the hard-to-believe racket of hundreds--no, make thousands--of the loudest birds imaginable. A bird-watcher could bring a boombox to the island in peak season and probably go unnoticed. North Brother birds are in many cases rare, in some cases even threatened species, and in most cases hard to find anywhere else in New York City. But in all cases, they are loud mouths.





















































13 comments:

Unknown said...

Amazing Collection of photos!! Thank you so much!!

For those of us not in the East Coast:

Is it difficult to get to North Brother Island? Is it fenced? What is the best way to get there?

Thanks and keep up the great work!!

Jack Crane said...

Excellent photos, however horrible in content. I am writing a novel on the Slocum fire disaster, and these photos stimulate my immagination in countless ways. Thank you.

Unknown said...

Even though you requested information on how to get to North Brother almost two years ago and are unlikely to read this, I post this warning to any possible adventurers wanting to go there: DON'T. The island is watched by the authorities and even people that managed to get on the island under cover of night just managed to get away due in part to some very careful planning and a VERY big dose of luck. Both of those islands are designated wildlife preserves and people are forbidden to set foot there.

Unknown said...

I "discovered" this island with Google Earth while exploring the path taken by Flight 1549 and was drawn to your blog. I live in Queens and was tempted to try and find a way out to the Island, but guess it's not a good idea. How did you manage to pull it off?

Unknown said...

I need to go to North Brother Island for research and wondered if you had advice as to where I should begin seeking permission. Parks and Rec Dept? Contact there? I want to do this on the up and up because I'd need to spent an entire day there gathering data.

Unknown said...

Never even heard of North Brother Island until last night when I saw a "Life After People" show that featured a spot about it.

Your pictures are great as is the article.

display name said...

awesome pictures.......
heard about the island on history channel life after people series, and now am quite curious

Nancy Cook said...

I became fascinated by this place after seeing it featured on "Life After People" These are amazing pictures! I am always interested in old medical facilities, whatever their condition. Thanks!

wes_riz09 said...

wht a great island, scary but it is like a island of no other, watching it on LIFE AFTER PEOPLE i wanted to travel 2 the island to look at history of the crazy lady and how it came so unbelievable amazing to see how nobody would want to live there!

wes

InkMaster said...

Woww.. is crazy how I been on da island more then 3 to 4 times, and I didnt know da history on it.. I also got a few things that I found there....

Doris Amen said...

How did you get on the island to take these photos?

Doris Amen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Doris Amen said...

How did you get on the island to take these photos?