Rat Island is a privately owned island in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. It is approximately in size and located in
City Island Harbor
City Island Harbor is the protected body of water between City Island and Hart Island in the Bronx, New York City, open to Long Island Sound at its northern and southern extremities. It is not a true harbor, but a sound. Other minor islands in ...
, which is a part of
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...
. It is about halfway between
City Island and
Hart Island and south of
High Island
Geologically, a high island or volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...
. It is one of
the Pelham Islands
The Pelham Islands are a group of islands in western Long Island Sound that belonged to Thomas Pell in the 17th century. The islands, and most of the surrounding area, were purchased from the Siwanoy Indians by Pell in 1654, creating Pelham Man ...
.
Description
The small irregular island is about in area.
It has a dual-humped appearance and is mostly a lump of
Manhattan schist
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
bedrock
In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet.
Definition
Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...
. There is a small channel that cuts into the bedrock on the southern side of the tiny island that was used for launching small boats. This channel is filled with
mussel
Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...
shells. There is a purple-bluish "beach" made of mussel shells mixed with bird bones on the west side of the island with some reed grass.
The highest point on the island is usually covered in gull bird
guano
Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...
and is underwater during high tide storms. The largest inhabitant of the island is usually a
great blue heron
The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos ...
that sleeps on the island during daytime.
History
Rat Island was included in the purchase by
Thomas Pell
Thomas Pell, 1st Lord of Pelham Manor (1608 – September 21, 1669) was an English-born physician who bought the area known as Pelham, New York, as well as land that now includes the eastern Bronx and southern Westchester County, New York, and foun ...
in 1654. During the typhoid fever scares of the 1800s, Rat Island was used by
Pelham, New York
Pelham is a suburban town in Westchester County, approximately 10 miles northeast of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 13,078, an increase from the 2010 census. Historically, Pelham was composed of five villages ...
, as a
typhoid
Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
quarantine
A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...
hospital for about 40 infected people called the "Pelham Pesthouse".
[Rat Island](_blank)
p.551, ''New York City Guide'', Federal Writers' Project, 1939. 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
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
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 Brennen put Rat Island up for sale for $300,000. 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 71-year-old retired Port Authority worker Alex Schibli, a Swiss
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.
In summer months, a couple dozen people may come to the island. In the past, during summer the Parks Department used to put waste drums so they may contain their garbage. Sometimes, the local first responders use it to practice rescue missions with boats and helicopters.
In August 2016, a polyester copy of the statue of the Swiss freedom fighter
William Tell
William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland.
According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...
was erected on the island for the 725th
Swiss National Day
The Swiss National Day (german: Schweizer Bundesfeiertag; french: Fête nationale suisse; it, Festa nazionale svizzera; Romansh: Festa naziunala svizra) is the national holiday of Switzerland, set on 1 August. Although the founding of the Swis ...
. The original is located in
Altdorf, Uri
Altdorf (sometimes written as ''Altdorf UR'' in order to distinguish it from the other "Altdorfs"; German for "old village") is a historic town and municipality in Switzerland. It is the capital of the Swiss canton of Uri.
The municipality cove ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
.
[ In March 2017, Schibli was sued unsuccessfully in a ''People's Court'' episode for fees charged by an engineer whom he asked to give an estimate on what was needed to put a more permanent statue of William Tell on the island.
]
Name
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.
References
Further reading
*
Rat Island
p. 551, ''New York City Guide'', Federal Writers' Project, 1939.
External links
Nautical Chart of Rat Island
{{New York City Islands
Islands of New York City
Long Island Sound
Islands of the Bronx
Private islands of New York (state)