Staff: Christian Hylton
Counsel to the Committee
Neal Kronley
Policy
Analyst to the Committee
THE
COUNCIL
COMMITTEE ON WATERFRONTS
Hon. David Yassky, Chairperson
BRIEFING PAPER OF THE
INFRASTRUCTURE DIVISION
Marcel Van Ooyen, Deputy Chief of Staff and
Legislative Director
October
19, 2004
Oversight: Accessing New York’s Other Islands
INTRODUCTION
On
October 19, 2004, the Committee on Waterfronts, chaired by Council Member David
Yassky, will hold an oversight hearing on “Accessing New York’s Other
Islands.” The Committee will examine
current and potential uses for these waterfront destinations, many of which are
currently inaccessible to the general public.
Those expected to testify include representatives from the New York City
Department Of Parks and Recreation (Parks), Gateway National Recreation Center
(Gateway), New York City Audubon, and The Point Community Development
Corporation.
A total
of forty-one islands are situated in New York City’s waterways.[1] Roosevelt Island, Ellis Island, and
Governors Island are well known destinations in New York City but few New
Yorkers are able to point out Hoffman Island, North Brother Island or even Rat
Island on a map. These islands, located
respectively in the Atlantic Ocean, East River and Long Island Sound, are part
of a subset of ten islands that are largely inaccessible and underutilized in
New York City. Despite being
inaccessible today, many of these islands are a rich part of New York City’s
history. For instance, Hoffman Island
was home to the first United States Maritime Service Training Station[2],
little Cuban Ledge Island in Long Island Sound was formed by a crew of sailors
who cast off a load of cargo rocks into the Sound so they could sail to Cuba and
fight in the Spanish-American War,[3]
and North Brother Island was the final resting place for passengers aboard the General
Slocum, the excursion boat that caught fire in 1904 and is the greatest
maritime disaster in New York City’s history.[4] The varied sizes, locations and coastal
conditions of these smaller islands makes a uniform policy difficult to
articulate, however, community, civic and environmental groups have expressed
interest in accessing some of these islands to promote economic development,
and to learn more about the City’s natural environment and history.[5] The Parks Natural Resource Group
occasionally conducts public tours of North Brother Island, but most other
islands are entirely inaccessible and, without a human presence, they are primarily
home to a number of bird species.[6]
BACKGROUND
AND CURRENT USES
Of the
forty-one islands around New York City listed in the New York City Green
Book several are accessible to the public.
Two of these islands are residential, Roosevelt and City Islands, three
are designated historic sites, Ellis, Liberty, and Governors Islands, and two
islands, Randalls and Wards, contain a mix of parkland and municipal facilities
such as a Fire Department training facility and a sewage waste treatment
center. Rikers, Hart and High Islands
in the East River and Long Island Sound are home to prisons, communications
towers, and a Potters Field respectively.[7] Twelve islands in Jamaica Bay are not
easily accessible because they contain sensitive salt marshes, however, the
American Littoral Society operates a popular series of eco-tours around the
islands throughout the year.[8] Two islands, Green Flats in Long Island
Sound and Mussel Island in Newtown Creek, are now submerged and no longer
accessible although they remain listed as islands.[9] Several “islands” are actually no more than
a few rocks in the water and some disappear at high tide, these include Cuban
Ledge, the East and South Nonations, and the Blauzes all located in Long Island
Sound, and Mill Rock and Belmont Islands in the East River. Additionally, two of New York City’s islands
are privately owned, Rat Island in Long Island Sound is owned by the Brennen
Partnership LLC and South Brother Island in the East River owned by Hampton
Scows Inc., a Long Island gravel company.[10]
The
remaining islands currently have few public uses and are largely inaccessible
to the public. Parks maintains seven of
these islands, four in the Bronx and three in Staten Island. These islands comprise over 7.2 million
square feet of parkland or 165 acres, roughly the size of Fort Washington Park
on the Hudson River in Upper Manhattan:[11]
North Brother Island, Hog Island, Fat Briar Island and the Chimney Sweep
Islands in the Bronx, and Shooters Island, Pralls Island, and the Isle of Meadows
in Staten Island.[12] The Department of Citywide Administrative
Service (DCAS) holds title to the 66,400 square foot Goose Island located in
the Bronx’s Hutchinson River. Gateway
maintains Swinburne and Hoffman Islands off the eastern coast of Staten Island.[13]
These
ten currently inaccessible islands played an important role in New York City’s
development and contain historic buildings, items of environmental significance
and interesting stories. For instance,
- Hoffman and Swinburne Islands were created
from landfill in 1870 off of Staten Island’s east coast and served as
quarantine stations for immigrants entering the United States. Later, the islands were maritime
training center and a number of structures remain from this period.[14]
·
North Brother Island was a quarantine site for victims of
infectious disease and home to Riverside Hospital as recently as the 1960s.[15]
·
Birds, including black crown night herons, great egrets,
snowy egrets, yellow crown night herons, cattle egrets, glossy ibises, and the
double crested cormorant, nest on Hoffman, Swinburne, Goose, Shooters, and
North and South Brother Islands.[16]
More
and more people are interested in accessing the esoteric sites around New York
City. For instance, over Columbus Day
Weekends in 2003 and 2004, Open House New York, a non-profit organization,
hosted a weekend of free public tours and site visits to locations throughout
New York City. Over 45,000 people took
part in these events in 2003 and the number of attendees in 2004 is expected to
be much higher.[17] Additionally, over 20,000 people have
visited Governors Island in New York Harbor since it came under the authority
of New York City and State in early 2003.[18] Providing responsible public access to New
York’s inaccessible islands may be a new source of revenue for the City and may
educate residents and visitors about City history and raise public awareness
about New York City’s environment.
RELATED
ISSUES
As noted above, birds are the
primary users of these islands today and several islands are important nesting
habitats. Nesting involves picking a
spot to nest, creating or improving a nest, laying and hatching eggs, and
fledging the young until they can fly.
Nesting season generally begins in March and continues until August and
birds are known to nest on North and South Brother Islands, Goose Island,
Shooters Island, Hoffman Island, and Swinburne Island. Birds do not currently nest on the Isle of
Meadows and Pralls Island.[19]
Old and
dilapidated buildings are located on Hoffman, Swinburne, and North Brother
Island. It is difficult to determine
the extent of damage since a survey of these buildings has not been
conducted. A representative of Gateway,
however, referred to the buildings on Hoffman and Swinburne Island as “dangerous.”[20] Buildings of historic merit on North Brother
Island include a lighthouse that helped guide ships through Hell Gate from 1869
to 1953[21],
and Riverside Hospital, which opened in 1885 and served as a quarantine
hospital for Smallpox, Typhus, Tuberculosis, Polio, and later, drug addiction,
before ultimately closing in 1963.[22] Photographs posted on the Internet
illustrate the toll that weather and time have taken on these buildings: plant
life has invaded many of the buildings, water damage appears to have affected
the interior and perhaps the structures themselves, and the docking facilities
are rundown. These images, however,
also show carved wooden banisters and detailed building facades that may be of
historic merit.[23]
Kayaking
and canoeing organizations have become increasingly popular throughout New York
City in recent years. This is a result
of both an increased interest in the waterways and waterfront and additional
opportunities to access the waterfront thanks to new boat launches throughout
the City. Several kayaking groups have
expressed interest in exploring the islands around New York City including
Hoffman, Swinburne, North Brother and Governors Island. For instance, the Point Community
Development Corporation in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx, sees North
Brother Island as an extension of the waterfront revitalization in the South
Bronx and hopes to access the island to teach residents about Bronx history and
the environment. The Point CDC currently
operates a kayak club from the Tiffany St. pier and is creating partnerships
with cultural institutions like the Bronx Zoo to enhance educational
opportunities for neighborhood residents and visitors.[24]
CONCLUSION
Many of the islands
surrounding New York City are underutilized assets. Over 165 acres of parkland lies in the waterways of New York City
and could be a new source of City revenue, or a launching pad for historic and
ecological education. At the same time,
new public access opportunities on New York City’s islands should not disrupt
sensitive ecological or bird nesting areas in New York City. The Committee will explore opportunities to
create a favorable balance of access opportunities while respecting sensitive
areas.