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A Rare Visit to One of New York's Abandoned Islands

An abandoned building on North Brother Island. Many of these were used to house nurses who treated patients with infectious diseases.

If you want to see what the city would look like if we packed up and left today, there’s no better place than North Brother Island. It sits in the East River south of Hunts Point. Migrating birds lay eggs on the shores, but it’s been half a century since any humans lived there. And on Wednesday, a group of city councilmen and Parks Department workers took a rare tour of the island to assess its current state.

The gantry service dock on North Brother Island where supplies were loaded onto the island.
The gantry service dock on North Brother Island, where supplies were loaded onto the island.
(Stephen Nessen/WNYC)

 

The coal dock at North Brother Island.
The coal dock at North Brother Island.
(Stephen Nessen/WNYC)

 

A recently cleared pathway on North Brother Island leads to the more than 20 structures on the island.
A path leading to more than 20 deteriorating structures.
(Stephen Nessen/WNYC)

 

A chimney from the Boiler House on North Brother Island.
A chimney from the Boiler House.
(Stephen Nessen/WNYC)

 

Crumbling docks on the western end of North Brother Island.
Crumbling docks on the western end of North Brother Island.
(Stephen Nessen/WNYC)

 

Crumbling buildings on North Brother Island once used for treating New Yorker's with infectious diseases.
Buildings on North Brother Island once used for treating New Yorkers with infectious diseases — most famously, typhoid.
(Stephen Nessen/WNYC)

 

A fire hydrant in the woods, once used on North Brother Island when it was functioning in the 19th and 20th century.
A fire hydrant in the woods.
(Stephen Nessen/WNYC)

 

An abandoned building on North Brother Island. Many of these were used to house nurses who treated patients with infectious diseases.
The Parks department took over the island in 2001. Some City Council members think it is time to try to make it accessible to the public. (Stephen Nessen/WNYC)

 

An abandoned building on North Brother Island. Many of these were used to house nurses who treated patients with infectious diseases.
Around every corner, you’ll see one of more than a dozen buildings in various stages of decay. (Stephen Nessen/WNYC)

 

A pathway around North Brother Island was recently cleared by the Parks Department.
A new pathway around the island was recently cleared by the Parks Department.
(Stephen Nessen/WNYC)

 

An abandoned building on North Brother Island. Many of these were used to house nurses who treated patients with infectious diseases.
North Brother Island was used as housing for veterans in the '40s and '50s.(Stephen Nessen/WNYC)

 

An overgrown tennis court and handball court on North Brother Island.
An overgrown tennis court and handball court.
(Stephen Nessen/WNYC)

 

An abandoned building on North Brother Island.
The Parks Department estimates it would cost several millions of dollars just to study whether the buildings could be stabilized. .
(Stephen Nessen/WNYC)

 

 

An elementary school on North Brother Island where sick children attended.
An elementary school on North Brother Island where sick children attended.
(Stephen Nessen/WNYC)

 

An elementary school on North Brother Island where sick children attended.
A wider view of the elementary school.
(Stephen Nessen/WNYC)

 

A physician's home on the western end of North Brother Island.
A physician's home on the western end of North Brother Island.
(Stephen Nessen/WNYC)