There are many mysterious islands in the world, but very few are near a major metropolis. But the island is completely deserted and inaccessible to ordinary people, yet this mysterious island is less than a mile off the coast of one of the world’s most famous cities. This North Brother Island is located in New York’s East River between The Bronx and Rikers Island, home to the metropolis’ largest prison. But despite being just a short distance from America’s largest city, this island is completely uninhabited.
North Brother Island is not open to the public, except for the occasional visit by researchers or reporters. That hasn’t stopped some adventurers from giving it a try. The Adventure Junkies channel on YouTube shared their experience of kayaking in the East River to take a look around the desolate landmark. Humans first began using the island in 1869, when a lighthouse was built. In the mid-1880s, Riverside Hospital was moved from Blackwell’s Island, now called Roosevelt Island, to North Brother Island. The hospital was used to treat and isolate smallpox victims in an effort to prevent the spread of the disease. Victims of typhoid and tuberculosis were also treated and quarantined there.
The hospital in North Island where isolation patients were treated. (Representative photo: Wikimedia Commons)
After World War II, a housing shortage led to the island becoming a home for student war veterans and their families. As soon as this problem was resolved, the island became uninhabited again until the 1950s, when it was used as a treatment center for teenage drug addicts.
Staff corruption, costs and poor living conditions forced the resort to close in the 1960s, and North Brother Island, along with nearby South Brother Island, eventually passed into the hands of private owners. And the island has remained a mystery property ever since.
Tags: Amazing news, Bizarre news, OMG News, Weird news
FIRST PUBLISHED : September 2, 2024, 07:51 IST