The Haunting Abandoned Island In The Middle Of NYC

South Brother Island

North Brother Island has a smaller sibling named South Brother Island. North Brother is has around 20 acres of land whereas South Brother has only 6. In 1614, both islands were claimed by the Dutch West India Company and were originally called “De Gesellen” which means “the companions” in English. In the mid-19th century, the South Brother Island was used as a city dump for Manhattan, which was eventually stopped because the smell was too unbearable for the nearby neighborhoods.

In 1975, the South Brother Island was sold to the investment company Hampton Scow Inc. for $10, yet nothing was ever built. In 2007, the island was purchased for $2 million of Federal grant money from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program and donated to the city’s Parks Department as a wildlife sanctuary.