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Mill Rock is a small unpopulated island
Island

An island or isle is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets....
 between Manhattan
Manhattan

Manhattan is one of the five borough of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.With a United States Census of 1,620,867 living in a land area of 22.96 square miles , Manhattan, coextensive with New York County, is the most population density county in the United States, w...
 and Queens
Queens

Queens is the largest in area, the second-largest in population, and the easternmost of the Borough which form the New York City. The Borough of Queens' boundaries are identical to those of the County of Queens , a Administrative divisions of New York#County of the State of New York in the Northeastern United States United States....
 in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
, in the U.S. state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 of New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
. It lies about off Manhattan's East 96th Street
96th Street (Manhattan)

96th Street is a major two-way street in East and West Harlem, which is a part of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from the East River at the Franklin D....
, south of Randall's
Randall's Island

Randall's Island is situated in the East River in New York City, part of the borough of Manhattan . It is separated from Manhattan island on the west by the river's main channel, from Queens on the east by the Hell Gate, and from the Bronx on the north by the Bronx Kill....
 and Ward's Island
Ward's Island

Ward's Island is situated in the East River in New York City. Administratively it is part of the borough of Manhattan. It is bridged by rail to the borough of Queens by the Hell Gate Bridge and it is joined to Randall's Island to the north by landfill....
 where the East River
East River

The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland....
 and Harlem River
Harlem River

The Harlem River is a navigable tidal strait in New York City, United States that flows 8 miles between the East River and the Hudson River , separating the borough of Manhattan and the Bronx....
 converge.






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Hell Gate and Triborough Bridges New York City Queens
Mill Rock is a small unpopulated island
Island

An island or isle is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets....
 between Manhattan
Manhattan

Manhattan is one of the five borough of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.With a United States Census of 1,620,867 living in a land area of 22.96 square miles , Manhattan, coextensive with New York County, is the most population density county in the United States, w...
 and Queens
Queens

Queens is the largest in area, the second-largest in population, and the easternmost of the Borough which form the New York City. The Borough of Queens' boundaries are identical to those of the County of Queens , a Administrative divisions of New York#County of the State of New York in the Northeastern United States United States....
 in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
, in the U.S. state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 of New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
. It lies about off Manhattan's East 96th Street
96th Street (Manhattan)

96th Street is a major two-way street in East and West Harlem, which is a part of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from the East River at the Franklin D....
, south of Randall's
Randall's Island

Randall's Island is situated in the East River in New York City, part of the borough of Manhattan . It is separated from Manhattan island on the west by the river's main channel, from Queens on the east by the Hell Gate, and from the Bronx on the north by the Bronx Kill....
 and Ward's Island
Ward's Island

Ward's Island is situated in the East River in New York City. Administratively it is part of the borough of Manhattan. It is bridged by rail to the borough of Queens by the Hell Gate Bridge and it is joined to Randall's Island to the north by landfill....
 where the East River
East River

The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland....
 and Harlem River
Harlem River

The Harlem River is a navigable tidal strait in New York City, United States that flows 8 miles between the East River and the Hudson River , separating the borough of Manhattan and the Bronx....
 converge. The island forms Census Block 9000 of Census Tract
Census tract

A census tract, census area, or census district is a geographic region defined for the purpose of taking a census. Usually these coincide with the Border of cities, towns or other administrative areas and several tracts commonly exist within a county....
 238 in New York County. (Except for Mill Rock Island, Census Tract 238 consists entirely of Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island

Roosevelt Island, formerly known as Welfare Island , and before that Blackwell's Island, is a narrow island in the East River of New York City....
.) Its official area is 16,173 square meters, or .

This area was infamous as a treacherous area for shipping vessels to pass, and was known as the Hell Gate
Hell Gate

Hell Gate is a narrow tidal strait in the East River in New York City in the United States. It separates Astoria, Queens, Queens from Randall's Island / Ward's Island ....
.

In 1701, John Marsh built a mill there that gave the island its name. The island was later squatted on by Sandy Gibson, who operated a farm on the island. At that time there were two islands, Great Mill Rock and Little Mill Rock.

It was used as an American fort during the War of 1812
War of 1812

The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , was fought from 1812 to 1815.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S....
, where the War Department
United States Department of War

The United States Department of War, sometimes also called the War Office, was the department of the United States Federal government of the United States's Federal government of the United States#Executive branch responsible for the operation and maintenance of land Military of the United States from 1789 until September 18, 1947,...
 built a blockhouse with two cannons on Great Mill Rock. This fortification was part of a chain of blockhouses that was intended to defend New York Harbor
New York Harbor

New York Harbor, a geographic term, refers collectively to the rivers, bays, and tidal estuaries near the mouth of the Hudson River in the vicinity of New York City....
 and protect the passage into Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean and various rivers in the United States that lies between the coast of Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south....
 from the British Navy
Royal Navy

The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British Armed Forces . From the mid-18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early 1940s....
.

In 1885, the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers

The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 34,600 civilian and 650 military personnel, making it the world's largest public services engineering, design and construction management agency....
 detonated 300,000 lb (136,000 kg) of explosives on adjoining Flood Rock; that island had been the most treacherous impediment to East River shipping. It was, most likely, the most forceful explosion in New York City's history at the time; it was felt as far away as Princeton
Princeton, New Jersey

Princeton, New Jersey is located in Mercer County, New Jersey, New Jersey, United States. Princeton University has been sited in the town since 1756....
, New Jersey
New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
. The Flood Island remnants were used to fill the space between Great and Little Mill Rocks, producing Mill Rock.

Mill Rock Park

Mill Rock Park is a park on the island. Owned by the City of New York and maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation

The City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation is the department of government of the New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecological diversity of the city's natural areas, and furnishing recreational opportunities for city's residents....
, the park is populated by a few short trees. There is a dock on the southern shore of the island but has not been opened to the public since the 1960s when there were public events, and it has since been allowed to return to its state of shrubbery. Because of its locale between Queens and Manhattan the island is a great spot for views of the towering skyscrapers of Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan

Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square....
. The island also provides views of the Triborough Bridge
Triborough Bridge

The Triborough Bridge, officially named the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, is a complex of three bridges connecting the New York City political subdivisions of New York State#Borough of the Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens on Long Island, using what were two islands, Ward's Island and Randall's Island as intermediate Right-of-way between th...
 and the Queensboro Bridge
Queensboro Bridge

The Queensboro Bridge, also known as the 59th Street Bridge, is a cantilever bridge over the East River in New York City that was completed in 1909....
. There are no plans, present or future, for the island.

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