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South Brother Island is one of a pair of small islands in 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....
 situated between the Bronx
The Bronx

The Bronx is the northernmost of the Five Boroughs of New York City and the newest of the 62 Administrative divisions of New York#county of New York State....
 and Riker's Island, 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....
 and containing of land. The other island, larger and better known, is North Brother Island
North Brother Island

North Brother Island is an island in the East River situated between the Bronx and Riker's Island. Its companion, South Brother Island, is a short distance away....
. It is uninhabited. As late as the 1960s, South Brother Island was considered part of Queens County
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....
, but is now part of Bronx County. It has long been privately owned. Together, the two Brother Islands, North and South, have a land area of 81,423 square meters, or .

North Brother Island and South Brother Island were claimed by the Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company

Dutch West India Company was a company of The Netherlands merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx . On June 3, 1621, it was granted a chartered company for a trade monopoly in the West Indies by the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands and given jurisdiction over the African slave trade, Brazil, the Caribbean, and...
 in 1614 and both were originally named "De Gesellen".






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Encyclopedia


South Brother Island is one of a pair of small islands in 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....
 situated between the Bronx
The Bronx

The Bronx is the northernmost of the Five Boroughs of New York City and the newest of the 62 Administrative divisions of New York#county of New York State....
 and Riker's Island, 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....
 and containing of land. The other island, larger and better known, is North Brother Island
North Brother Island

North Brother Island is an island in the East River situated between the Bronx and Riker's Island. Its companion, South Brother Island, is a short distance away....
. It is uninhabited. As late as the 1960s, South Brother Island was considered part of Queens County
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....
, but is now part of Bronx County. It has long been privately owned. Together, the two Brother Islands, North and South, have a land area of 81,423 square meters, or .

History

Both North Brother Island and South Brother Island were claimed by the Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company

Dutch West India Company was a company of The Netherlands merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx . On June 3, 1621, it was granted a chartered company for a trade monopoly in the West Indies by the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands and given jurisdiction over the African slave trade, Brazil, the Caribbean, and...
 in 1614 and both were originally named "De Gesellen". (The term was translated as "the companions.")

Jacob Ruppert
Jacob Ruppert

Jacob Ruppert, Jr. , sometimes referred to as Jake Ruppert, was a United States National Guard colonel; a United States House of Representatives from New York; and brewery owner, who went on to own the New York Yankees....
, a brewery magnate and early owner of the New York Yankees
New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball based in the Borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of the American League East of Major League Baseball's American League....
 (responsible for bringing Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees from the Boston Red Sox), had a summer house on the island that burned down in 1909. No one has lived on the island since then. There are no structures extant.

Ruppert owned the Island until the late 1930s. In 1944 it was purchased by John Gerosa, president of the Metropolitan Roofing Supply Company, who intended to build a summer retreat for his workers on the island. This did not come to pass.

In 1975 the City sold South Brother Island to Hampton Scows Inc., a Long Island investment company, for $10.

Hampton Scows dutifully paid property taxes every year but did not develop the island. On November 20, 2007, it was reported that the City of New York would be purchasing the island and preserving it as a wildlife sanctuary. The price is reported to have been in the neighborhood of $2,000,000.

Wildlife

The island's dense brush supports a major nesting colony of several species of birds, notably Black-crowned Night Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron

The Black-crowned Night Heron , is a medium-sized heron....
, Great Egret
Great Egret

The Great Egret , also known as the Great White Egret or Common Egret or Great White Heron, and called kotuku in New Zealand, is a large egret....
, Snowy Egret
Snowy Egret

The Snowy Egret is a small white heron. It is the American counterpart to the very similar Old World Little Egret, which has established a foothold in the Bahamas....
, and Double-crested Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant

The Double-crested Cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It occurs along inland waterways as well as in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska down to Florida and Mexico....
.

Further reading

  • Seitz, Sharon & Miller, Stuart. (2003) The Other Islands of New York. ISBN 0-88150-502-1.
  • United States Census Bureau


External links

  • Photos of the islands in 2004, and images of the General Slocum
    General Slocum

    The SS General Slocum was a steamship launched in 1891. She caught fire and burned to the water in New York's East River on June 15, 1904. More than 1,000 people died in the accident, making it New York City's worst loss-of-life disaster until the September 11, 2001 attacks....
     from .
    • -recent reports on wading bird, cormorant, and gull nesting activity at South Brother Island
  • See Valuation/Assessment for Bronx Block 2605 Lot 35.