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Prime Rat Island Real Estate
By
Jen Carlson
Published Mar 25, 2009
Modified Mar 25, 2009
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Mar 25, 2009
Modified Mar 25, 2009
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How much would you pay for 21/2-acres of land in the Bronx? What if it were an island of your very own located swimming distance from the creepy, off-limits Hart Island? One man, Red Brennen, is asking $300K for ownership of the unfortunately named Rat Island, which he used mostly to store marine construction equipment throughout the years.
Though small in size, it's got a long history (albeit sometimes details are hard to come by). Allegedly it housed a typhoid quarantine hospital in the 1800s, and the remains of cobblestone walls and foundations are still there. The Daily News reports that it got the name from "when prisoners, nicknamed 'rats,' escaped from Hart Island, they paused on the island to catch their breath before swimming on toward City Island." No real rats have been spotted there in over 50 years, they likely bailed out for the same reason it became abandoned: storm floods. According to Wikipedia the highest point on the island is underwater during high tide storms.
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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