A unique new cruise offers an up-close look at a nearly forgotten corner of New York City: the abandoned islands along the East River.
These islands have been the setting for baseball stars, vicious shipwrecks, wildlife refuges and deadly diseases, and every Sunday through July, Classic Harbor Line’s Urban Naturalist Tours will take you to these sites aboard a 1920s-style yacht.
The three-hour cruise starts on tiny Belmont Island, then passes Roosevelt Island and Randalls Island (both of which are still inhabited), before heading to Mill Rock at the mouth of the Harlem River.
The cruise departs from Chelsea Piers, loops around Battery Park and explores the islands of the East River.
Passengers are then transported through Hell Gate to North and South Brother Islands, a sanctuary for shore birds since New York City purchased them nearly 20 years ago, but also steeped in New York City’s colorful history.
Naturalist Gabriel Willow narrates the cruise, telling stories of the islands and their past inhabitants, including famous names like Typhoid Mary and former Yankees owner Jacob Rapert.
Ruppert, who bought the Yankees in 1915, built Yankee Stadium and recruited Babe Ruth to the team in 1920, owned a summer home on South Brother Island. According to The New York Times, Ruth would stop by to take batting practice and pick-up games would be played in the yard next door.
The mansion burned down in 1909 and the island remained largely uninhabited for nearly 70 years until it was purchased by a gravel company in 1975 for just $10.
New York City eventually purchased South Brother Island in 2007 for approximately $2 million and turned it into a bird sanctuary, which remains today.
Participants will be guided along the East River islands, including North Brother Island and South Brother Island, which are now protected islands. Classic Harbor Line
Before Rupert purchased the island, it is believed to have served as a base for Union troops during the Civil War.
In 1904, the ferry PS General Slocum, carrying nearly 1,400 passengers on the river, caught fire and ran aground on an island. Within minutes, 1,021 people died, making it the deadliest disaster in U.S. history until the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
According to the New York Public Library, most of the passengers were women and children who were burned to death on the collapsed deck or drowned after jumping into the river in their thick clothing.
Across the water, on North Brother Island, the ruins of a hospital once used to treat quarantined patients with typhoid, smallpox, tuberculosis and other diseases lie decaying.
Classic Harbour Line Cruises offers a trip on board a 1920s style yacht on the Classic Harbour Line.
According to the National Library of Medicine, the hospital is where Mary Mallon, a cook who was immune to typhoid and therefore unintentionally caused a typhoid outbreak, was quarantined twice and died after 26 years in isolation.
Since then, both islands have been designated seabird sanctuaries, where seabirds thrive in the absence of humans.
“There’s no beautiful lagoon,” Ruppert’s great-nephew, K. Jacob Ruppert, told The Times about a visit to the island shortly before it was sold to the city. “It’s just a pile of bird droppings. But there are beautiful birds. I didn’t think I’d get close to the swans in their nests. There’s just bird droppings and broken egg shells on the ground.”
The tour is scheduled for sunset, allowing passengers to enjoy unparalleled views of the city on the Classic Harbour Line.
Mill Rock served as a fortified defense post during the War of 1812 and is now used as a nature education center for special events, while Belmont Island was built during the construction of the tunnel beneath it.
The cruise is timed for sunset, allowing participants to enjoy the sights of the city lit up at night contrasted with the natural tranquility of the river island.
Cruise lines encourage passengers to bring binoculars.
But the $124 ticket includes a glass of champagne and a sandwich.
