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| Photo: Harry Hambourg |
The North Brother Island is located between the Bronx and Rikers Island. Uninhabitable until (1885), when Riverside Hospital moved from Blackwell's Island as we know today Roosevelt Island, used to isolate and treat quarantinable diseases and heroin addicts, some patients complained that there were there with out there will including the infamous Mary Mallon nicknamed Typhoid Mary. During the Second World War the hospital facilitate army personnel. Tragedy strikes again when passenger steamboat PS General Slocum caught fire and sank.
Mary Mallon (Typhoid Mary) was accused of infecting 51 people were 3 of them died, Mary was an immigrant cook from Ireland and through out her life has changed several jobs due to health concerns infecting people with the disease. She refused to collaborate with health services demanding that she was diseased free. Typhoid Mary served in the summer time wealthy
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| Mary Mallon |
families in Long Island City and Charles Henry Warren a wealthy banker were 6 of 11 members got sick and she moved along to other families. By that time she worked as a mate ironing and cleaning mentions that was the lowest woman perception in working environment. Doctors found out that her body was a cell of typhoid bacteria after her arrest and transfer to Riverside Hospital. The typhoid disease had an outbreak in NYC by 1907-1910 coming from the poorest neighborhoods such as the Lower East Side were health conditions reached ultimate low, clean water, clean streets and disease free survival was not existed. Therefore the city decided to create the Sanitation Department in 1895 and hired street cleaners to clean the streets. One family hired a researcher George Soper to investigate on typhoid and Mary Mallon. Mary still remains an enigmatic figure. Click and read "Mary in her own words letter".
PS General Slocum 1981-1904, was a passenger steamboat were sank in the East River in NYC after caught fire at North Brother Island just off the Bronx. The boat was build by Devine Burtis, Jr., in Brooklyn boat builder. Her keel was 235 feet (72m) long the haul
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| PS General Slocum |
was 37.5 feet (11.4m) wide constructed of white oak and yellow pine. The Slocum measured 1,284 tons gross. Powered by a single-cylinder, surface considering vertical beam stream engine. On board were about 1400 people, 321 survived five of the crew members died and the captain lost sight in one eyed blamed on fire. Several bodies washed ashore at the North Brother Island. Many incidents have been reported in time of Slocum operations, including a collision in 1898 near the Battery Park and in 1901 a riot started by 900 intoxicated Paterson anarchists. The boat safety was merely updated and the crew barely experienced in case of an emergency. The lifeboats where tided up and inaccessible, life jackets on their children and tossed them into water, only to watch them sank instead of floating. Slocum disaster was the worst in the history of New York City as far on human casualties after the September, 9-11 attacks.
Remarkable North Brother Island took place in extraordinary events merely perceiving it's existence as a legitimate way to treat and host living standards in a period other hygienic homogeneity troubled free era beginning of 19th century, since closed right after the death of Mary Mallon for corruption, by the management of Riverside Hospital. The North Brother Island will be re-open to public by 2016; after clean up and it's natural habitat protection requirements issued by NYC Department of Parks & Recreation.
