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| North Brother Island (Photo credit: The Kingston Lounge) |
Ian Ference, a photographer who specializes in shooting derelict New York City buildings, has turned his lens on North Brother Island.
Located in the East River just north of Rikers Island, the island has been abandoned since the '60s. It had been home to Riverside Hospital, which among other things treated smallpox and leprosy and other contagious diseases. Its most famous patient: Mary Mallon, better known as Typhoid Mary, who died there in 1938. Today, several of buildings are still standing, though in various states of disrepair.
The island, currently a bird sanctuary and under the jurisdiction of the city’s Parks Department, is off-limits to the public.
But Ference, who goes by Richard Nickel, Jr. (Richard Nickel was a photographer who shot vacant buildings in Chicago, and argued against their demolition), must have made at least two trips - with or without permission. And to our benefit. His photos, which he published on his blog, The Kingston Lounge, are something to behold. He also gives a fascinating overview of the island's history.
