In a series titled Islands of the Undesirables on collaborative historical website Atlas Obscura, historian and journalist Bess Lovejoy highlights five of the New York islands where we have stored our sick, criminals and unwanted residents.
- Part 1: Roosevelt Island
- Part 2: Randalls and Wards Island
- Part 3: North Brother Island
- Part 4: Hart Island
In the final installment of the series, part 5 covers the infamous Rikers Island.
Starting in 1893, the city began dumping street sweepings, horse manure, household garbage and ashes on the island, at least until the vile odor that drifted to Queens and the South Bronx drew protests. Three years later, the city contracted with a sanitation company to send the most offensive garbage to a reduction plant on Barren Island, and Rikers temporarily received the less-smelly stuff. But by the 1920s, the island was again a dumping ground for every kind of refuse, often smoking beneath a blanket of ashes. In 1926, the New York Times reported that the place “looked like a volcano preparing for an eruption.”
The full article is a fascinating short read on the history of Rikers Island and it's "undesirables."
via Atlas Obscura
Matt Coneybeare
Editor in Chief
Matt enjoys exploring the City's with his partner and son. He is an avid marathon runner, and spends most of his time eating, running, and working on cool stuff.
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