5. Hart Island Also Has Many Abandoned Buildings

Like many of the city’s other islands, Hart Island has served as the home for many of New York City’s unwanted activities. There have been military barracks for the U.S. Navy during World War II, a narcotics rehabilitation center, a quarantine zone for yellow fever, a prison, women’s insane asylum, a tuberculosis hospital, a Cold War Nike missile base, and a training camp. Many of these buildings still stand abandoned, including an abandoned chapel, the hospital buildings, offices for the Department of Corrections full of papers and more.