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10 of the Smallest Things in NYC, from the New Book TINY New York

Nicole Saraniero Nicole Saraniero
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2. Smallest Privately Owned Island: Rat Island

Rat Island is not only the smallest, but the only privately owned island in New York City. Sitting in City Island Harbor in the Bronx, at high tide this tiny piece of land is one acre large. At low tide the island gains another acre and a half. Today the island is owned by Alex Schibli, a native of Switzerland who fell in love with New York City and its waters in the 1960s. It is rumored to have gotten its name from the belief that convicts escaping a nearby prison would use the island as a resting stop on their swim towards freedom. No one lives on the island and there are no structures, but there is a statue of William Tell. Tying his roots to his New York island, Schibli commissioned the statue of the fourteenth century Swiss liberation fighter from a Swiss artist. Though Schibli’s family and friends said he was crazy for buying the island, but he doesn’t think it’s any crazier than buying a boat, and says “lots of people have boats, but I have an island.”

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Tags : American Museum of Natural Historycathedral librarygreenwich locksmithsQ TrainRat Islandrecord storeslideshowpagesmalleststrip clubtiny new york
Nicole Saraniero November 13, 2018
Nicole Saraniero

Nicole Saraniero

Nicole Saraniero is the Insider-in-Chief at Untapped New York, leading our Untapped New York Insiders membership program. Nicole graduated from Hofstra University with a Bachelor of Science in Television/Film Production. Through her work in those fields, specifically working at a film location agency on Long Island’s Gold Coast, and her travels through Europe while studying abroad, she discovered a love for architecture and uncovering the hidden histories of places. She recently earned a Certificate in Historic Preservation Studies from NYU's School of Professional Studies.

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