5. An Island in the East River Named for a UN Secretary General
Situated halfway between the United Nations complex and Long Island City is a tiny 1/2 acre island that appeared in the East River in the 1890s. U Thant Island, as it is known, is nicknamed in tribute to former United Nations Secretary General from Burma. In the 1970s, a group of employees from the United Nations who were followers of the guru Sri Chinmoy and called themselves the Peace Meditation at the United Nations and named it for Chinmoy’s friend U Thant.
The use of U Thant Island was a formal takeover, as the group leased the island from the State of New York and dedicated the island on September 16, 1977 to U Thant, who had died three years before. The group was allowed on U Thant Island once or twice a year to maintain the greenery they planted. There was even an award ceremony for the U Thant Peace Award that took place there. But increased security ended visits by the mid 1990s. The group left behind a 30-foot tall steel “Oneness Arch” which has a capsule buried below containing personal items and writings from U Thant. In 2004, the island was back in the news when the artist Duke Riley sailed to U Thant Island in protest of increased security in New York City for the Republican National Convention, and proclaimed it a sovereign nation.
