Rat Island

Rat Island, purchased by Thomas Pell, once served as a typhoid quarantine site during 19th-century fever outbreaks. Known as the “Pelham Pesthouse,” it housed about 40 patients before being abandoned due to flooding. Remnants of cobblestone walls remain, and local lore claims a lighthouse once stood on the island.

Purchased by New York City in the early 1900s, Rat Island became a retreat for writers and artists

by Dr. H. A. Parmentier

who subsequently leased the island to the Mount Vernon Club

Brooklyn lawyer owned Rat Island until 1972, when it was sold to Edmund “Red” Brennen for use in salvage work and equipment storage. In 2009, Brennen listed it for sale at $300,000.

Rat Island was auctioned for $160,000 to retired Port Authority worker Alex Schibli, a Swiss resident of City Island.