Hoffman Island

Infobox Islands
name = Hoffman

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image caption = Hoffman Island on left and Swinburne Island on the right as seen from the pier at South Beach, Staten Island
image size = 250px
locator
Location map|USA New York City|lat=40.578873|long=-74.053688
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native name =
native name link =
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location = Lower New York Bay
coordinates = coord|40.578873|N|74.053688|W|display=inline
archipelago =
total islands =
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area = convert|11|acre|km2|abbr=on
length =
width =
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country = United States
country admin divisions title = State
country admin divisions = flag|New York
country admin divisions title 1 = City
country admin divisions 1 = New York City
country admin divisions title 2 = Borough
country admin divisions 2 = Staten Island
country largest city =
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Hoffman Island is one of two small artificial islands in the Lower New York Bay, off South Beach, Staten Island. The island was created in 1873. A smaller island, known as Swinburne Island, lies immediately to the south.

History

Created from Orchard Shoals by the addition of land fillKenneth T. Jackson: The Encyclopedia of New York City: The New York Historical Society; Yale University Press; 1995. P. 149.] in 1872 and named for former New York City mayor (1866–1868), and then-current New York State Governor (1869–1871) John T. Hoffman [John T. Hoffman was born on January 10, 1828 and he died on March 24, 1888] , Hoffman Island covers 11 acres (4.45 hectares), while Swinburne Island's area is about 4 acres (16,000 m²). The latter island, also of artificial origin, was originally called Dix Island, but was renamed in honor of Dr. John Swinburne, a noted military surgeon during the Civil War. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Historic Islands At New York's Front Door. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00712F638541B728DDDA10A94DA405B878FF1D3 |quote=When the Federal Government recently offered to give Hoffman and Swinburne Islands to the City of New York not a few people asked where these islets might be found and for what purposes they had been used. Hoffman and Swinburne are man-made islands and they lie at the entrance of the Narrows, west of the main ship channel, a mile off the Staten Island shore. Hoffman Island, nine and three-tenths ... This was afterward changed to Swinburne in honor Of Dr. John Swinburne, ... |work=New York Times |date=February 28, 1937 |accessdate=2008-07-28 ]

In the early 1900s, the islands were used as a quarantine station, housing immigrants found to have been carrying contagious diseases when they landed at Ellis Island.cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Quarantine At New York |url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~quarantine/history2.htm |quote=April 23, 1863, what is now known as the General Quarantine Act was passed, defining the quarantine establishment, authorizing its construction, creating the permanent office of Quarantine Commissioner, defining the duties and powers of the Commissioners and Health Officer, and establishing a general system of quarantine for the port. Additional powers were conferred by amendments made to this general act in 1864, 1865, 1866, and 1867, under which two small steamers were purchased; the property at Tompkinsville, Staten Island, known as the Marine Hospital Grounds, was sold; and the artificial islands in the lower bay were undertaken and afterward completedndash Swinburne Island in 1860, and Hoffman Island in 1873. |work=Harper's Weekly |date=September 6, 1879 |accessdate=2008-07-28 ] At the start of World War II the United States Merchant Marine used both islands as a training station (which opened in 1938); the Quonset huts built during this period still stand on Swinburne Island.

The other major use for the two islands during World War II were as anchorages for Antisubmarine Nets that fenced off New York Bay from the Atlantic Ocean to keep enemy submarines out.

Post–World War II plans

Since World War II, city planners and politicians have floated various proposals for what should be done with the two islands. Robert Moses and Bernard Baruch advocated transforming the islands into a city park, but this plan was soon forgotten. In 1961, all existing buildings on Hoffman Island were razed, and since then, trespassers have been apprehended on the island from time to time, including one celebrated incident in which a film crew was caught shooting a pornographic movie there. In the 1980s, some Staten Island residents proposed building a large homeless shelter on Hoffman and/or Swinburne islands, in response to the city's plans to open new shelters in some of the borough's residential neighborhoods. This plan was never implemented either.

Current Use

Today, both Hoffman and Swinburne islands are owned by the National Park Service as part of the Staten Island Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area. They are, however, still off-limits to the general public, to protect the islands' avian residents. Hoffman Island hosts a large number of nesting wading birds, including great egret, snowy egret, black-crowned night heron, and glossy ibis. Double-crested Cormorant dominate Swinburne, and great black-backed gulls nest on both islands. Beginning in 2001, harbor seals have been seen wintering around the islands.cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Swimmers From the North Delight Scientists and Sightseers |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/25/nyregion/25seals.html |quote=The inhabitants of Hoffman and Swinburne Islands, man-made piles in Lower New York Bay off Staten Island, have tended to be there not because they particularly want to be, but because they have to. In the 19th century, the islands were a holding area for new immigrants feared to be carrying diseases. Later, they housed soldiers with venereal disease, quarantined parrots and, until the 1940's, merchant marines in training. |work=New York Times |date=March 25, 2006 |accessdate=2007-08-21 ]

Infobox Government agency
agency_name = National Park Service
nativename =
nativename_a =
nativename_r =

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logo_width = 140px
logo_caption = National Park Service agency patch


seal_width =
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formed = August 25, 1916
date1 =
date1_name =
Police1 = U.S Park Police & Law Enforcement Rangers
date2_name =
preceding1 =
preceding2 =

dissolved =
superseding =
jurisdiction = Hoffman Island
headquarters = Main Interior Building (MIB), Washington, D.C.
employees = 15,000 permanent, 5,000 seasonal
budget = $2.256 billion (2006)

chief1_name = Mary A. Bomar
chief1_position = Director
chief2_name =
chief2_position =
parent_agency = Department of the Interior
child1_agency =
child2_agency =
website = [http://www.nps.gov www.nps.gov]
footnotes =

References

Further reading

*Seitz, Sharon & Miller, Stuart. (2003) "The Other Islands of New York". ISBN 0-88150-502-1.

ee also

* Swinburne Island
* Ellis Island
* Lower New York Bay

External links

* [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~quarantine/hoffman1.htm "A Little Island Near New York Peopled With Babies"] - The New York Times, Magazine Section. November 27, 1910
* [http://www.usmm.org/hoffmanisland.html "First U. S. Maritime Service Training Station"] - Mast Magazine, March 1944
* [http://www.forgotten-ny.com/STREET%20SCENES/fromwater/water.html "...to the New York Islands" at Forgotten NY]
* [http://www.nycaudubon.org/projects/harborherons NYC Audubon Harbor Herons Project]
** [http://www.nycaudubon.org/projects/harborherons/HHSurveyReports.shtml Harbor Herons Nesting Survey] -recent reports on wading bird, cormorant, and gull nesting activity at Hoffman Island
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.574312,-74.054761&spn=0.033560,0.042658&t=k&hl=en A Satellite Photo of the two islands]
* [http://www.nycaudubon.org/projects/harborherons NYC Audubon's Harbor Herons Project]
* [http://www.usmm.org/hoffman.html Hoffman Island Radio Association]
*Geolinks-US-streetscale|40.578873|-74.053688