Location Lower New York Bay Area 4 ha | City New York City Borough Staten Island | |
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Similar Swinburne Island, Isle of Meadows, Mill Rock, Peretz Square, Septuagesimo Uno | ||
Hoffman Island is one of two small artificial islands in the Lower New York Bay, off South Beach, Staten Island. A smaller island, known as Swinburne Island, lies immediately to the south. Created from Orchard Shoals by the addition of landfill in 1872 and named for former New York City mayor (1866–1868), and then-current New York Governor (1869–1871) John Thompson Hoffman, 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.
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Map of Hoffman Island, Staten Island, NY, USA
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.
World War II
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. In the 1980s, some Staten Island residents proposed building a large homeless shelter on Hoffman Island or Swinburne Island or both, 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 managed by the National Park Service as part of the Staten Island Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. They are 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.