The Lesser Known Islands of New York City Quiz

Answer: Riker's Island

Riker's Island is a 413 acre island in the East River, between Queens and the Bronx. It normally has a staff of over 10,000 correction officers and 1,500 civilians, and houses up to 14,000 prison inmates in ten jails. Most offenders are either awaiting trial, serving terms of one year or less, or are placed there temporarily pending transfer to another facility. Riker's Island is one of the largest penal facilities in the United States.

Answer: Governor's Island

Now part of the National Park Service, Governor's Island was the command headquarters for the US Army from 1794 until 1966. After that it became the Coast Guard's largest base. Accessible only by boat and government-run ferry, Governor's Island is open to the public. Visitors can enjoy unparalleled views of New York Harbor and the skyline, as well as take tours led by the National Park Rangers.

Answer: Hoffman and Swinburne Islands

In the early 1870s, Hoffman and Swinburne Islands were constructed from sand, rocks and timber dumped in New York Harbor. They were built to house immigrants who were suffering from (or had been exposed to) infectious diseases, such as cholera, smallpox, yellow fever, typhoid and tuberculosis. Swinburne Island had a hospital where the sick were treated. Hoffman Island harbored those who had been exposed to those diseases.

Both islands are part of the modern Gateway National Recreation Area and are natural bird sanctuaries, home to egrets, ibis, herons, cormorants, gulls and other birds. They are not open to the public. However, supervised eco-cruises allow bird-watchers to enjoy the wildlife from the shore.

Answer: Roosevelt Island

The tramway from Second Avenue and 60th Street in Manhattan to Roosevelt Island was opened in 1976. Previously, the only way to get there by car or bus was over the Queensborough Bridge. In 1989, subway service to the island was instituted. The residents of Roosevelt Island enjoy their commute via tram, even though they have sometimes been stranded high over the East River due to power or mechanical failures.

The island boasts a vast variety of housing styles, from the original old cottages to modern high-rises.

It is quite a change from the days when it was called "Welfare Island"--home to insane asylums and smallpox hospitals.

Answer: Bedloe's Island

Part of the National Park Service, Liberty Island was known as Bedloe's Island from the mid-1760s until 1960. It was named after Issack Bedloo, a businessman from New Amsterdam, who originally named it Love Island. After his death in 1673, his daughter named it Bedloo's Island in honor of her father. Over the years, the spelling became Anglicized into Bedloe's.

In 1871, Frederic Bartholdi visited America and chose the island as the site for the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World. The statue was dedicated on October 15, 1886 and it is now one of the most visited attractions in the United States.

Answer: The Bronx

Although only one and a half miles long and a half mile wide, thousands of New Yorkers and tourists flock to the dozens of seafood restaurants on City Island Avenue. Many of these restaurants specialize in lobster. Often described as resembling a typical New England fishing village, City Island has also become somewhat of an artists' enclave, boasting several art galleries, antique shops and eclectic cafes along its main street. Over the years, several movies and TV shows have been filmed on City Island, giving it the nickname "Cinema Island".

Answer: Coney Island

No quiz about NYC islands would be complete without a question about Coney Island. Originally a true island off the southern tip of Brooklyn, Coney Island creek was filled in the mid-1950s to make the island accessible by car via the Shore Parkway. Although only four miles long and one half mile wide, Coney Island is home to four distinct communities.

The first, at its easternmost point, is Manhattan Beach, which is home to Kingsborough Community College. Second is Brighton Beach, which is known for its Russian community. Next comes Coney Island, renowned for its world famous amusement parks, Nathan's Hot Dogs, the New York Aquarium, Riegelmann Boardwalk and Keystone Ballpark. Finally, at its western end on Gravesend Bay, comes Seagate, which is a private gated community, one of only two in NYC.

It has its own police force, the Seagate Police Department. Seagate is home to a large Orthodox Jewish Community.

Answer: 12,000,000

According to the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, over 12,000,000 immigrants entered the United States through Ellis Island, a small island in Upper New York Harbor, off the New Jersey coastline. First and second class passengers who came to America on steamships were only given a quick inspection aboard ship, on the theory that if they could afford an expensive ticket they probably would not become a medical burden to their new country.

However, the third class or "steerage" passengers were another story entirely.

They were ferried from the disembarking pier to Ellis Island where they underwent a complete medical examination. If their immigration papers were in order and doctors thought the immigrants were in reasonably good health, they were processed and allowed to enter the country. If inspectors from the United States Public Health Service diagnosed the immigrant with a contagious disease, he or she would be quarantined in wards that were on the island. If inspectors from the Bureau of Immigration concluded that the immigrant might become a public burden or illegal worker, he was remanded to a secure dormitory until he could be returned to his native country.

In all the years, only about two percent of the arriving immigrants were excluded from entering the country.

Answer: True

Broad Channel is home to more than 300 species of birds. The residential island neighborhood is only one mile long and four blocks wide, but the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is spread out over 9,000 acres at the island's northern side. It is connected to the mainland of Queens and the Rockaway Peninsula by Cross Bay Boulevard and the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge.

Many of the original houses were built on stilts. Thus, nearly every resident lives on waterfront property, thanks to a system of canals on the island, which have given Broad Channel the nickname "the Venice of New York".

Answer: Mary Mallon (Typhoid Mary)

North Brother Island, just southwest of Hunt's Point in the East River, is a 13 acre piece of New York history. Riverside Hospital operated on the island from 1886 to 1962 as a facility to treat and isolate victims of contagious diseases. Its most famous inhabitant was Mary Mallon, a carrier of typhoid fever, who was said to be responsible for the deaths of three people and the illness of 47 more from 1907-1915. Mary, an Irish immigrant, found work as a maid when she first came to America. Being a talented cook, she was able to secure a position with the family of a wealthy New York banker.

While on vacation with the family, six of the eleven people in the rented house became ill with typhoid fever. The owner of the house hired an investigator who found that 22 other people became ill, including one who died, shortly after Mary worked for them.

The New York City's Health Commissioner ordered Mary quarantined to North Brother Island in an isolation cabin in 1907. She was released for a short time, but when found to have again taken a position as a cook under an assumed name, she was again remanded to the island where she died of a stroke in 1938. Legend says that the ghost of Mary Mallon walks the island now, but only the birds that inhabit the island now know for sure.