The little-known North Brother Island lies in the East River off the south shore of the borough of the Bronx. At 19.3 acres in size, North Brother Island is currently one of the largest segments of city-managed greenery in the South Bronx.
Due in part to a lack of open space access in the area and to the immense historic and ecological significance of the island, various community advocates and political officials are calling for increased human access to the island.
However, human access could potentially pose grave conflicts with the current island inhabitants – the hundreds of shorebirds that nest here and call this island home from early spring to late fall.