An Abandoned Island of New York City
This island was named U Thant Island known as Belmont Island which lies in the East River, New York City with a remarkable historical story.
U Thant Island is said to be the largest island in New York, only covers an area of 100-200 feet, and is considerably smaller than when it was used in the excavation of the tunnels.
U Thant Island Established History
The island was created during the construction of the tunnels by William Steinway, a famous piano maker.
He began a project in 1890 to build a tunnel for subways to connect to His company town Steinway Village down the East River.
To build the tunnel, it was necessary to dig a culvert into a block of granite known as Man-o'-War Reef to access the tunnels. However, during construction, rubble accumulated and floated to the surface, creating this island.
Regrettably, Steinway was unable to witness the completion of his favorite project because he passed away in 1896, six years after the project was started.
Since then, the project was responsible by August Belmont Jr. and was completed between 1905 and 1907.
Later, the island was also named after him in memory.
The Tragic Accident Is Associated With The History Of The Formation Of Belmont Island
Remarkably, during construction, in 1906, there was a tragic accident when four workers died in a compressed air tube explosion under the tunnels.
According to reports, two workers died from asphyxiation and decompression sickness, and the remaining two drowned.
In many attempts to save the lives of workers 20 feet below the water line, the foreman and his descended into the tunnel, despite fatal risks.
However, they just rescued two people and found two others' bodies who had died from decompression sickness. The two drowned have been lying at the bottom of the tunnel.
Anbandoned Island Becomes Migratory Bird Sanctuary
Then, a group of Buddhists rented this island in 1977, renaming it U Thant Island to commemorate former United Nations Secretary-General U Thant, and renaming Belmont Island after that.
In those early years, they visited the island twice a year to take care of the trees, but due to increased security, from the mid-1990s onwards, visits to the island became rare.
Today, Belmont Island has been officially prohibited from visiting to serve as a migratory bird sanctuary area.
