Mau Mau Island

Mau Mau Island, also called White Island,^[1] is a small uninhabited island in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, located between Gerritsen Creek and Mill Creek in Marine Park.^[2] Historically, the area around Mau Mau Island was a salt marsh with shifting topography. The island came into existence after 1917, as dumping led to the current shoreline.^[3]

The area was uninhabited by European settlers until the last 1700's, when a mill and bridge were built. It was donated by the City of New York in the early 1930s, along with much of Marine Park, by Alfred Tredway White and Frederic Pratt with the requirement that it become parkland.^[4][5]

In the 1930s, sand excavated during construction of the Belt Parkway was added to the island. Subsequently, patches of asphalt were laid on top to prevent the sand from blowing onto the nearby Marine Park Golf Course.^[6]

In 2011, the New York City Parks Department began a restoration project on the island, with the goal of restoring salt marsh and bird habitat.^[7]

References

1. Chaudhury, Nadia (Jul 26, 2011). "Sailing the High Seas of Brooklyn with Swimming Cities". The L Magazine. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
2. "Mau Mau Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
3. "[T]here was no island in the creek in 1917."
4. Sharon Seitz, Stuart Miller (2011). Other Islands of New York City. Countryman Press. p. 310. ISBN 1581578865.
5. http://nytelecom.vo.llnwd.net/o15/agencies/lpc/arch_reports/870.pdf
6. Sullivan, Robert (10 September 2010). "The Concrete Jungle". New York. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
7. http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_about/parks_divisions/nrg/nrg_rest_prior.html

Coordinates: 40°35′50″N 73°55′05″W / 40.5971400°N 73.9180760°W