Pralls Island
| Pralls Island | ||
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| Waters | Arthur Kill | |
| Geographical location | 40 ° 36 '35 " N , 74 ° 12' 5" W | |
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| length | 1.3 km | |
| width | 250 m | |
| surface | 32.5 ha | |
| Residents | uninhabited | |
Pralls Island , also Prall's Island, is an island in the Arthur Kill between New Jersey and Staten Island . The island has an area of 32.5 hectares and is uninhabited. It belongs entirely to New York City and has been a bird sanctuary since 1984 which is managed by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation .
history
The island was first named Dongan's Island or Duncan's Island after New York Governor Thomas Dongan , and it wasn't until the late 19th century that the name Pralls Island caught on. Its origin is not certain, it may come from the Dutch settler Arent Jansen Van Naerden Prall , who acquired the island around 1700. Another possibility is the naming after Abraham Prall , a well-known farmer on Staten Island in the 18th century.
Pralls Island was first used to grow Spartina patens , a silt grass that was sold as fodder. The island enlarged in the 1930s due to excavation material in the course of the fairway expansion in the Arthur Kill. In the 1970s Pralls Island was intended to be used as a bus depot or landfill, but these plans were abandoned after the island's ecological benefits as a breeding area were recognized.
The island is home to about 400 waterfowl breeding pairs, including Glossy Ibis , night heron , blue heron , snowy egret , cattle egret and egrets . Although these species are not rare, their occurrence in densely populated areas is remarkable.