History[]
North Brother Island, an island in the East River, is a protected area. Outside access to the island is rare, and requests are only considered under specific conditions. Humans occupied the island for one-hundred fifty years. The island housed the Riverside Hospital from 1881-1943, WWII veterans’ housing from 1946-1951, and a youth drug rehabilitation center from 1952-1964.
According to the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, "The primary tenant on the island was the City-owned and operated Riverside Hospital, including the Tuberculosis Sanatorium and pavilions for designated illnesses, laboratories, as well as homes and dormitory facilities for doctors, nurses, and other staff members.”
North Brother Island and South Brother Island are a pair of small islands located between the mainland Bronx and Rikers Island.
TMNT Media[]
North Brother Island appears first in “The Armageddon Game issue 2”. Old Hob and Lindsey, along with the weasels, are scouting for a new home and base of operations. Hob announces that they have Rikers to one side and New York City to the other and though literally surrounded by prisons, they stand in a new, free home. Lindsey finds the place to be creepy, but Hob says it’s better than living with humans. Just then, Raph and Herman rise up out of the water, and Raph asks what they'd do once the humans find them, since finding them wasn’t that hard.
In “The Armageddon Game issue 3”, Hob begins unloading supplies, including weapons, onto the island. He asks if Raphael is going to join them on this grand new adventure. Mutant Town is too close to humans and with the wall, it’s like living in a big cage. According to Old Hob, "Mutant Island" is going to change all that.