Rat Island isn’t the most vacation friendly island in New York considering it spends much of it’s time underwater and is rumored to have once housed typhoid victims but that hasn’t stopped New York resident Alex Schibli, 71, from purchasing the island for $160,000 at auction.
Schibli told the New York Post :
“I feel like it has always belonged to me,” while adding . “It’s so lovely out here. You wouldn’t even believe you were in New York. And there are no rats at all!”
It’s not the first time Rat Island has come up for sale, in 2009 the original owner who was sick of paying taxes on the island tried to unload it for $300,000.
For his part Alex doesn’t plan to change anything on the island, noting:
“Some developers might build something on top of the island if they got their hands on it, but I believe it should be conserved, kept as is.”
Even if he did plan to build the project would be met with concern given the unstable nature of the land mass and it’s constant submersion underwater.
In terms of the name Alex Schibili says he’s changing it because:
“I really don’t like the name Rat Island. Perhaps Malina Island, after my 4-year-old granddaughter.”
Conservationist everywhere are probably applauding Alex for his decision to keep the island free of unnatural building projects, what do you think about his decision to spend $160,000 on an island plus annual taxes when it’s not even above water for part of the year?
