North Brother is video documentation of an urban exploration mission combined with a raft trip through New York City. Our crew paddled to North Brother Island, a small island in the East River that has been abandoned for over 50 years. The island, technically off limits and reachable only by water, required passing through Hell Gate, the dangerous confluence of the Harlem River, the East River and Long Island Sound.
The documentary also includes detailed historical background on the island, chronicling it’s most famous resident, Typhoid Mary, as well as the sinking of the General Slocum, New York City’s worst maritime loss of life disaster. As our crew floated downstream from the Bronx to Brooklyn, we contemplated the rewards of seeking adventure outside of traditional boundaries.