Owners of the island tried to reinvent it as a rehabilitation camp for troubled teens, from 1952 through 1963. But patients didn't get the help they needed when returning home after three- to five ...

This is exactly what happened when photographer Christopher Payne visited North Brother Island, a 13-acre island between the Bronx and Riker’s Island that's been abandoned since 1963.

Flora covered roads, pathways and buildings and the island became a popular stop over sight for migrating herons. …Today North and South Brother Island are together designated as a harbor herons ...