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NYC man buys "Rat Island" for $160K

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NEW YORK, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- A New York City man said purchasing an island near his property for $160,000 was the culmination of a dream he has had for years.

Alex Schibli, 71, a 12-year resident of City Island, said he has wanted to purchase nearby Rat Island, which is also located in City Island Harbor, for years so he jumped at the chance when the 2 1/2-acre rocky outcropping went up for auction Sunday, the New York Post reported.

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"It's right off my property. It's so close I can go swimming back and forth," Schibli said.

"I can see it from my window. My wife and I kayak around it all the time," he said. "I feel like it has always belonged to me. It's so lovely out here. You wouldn't even believe you were in New York. And there are no rats at all!

"Once I knew it was up for sale, I just had to have it."

However, Schibli said he would like to change the island's name.

"Perhaps 'Malina Island,' after my 4-year-old granddaughter," he said.

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