After getting complaints that the fisherman off the Ocean Avenue footbridge connecting Sheepshead Bay to Manhattan Beach have been hooking more pedestrians than sea bass, Assemblyman Steve Cymbrowitz wants to put the rod-and-reelers on ice.
But local fishermen say people have been fishing off the footbridge for as long as its’ been up and there is no reason to stop now.
Either way, the the Sheepshead Bay/Manhattan Beach lawmaker is trying to get to the bottom of a contradiction in city and state regulations that has caused a danger to pedestrians and an odiferous nuisance on the Ocean Avenue footbridge.
Cymbrowitz said his office has received numerous complaints about people fishing on the bridge, which connects Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay and Shore Boulevard in Manhattan Beach. This is despite the presence of “No Fishing” signs posted by the New York City Department of Transportation in accordance with Section 19-168 of the New York City Administrative Code.
“Pedestrians and fisherman cannot co-exist safely on this narrow bridge,” Cymbrowitz said. “People have reached out to my office complaining that they’re sidestepping spilled fish entrails and fish hooks. This is a hazardous, messy situation.”
The problem is that while the fishing ban seems clear, the reality is murkier than the waters of the Sheepshead Harbor because the State Department of Conservation (DEC) lists the Ocean Avenue footbridge as a fishing location in its saltwater fishing guide, so the fishermen argue they have a right to be there.
Last week Cymbrowitz reached out in a letter to DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos for clarification and asking him to reverse the agency’s policy if fishing on the footbridge is in fact allowed.
“I am requesting that if it is the position of NYS DEC to permit fishing on the bridge, that this policy should be reversed,” Cymbrowitz wrote. “If no such policy exists, the location should be removed from the guide and explicitly marked as prohibited in DEC’s publications for the purpose of clarification.”
“If the dangers associated with fishing at this location persist, I ask that enforcement action be taken for the safety of the community,” he added.
But the opinions are mixed on whether fisherman should be allowed to cast a line or two off the footbridge.
“I don’t think it’s fair to ban them. They’ve (fishermen) have been doing it for close to a hundred years,” said Captain Ryan Smith, the operator of the Marilyn Jean IV party boat that is moored just a few hundred feet from the bridge and often does two charter fishing excursions a day. “AS long as the clean up after themselves it’s not a problem.
Ryan said that in the summer months the fisherman catch snappers, blue fish and striped bass off the bridge, and in the winter they catch a lot of herring – a big favorite of the large Russian immigrant population that lives in Sheepshead Bay.
But on the other side, a Kingsborough Community College professional staff worker said he is often scared when crossing the footbridge on the way to and from the subway of being hooked by an errand cast of a fisherman, and that they take up a lot of room on the narrow footbridge.
The DEC did not get back to KCP in time for this post. If and when they do, this story will be updated.
