Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz (D-Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Brighton Beach) announced today that starting May 1, the party boats along Emmons Avenue will no longer be able to pick up and unload passengers in Sheepshead Bay.
Meanwhile, City Council Member Alan Maisel (D-Bergen Beach, Canarsie, Flatlands, Georgetown, Gerritsen Beach, Marine Park, Mill Basin, Mill Island) said he has been in continuing discussions with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office, and he has been told time and again, that the party boats will not come to Mill Basin either.
“They told me there are no plans to for the party boats to come to Mill Basin, but I’m highly skeptical. I think one boat will go to the Brooklyn Army Terminal,” Maisel said.
Cymbrowitz and a number or residents and business owners along the Emmons Avenue strip have been complaining about problems of drunken revelers and out-of-control litter, crowds and traffic that have long plagued the community during the months when the charter vessels operate, especially during the wee hours of the morning when the boats disembark from a night of partying out at sea.
The party boats will be allowed to dock in Sheepshead Bay when they are not in use. The new ban on pick-ups and drop-offs does not affect fishing boat excursions, said Cymbrowitz.
“This is a fair and reasonable resolution that will help restore Sheepshead Bay’s quality of life during the summer months and bring in weekend visitors who were reluctant to come here because of the crowds and backed-up traffic on Emmons Avenue,” Cymbrowitz said. “I’ve said all along that you can’t have thousands of people boarding and disembarking from party boats in the middle of a residential community.”
Cymbrowitz said that the absence of party boat pick-ups and drop-offs will also free up NYPD resources that can now be used elsewhere in the community. At the lawmaker’s request, the 61st Precinct and Parks Enforcement regularly had personnel on site to maintain order and enforce traffic regulations when passengers were boarding and leaving the boats.
Cymbrowitz and City Council Member Chaim Deutsch (D-Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Homecrest, Brighton Beach) has been working with the de Blasio’s office for several years to address the party boat issue.
At a town hall in Sheepshead Bay in 2017, de Blasio committed to ending late-night party boat pick-ups and drop-offs from the pier.
Deutsch and Cymbrowitz finally were successful in lobbying the de Blasio Administartion into moving the party boats, but the problem was nobody told anybody where and when the vessels would be moved.
Particularly vexed were Mill Basin electeds and civic leaders, which were told without any notice that the boats would move to Mill Basin.
This led to a protest among a number of elected officials from the Mill Basin area, who led their own protest against Party Boats, also commonly known by the colloquialism “booze cruises,” coming to their inlet where the ships could embark with passengers around a small area of water and gives them a space for drinking and dancing.
Then following the implementation of an 11 p.m. curfew on May 1 last year, Cymbrowitz continued to work aggressively to move all pick-ups/drop-offs to locations that would be better suited for the party boats. Now, the full ban will be in effect.
The current 11 p.m. curfew will remain in effect until April 30, as will the noise restrictions that prohibit the party boats from playing loud music until they are away from residential areas.
“I’m pleased that the city listened to us,” Cymbrowitz said. “This is an important change for Sheepshead Bay – one that’s been a long time in coming.”
Representatives for the party boat industry could not be reached at post time.
