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Breezy Point Residents Going Crazy From Party Boats In Rockaway Peninsula
By
Jen Chung
Published May 23, 2016
Modified May 23, 2016
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Assembly Member Goldfeder's office
By
Jen Chung
Published May 23, 2016
Modified May 23, 2016
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Breezy Point residents have prided themselves on living in a secluded, down-to-earth beach enclave far from the city. However, because everything must be ruined by party-hearty jerks, some are upset that "party boats" have been blasting music in the middle of the night.
Assembly Member Phil Goldfeder is demanding that the Parks Department and Department of Environmental Protection investigate noise complaints about these boats in the waters between Sheepshead Bay and Breezy Point. "These boats have gone overboard," he said in a press release. "Our families should not have to put up with blasting music at all hours that negatively impacts their quality of life. I urge the city to take the necessary steps to alleviate this situation ahead of the summer boating season."
Connie Carter-Kruter filmed the boats, and explained that she and her family typically hear the music "Thursday through Sundays [when] the boat passes back and forth across the bay until very early in the morning. The sound carries right into my house and can wake you up from a sound sleep. It seems that the boat doesn’t have to answer to anyone."
Goldfeder, though, doesn't want anyone to think that he's trying to ban all boats—"You won't find a community more attuned to life on the water than right here in Breezy Point and across Rockaway. Still, there must be a balance that allows party boats to operate but still respects families' right to spend a quiet night at home without feeling like they're at a club."
Last year, Goldfeder's colleague Steven Cymbrowitz, who represents Sheepshead Bay, was trying to ban party boats after constituents complained about passengers' behavior. Cymbrowitz said, "People urinate; they relieve themselves right on the median, on the sidewalk, on the street. And they vomit. People have total disrespect." But one critic of the bill said that most of the party boat passengers are West Indian, suggesting that the ban would discriminate against that community.
Tagged
breezy point
party boats
queens
rockaways
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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