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Residents Put Pier Pressure On Officials Over Nighttime Closing
"We're not actually closing the pier," said Gateway representative Pete McCarthy. "There is a miscommunication of the term closing. We want to improve visitors' experience and close the pier to cars during the evening hours because in the morning we can't keep up with the flow of trash. Some of the activity occurring at night isn't monitored." The recently announced plan calls for the pier to close to vehicles from sunrise to sunset but McCarthy said public feedback is still being sought on the matter. State Assemblyman Alan Maisel, who opposes the plan, said, "It makes no sense to close it. A vast majority of people use the park at night and do the right thing. The pier is a place where everyone can enjoy recreational activities - it should be open to everyone. My suggestion is to put more money into the park, fix the lights and increase personnel on the site. There's got to be a better solution." State Senator John Sampson's representative Michael Cohen, who agreed with the assemblyman, said, "Some people come home late in the evening and they should be able to drive into the park at night. We have a lot of residents who don't live within walking range of the park. What are those people going to do? You're taking the park away from community members who use it appropriately." Some residents demanded input and opposition from other local elected officials, such as City Councilman Lew Fidler. But, Gardy Brazela, president of the Friends United Block Association, defended the city legislator, "This is a federal, not a city issue - we need to have the congressmen who represent the area deal with it. Let's not attack Fidler since this isn't something he can't change." Congressman Edolphus Towns, who represents constituents who frequent the pier, had a representative at the meeting. Steven Shaw, treasurer of the fishing club Born To Fish, spoke adamantly about keeping the pier open to vehicles at night. "The pier is a great place to catch striped bass fish - the kind that can only be caught at night. In all the years I've been fishing at the pier, I haven't seen any drug dealers or other illegal activity at their pier - the local precinct and the Parks Department personnel come in and out of there at all hours. Forget about closing the gates to cars during the evening - increase your nighttime staff, start fining people for littering and repair the lights. "In addition, you're not going to tell fisherman to start walking to the pier with coolers, tackle boxes and fishing lines. That's ridiculous!" Shaw said. Canarsie South Civic Association vice president Steven Kaye argued that the gates, already in place, are "architecturally unattractive." "You don't have money for lighting, you don't have money for personnel to clean the park, but yet you have money to install a gate and have someone open and close it," he said to McCarthy. At this point, the gates are not locked after dark, but McCarthy said the National Park Service would issue a press release on their decision in a few weeks.
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