Locals in Brooklyn's Sheepshead Bay have been complaining for months about the “booze boats” that dock late at night, bring crowds that are boisterous, to say the least.
"They come and go at odd hours, and actually they’re relatively impolite," said Rich McManus, who lives on a sailboat docked at Sheepshead Bay. "Most places we go are quiet at night, but these folks have their own traditions, I guess. As late as four in the morning, they’re heading out. It’s ridiculous times.”
But now -- to McManusand other residents' relief -- that's about to change. That's because a curfew requiring all boats to be docked by 11 p.m will be implemented starting next spring at dock in Sheepshead Bay, effectively eliminating the midnight sails that many companies offer.
New York State Rep. Steven Cymbrowitz said the curfew is the first step to curbing noise, pollution and drunken fighting on the otherwise quiet waterside neighborhood in Brooklyn.
“Many of the people came off the boat, and they were rowdy, they were noisy, they got into fights. They urinated, defecated on people’s lawns,” said Cymbrowitz.
But some locals such as Rojas Hendox have a different perception of the partying crowds. He says, for the most part, they’re peaceful, and he thinks the curfew is unfair to boat owners.
“For them to blame the boats — yeah, people have a good time, but as soon as the boats come back, they leave. They leave in an orderly fashion and go home,” he said. “11 o’clock is bad. It’s no good for nobody. I don’t think it’s right.”
Local
Still, city and state leaders want to take measures further than just a curfew. At a town hall meeting in Brooklyn on Thursday, Mayor de Blasio even promised to work to move party boats to a different location altogether.
“We’re not putting the boat owners out of business. We’re just saying they should be moved to a different location,” Cymbrowitz said.
