Dyckman Marina

We appreciate the support we have received from our community–hundreds of your neighbors have also written letters. We know some of you have received a response from Parks, so we wanted to clarify a few points and provide some updates

• HRCS was not informed in November 2022 Comm Board 12 Parks and Culture Committee that the Marina would be closed. HRCS did learn at the Nov 22 Community Board meeting that Parks planned to relocate the fishing pier into the marina footprint, a “radically” (committee chair’s word) different plan impacting the marina operation. You can watch the meeting here. This announcement toward the end of a 3-hr meeting was a huge surprise, and you can hear that surprise in my stumbling  questions.  You will also hear the committee only approving the resolution conditionally! (2:44, 3:10), and requesting that Parks return with a more detailed design for final approval.  It is our understanding that never happened. The presenter addresses the question of closure ambivalently (3:07). HRCS received notice of the closure a year later in Nov 2023 via a letter from the commissioner.
• Parks did not “offer” HRCS any locations. They suggested several places for us to look at–including 79th St, 125th St., and two Parks concessions in the east Bronx and Queens. None could even meet basic requirements. For instance, the concession in the East Bronx could only have sailboats enter or exit at mid-to-high tides! The 125th St Piers would require an infrastructure project similar in scope to the Dyckman one, including permitting, and millions of dollars of construction–if we could persuade New York Economic Development Corporation to even get behind it.  The 79th street A-Dock is part of the condemned marina, needs significant permitting and infrastructure, and is totally not accessible with the ongoing rotunda work. The local Conservancy group thought it was a terrible idea! If we could have started something there, it would likely have been shut down when Parks finally starts the stalled construction on the 79th St. Marina. We took these and their other suggestions seriously, and did our due diligence. None were viable.
• After HRCS requested a phasing/staging plan for over a year, Parks finally presented a plan in May of 2024. The plan was simple: add a floating dock to the existing fishing pier at the end of Dyckman which is slated to be torn down. Make the tear down the final part of the project. The price tag, $3M! The timeline to raise the money, June 30th–less than 2 months. Really? HRCS did have several lines on funding, but could not turn it around in that timeline. HRCS received a cost estimate from another large marine engineering firm that suggested it could be built for half that amount. We shared that with Parks. No response or help. Parks expressed in meetings that they were concerned on how such a pier could be staffed, even though they also assured their staff that their jobs are secure, even through the closure.
• If NYC Parks wanted to include a phasing solution it could have incorporated it from the beginning, and worked with us to develop a real solution that had minimal impact on their project.  It probably would require intermittent shut downs and other inconveniences. We are successfully working with the Gateway Project in Chelsea (one of the largest infrastructure projects in the country) to do just that.  But a total shut down is easier for Parks, and consistent with their playbook.  And the result is a total shut down of HRCS youth development, adaptive sailing for people living with disabilities, and member sailing at the Marina.

As of now, Parks maintains that the Marina is on schedule, will be closed at the end of this season. HRCS’s permit ends in April 2026, and by that time we are required to remove any items stored onsite. Parks has not answered our question as to what will happen if they are delayed: Will the marina stay open? Will HRCS be given an extension to its permit, or a Temporary Use Agreement?

We are concerned that Parks will take the docks out and shut down regardless of whether they are on schedule to start, and that Dyckman will remain closed down significantly longer than scheduled, like its Marina at 79th Street.

We will continue to try and get those answers, and keep you informed. Check out this video from News12 in the Bronx and story by THE CITY for two good pieces on the closure. We urge you to write back to Parks with your own questions or follow ups. I am happy to answer any questions you have as well about the process.

Sincerely,

Robert Burke, Executive Director