Cymbrowitz To Put More Cops On The Booze Cruise Beat

After a renewed uproar over party boaters sullying the Bay this year, Assemblymember Steven Cymbrowitz announced that extra cops will patrol a docking and tailgate-party infested Sheepshead Bay thoroughfare.

Starting this weekend, expect to see more cops and traffic enforcement agents on Emmons Avenue — and every weekend through the end of summer — to ticket double-parkers and public drinkers, bust illegal tailgate parties, and help quell the nagging quality-of-life issues that have plagued the Bay, said Cymbrowitz after meeting with 61st Precinct Captain James King.

“Everyone feels the pain equally,” he said, after getting a taste of the drama last weekend. Cymbrowitz said that he got caught in a massive traffic jam about a quarter mile back from Ocean Avenue and witnessed a rowdy scene at an outdoor restaurant.

It seems that officers will have their hands full with crowd control — between cruises coming and going, more than 3,000 people flood the docks, streets, and parking spaces at a time — and many of them are boozed up.

Cymbrowitz’s office was unable to specify the exact number of new officers but confirmed that the majority will be traffic enforcement agents. But as far as the number of cops previously assigned, staff said it can be summed up in two words: not enough.

As the summer began, many neighbors lamented the lack of police presence, but for others the problem is a capacity issue that demands subtracting people, not adding them. At a recent civic meeting, neighbors suggested moving drop off locations to Canarsie which could leave more parking for locals and solve the drunken, rowdy crowd problem.

Cymbrowitz also re-introduced a controversial party boat ban that he first unveiled in 2015.  The bill “was a conversation-starter that showed the party boat owners… they had to get their act together,” the Assembly member said in a statement yesterday. Critics of the bill claim the conflict has racial roots, pitting mostly white Bay residents against the largely Caribbean party boat clientele.

Atlantis boat owner Fred Ardolino told BKLYNER that his only prejudice is against disrespectful patrons. “Many people coming off the boats are zonked and intoxicated,” he said in June, citing regular fights and other offenses. “I don’t care what color they are.”

“We need to be proactive and do all we can to stop these problems from occurring in the first place,” said Cymbrowitz.

Do you think an influx of traffic cops will help ease quality of life issues in the Bay? Let us know in the comments below.