New York State No Longer Recognizes Ocean Ave Footbridge As Fishing Spot

We’re coming closer to a consensus on the issue of fishing on the Ocean Avenue footbridge.

We reported a couple of weeks ago that there was confusion regarding the rules against fishing on the bridge. The City’s Department of Transportation (DOT) specifically prohibits the activity, although their sign is unclear — people thought it meant no casting.

However, the bridge was on a list of fishing locations published by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz wrote a letter to the DEC asking them to be consistent with City laws regarding the bridge. The DEC listened and is going to take the location off of their fishing guide.

This all but cements the prohibition of fishing on the footbridge. However, some residents of the fishing village of Sheepshead Bay see no reason to not fish on the bridge.

“It doesn’t cause any public hazard other than hurting the people fishing there,” said a local fisherman who wished to remain anonymous. “It’s all political, like anything else.”

The footbridge is good for specific types of fishing. In the summertime, it’s a great spot for blue fish and striped bass, according to the fisherman. The winter brings the herring to the footbridge, which is a culinary staple in Russian cuisine.

Luckily, there are plenty of other spots to fish around southern Brooklyn.

“In the bay, you can fish anywhere along the sea wall on the Manhattan Beach side and the very end of Sheepshead Bay there’s a decent sized pier,” said the anonymous fisherman. “Along the beach at Mill Basin, anywhere along the beach where there’s public access is all good for fishing. The problem is parking. People are unwilling to walk a quarter mile to get there.”

A commenter on our last article about this issue brought up the idea of an expansion of the bridge to allow allotted space for fisherpeople to fish in peace.

“Everyone wins and we get to expand the beauty of the bay and increase the functionality of local infrastructure,” said Arthur Borko. “We get to honor the past and answer the complaints of the present.”

What do you guys think of that idea?