Parks Dept. tows abandoned boat in Pelham Bay Park as part of citywide cleanup effort

The Parks Department says 350 boats from city waterways have been removed in the last five years.

News 12 Staff

Feb 11, 2021, 2:01 AM

Updated 1,331 days ago

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The New York City Parks Department towed an abandoned boat off the shoreline in a removal and cleanup effort in Pelham Bay Park Wednesday morning. 
It is an issue they are dealing with citywide. The Parks Department says 350 boats from city waterways have been removed in the last five years.
On Wednesday, the department said it is dealing with what it calls a few “derelict” vessels that have littered the shoreline of Pelham Bay Park for the last few months. 
After receiving funding from the New York City Council, led by Councilman Mark Gjonaj, the city was able to get the boat removed Wednesday and towed to a local marina where it will be taken apart and disposed of properly. 
"It can be a safety hazard if people climb it. You can see there’s been some graffiti on this boat. But it’s also an environmental issue. There’s fluids in there, there’s oils, there’s gases. If this were ever to sink that can really get into our waterways and hurt the ecosystem and then it can also be a navigational hazard, in a future storm these things can come loose,” said Nate Grove, the chief of citywide waterfront and marine operations for the Parks Department.