Establish a Permanent NYPD Harbor Unit Base in the Bronx to Protect Residents and Our Waterways

For years, residents of City Island, Throggs Neck, Country Club, Edgewater Park, and surrounding Bronx waterfront communities have endured sleepless nights due to large, illegal boat gatherings in Eastchester Bay, Long Island Sound, and nearby waters.

These gatherings often involve dozens of boats rafted together, blasting amplified music with heavy bass late into the night and into the early morning hours. The bass carries for miles across the water, disturbing thousands of residents who are simply trying to sleep, work, and enjoy their homes.

While the NYPD Harbor Unit responds when possible, officers often travel from bases outside the Bronx. By the time they arrive, the boats may have dispersed or temporarily lowered the volume, only for the disturbance to resume once patrols leave. This cycle repeats weekend after weekend throughout the boating season.

This is more than a quality-of-life issue.

These gatherings raise serious concerns about:

Public safety and emergency response times
Boating under the influence
Illegal rafting and reckless vessel operation
Excessive noise affecting nearby communities
Potential environmental impacts on sensitive marine habitats
The Bronx is the only New York City borough with extensive waterfront access that lacks a dedicated NYPD Harbor Unit base. With miles of shoreline, busy recreational boating, commercial marine traffic, and growing waterfront neighborhoods, our borough deserves the same level of protection and enforcement as other parts of the city.

We are calling on the City of New York, the NYPD, and our elected officials to establish a permanent NYPD Harbor Unit base in the Bronx. A local harbor base would:

Improve emergency response times on Bronx waterways.
Increase proactive enforcement instead of reactive responses.
Better address illegal overnight boat gatherings and excessive noise.
Enhance public safety for boaters, residents, and first responders.
Protect the environmental health of Eastchester Bay, Long Island Sound, and surrounding waterways.
Residents should not have to spend every summer reporting the same violations while losing sleep night after night. A permanent Harbor Unit presence would provide the resources needed to enforce existing laws consistently and protect both our communities and our waterways.

If you believe Bronx residents deserve safe, peaceful neighborhoods and effective marine law enforcement, please sign this petition and share it with your friends, neighbors, and elected officials.

Together, we can ensure the Bronx receives the Harbor Unit resources it deserves.