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Eco Dock coming to the 69th Street Pier

May 2, 2012 Denise Romano

The Eco Dock will be connected to the pier as depicted in the above illustration.

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Bay Ridge will soon have direct access to the waterfront with an Eco Dock, planned to be built adjacent to the 69^th Street Pier.

Community residents, educators and leaders met at the Bay Ridge Library with the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance on April 26 to discuss the dock, which will be used solely for recreational and educational purposes and maintained by the Parks Departments Marine Division. The eco dock is expected to open in either fall, 2012, or spring, 2013.

For two decades, you couldnt get the bay to the Ridge or the Ridge to the bay its time we change that, said Roland Lewis, president of the MWA. Its part of creating a citywide comprehensive waterfront.

The Eco Dock will be a floating dock, located in the front and on the left side of the pier, with two platforms and a ramp that will move with the tide and be able to withstand winter weather. One platform will be used to access larger boats and the other will be for kayak use. Combination locks will be used to secure the area when it is not use.

Schools will be able to use the Eco Dock to study marine life via fish pots and fowling nests. There is also a possibility that recreational vessels, like the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, the Mystic Whaler schooner and the John J. Harvey Fireboat, could come to the pier to pick up and drop off passengers.

Councilmember Vincent Gentile, who was able to allocate the lions share of funds to build the $750,000 pier, noted that it will help boost Bay Ridges economy. If boats are a mode of transportation, people can come in and have dinner on Third Avenue, he explained. The economy is bad and people are hurting, but this is an exciting project that we can provide to people.

Since the dock has the potential to be a major attraction for all of southern Brooklyn, representatives from organizations such as the New York Aquarium, the Gowanus Dredgers Club and the Sebago Canoe Club came to give some insight.

We have to be safety conscious; that is very important, said Tony Pignatello from the Sebago Canoe Club. Jamaica Bay is protected, but currents here are pretty strong. You really have to know what you are doing out there.

Community Board 10 member Jean Ryan expressed the need for accessibility by those with disabilities. I just want everyone to really think about access because if you dont think about from the beginning, it will come up later and cost more money and affect more people, she said.

Residents brought up issues that still need to be ironed out, such as restroom access and kayaking regulations, with some worrying that people might injure themselves in the high-traffic waterway. Lots of Ridgeites come to Canarsie there are lots of experienced rowers here, Pignatello commented. You cant prevent some idiot from going out there.

Thomas Greene, from Friends of Denyse Wharf, added, Maybe in the long run we can come together and get something connected, he said. We can have kayaks travel to the wharf.

Lewis encouraged residents to think about Eco Docks possibilities and to share ideas with him. We are going to need civic involvement to manage this, its going to take many hands to make this work well, he concluded.