NYCkayaker boathouses on the Hudson river in NYC

[MC]

Eric Baard's crack about going to NJ to launch brings to my Jersey mind the
following observations. To paddle in Lake Sebago in Harriman St. Park, New
York I need to purchase yearly permit (now up to $25), but to paddle a few
miles away in Monksville Reservoir, New Jersey, I need no such permit;
similarly to paddle in Wawayanda St. Park, New Jersey, I only need to pay a
parking fee, which is only collected during the busy park usage.

I am guessing that Jersey has realized that collecting small fees are more
bureaucratic trouble than they are worth, whereas New York loves bureaucracy
(?). 

Also, in Harriman St. Park, to hike (or do anything other than boat)
requires no permit. I am guessing that these boating fees are imposed by New
York simply because somehow in the distant past they originated, and now
nobody in the bureaucracy wants to stand up and change things.

Also note that the parking fee in Wawayanda applies to anybody parking in
the park, not just boaters.

I am not sure if there are any significant conclusions to be drawn from the
above, but I felt the above contrasts were worth mentioning in the context
of the role of the bureaucracy in administering public facilities. (By the
way I am among those who believe that 'bureaucracy' is not necessarily a
dirty word, after all those who rescue us from perilous situations usually
caused by our own stupidity, our part of the bureaucracy).

Marty Cohen