NYCkayaker Kayak Fee Reduction!

[Robert Huszar]

Hi all,

We just received permission to run this article, which ran in the news 
section of the lower Hudson Valley (http://www.lohud.com) and was written 
by Aman Ali. It came to us via Lee Goldsmith, the president of HRWA, who 
thought it would be of interest to our subscribers.

Bob Huszar


Mamaroneck kayakers persuade village to lower daily launch fees By Aman 
Ali (aali@lohud.com) June 24, 2010

MAMARONECK -- A group of residents have persuaded the village to lower its 
fees to launch a kayak in the Mamaroneck harbor.


The village currently charges $20 a day for residents to park by the 
harbor and launch their kayaks off a public ramp. A yearly pass costs $80. 
"I think it's discouraging because a lot of the people going kayaking are 
local residents,"said David Hellerstein, founder of the group Kayakers 
Alliance of Larchmont and Mamaroneck. "If you're on a limited budget, it's 
hard." In response to the kayakers' protests, Village Manager Richard 
Slingerland said the board will vote during its next meeting June 28 to 
lower the daily fees to $5 to park a vehicle and $5 per kayak to launch 
from the harbor's ramp. The price for a season pass will stay the same. 
Village harbormaster Joseph Russo said the village has always charged fees 
to launch kayaks but it wasn't until this year that they really enforced 
the fees. "It's a very fair price, I feel," Russo said. "You can use the 
ramp whenever you want all year long for 80 bucks. It's a pretty good 
deal." Hellerstein raised the kayakers' concerns at a Village Board of 
Trustees meeting earlier this month. The alliance of around 150 is an 
informal networking group of local residents who kayak in Long Island 
Sound. Hellerstein said he's seen more people get interested in kayaking 
since the group started about four years ago. "It's become more popular 
because it's an accessible sport," he said. "Plus the Sound is cleaner 
these days, and people who are interested in outdoor activities see the 
Sound as an attractive place to kayak in." Hellerstein said he'd like to 
see the village also lower seasonal fees. New Rochelle charges $55 a 
season to launch kayaks, and Westchester County only charges for parking 
to launch kayaks at the beach near Playland in Rye. "Eighty dollars just 
seems a little high for what is essentially a three-month season," 
Hellerstein said. He emphasized both he and his fellow kayakers don't want 
to be seen as being at odds with the village. "We really appreciate how 
the mayor, village manager and trustees have been willing to listen to us 
and discuss our ideas further," he said. Mayor Norm Rosenblum said he 
thinks the seasonal fees are fair and the board doesn't plan to lower 
them. "We voted on these fees, and the way we passed it was based on the 
recommendation of our Parks and Recreation Department and our 
harbormaster," he said. "Personally, I think it's reasonable."