Posted on January 27, 2025
After boaters raised concerns with the Advance/SILive.com, the city Parks Department has issued an update on planned dredging at Lemon Creek Marina in Prince’s Bay.
“The dredging work is part of a larger Parks capital project to repair waterfront infrastructure at Lemon Creek Marina damaged by Hurricane Sandy,” the department said. “This project will include the installation of five additional recreational boating slips on the footprint of the former marina clubhouse building, providing greater opportunity for boaters to access Raritan Bay.”
Parks said that it anticipates completing the design phase of the project by May of this year.
“Following our anticipated procurement process timeline of 9-12 months, construction would begin spring or summer 2026,” the agency said.
Boaters who have berths at the marina, including members of the Princess Bay Boatmen’s Association, have complained that it is taking too long for the proposed work to come to fruition.
“Everyone’s definitely frustrated,” said Brian White, commodore of the association. “It’s taken a lot longer than they said it would. We’re a little concerned.”
He said that the group had dredged the channel on its own three years ago, with group members kicking in money for the work.
“We’re probably good for another couple of years,” White said.
He said that the association has 82 members, who pay $80 per foot based on the size of their vessel for a berth at the marina in the summertime. There are 241 berths at the marina, White said.
“I want the Parks Department to do their job and dredge it out like they told us,” said boat owner Pete Wright, who is not a member of the boatmen’s association. “It’s not like they don’t have the money. All we get is excuses.”
Wright said that at one point he measured just three inches of water in the channel.
He said he got stuck off shore for six hours one time waiting for the tide to come in so he could return to the marina.
Wright said that this past year “was the worst” in terms of low water in the channel.
A number of Staten Island waterfront areas were damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
But boaters at Lemon Creek Marina had been concerned about the water depth there even before Sandy.
The Advance in 2009 detailed how the boaters had long struggled getting their vessels in and out of their slips when the tide goes out.
The boatmen’s former clubhouse building collapsed last April.
More info on the current dredging project can be found here.
