{"id":311003,"date":"2026-07-31T19:16:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T19:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/311003\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T19:16:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T19:16:19","slug":"aoc-helps-secure-federal-funding-to-remove-abandoned-vessels-from-nyc-waterways-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/311003\/","title":{"rendered":"AOC helps secure federal funding to remove abandoned vessels from NYC waterways \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez joined Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura on the shores of Flushing Bay in College Point<\/a> Wednesday, July 29, to announce over $2 million in federal funding to remove abandoned vessels from the South Bronx, northern Queens and Brooklyn<\/p>\n

The $2.3 million grant, made available by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program with the support of Ocasio-Cortez, will support the removal of 1 million pounds of abandoned vessels and marine debris across the city.<\/p>\n

The NYC Parks Office of Marine Debris Disposal and Vessel Surrendering, a first-in-the-state office formed in April 2024 with the support of Council Members Joann Ariola and Selvena Brooks-Powers, has already removed over 500 tons of abandoned vessels and debris since its formation.<\/p>\n

The federal funding will also facilitate a new vessel turn-in program, allowing boat owners to surrender their vessels to the city before they become derelict, making them much easier to remove from the water.<\/p>\n

\"AnAn abandoned vessel is removed from Flushing Bay. Photo by Shane O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n

Shimamura said abandoned vessels pose a significant public safety hazard by releasing microplastics and oil into the city\u2019s waterways, while they also pose a substantial navigation hazard for vessels traveling throughout the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll New Yorkers deserve to enjoy a healthy and safe natural environment, whether they\u2019re taking a boat out into the bay or simply taking in the views,\u201d Shimamura said at the event near Big Rock Beach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She said the federal funding will help the Parks Department expand its \u201ccritical work\u201d in making the city \u201csafer, greener and more welcoming.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t take a rocket science to see that this is what we should be doing,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ocasio-Cortez, meanwhile, said abandoned and half-sunken vessels also create an \u201ceye-sore\u201d for local residents, pointing to the half-sunken vessels in Flushing Bay near College Point.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThese vessels are not just unfortunate to look at; they pose serious risks to our community safety and the marine life we all depend on,\u201d Ocasio-Cortez said. \u201cWhen these boats decay, oil, rust, and fiberglass break off, and our waterways are polluted with chemicals and microplastics.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AnAn abandoned vessel near Big Rock Beach in College Point. Photo by Shane O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n

Ocasio-Cortez said NYC Parks\u2019 efforts to clean the city\u2019s waterways, including removing abandoned vessels and introducing new oyster populations, has already had tangible results, pointing to the return of dolphins in the Bronx River.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are noticing that wildlife is coming back,\u201d she said. \u201cYou take a look at some of the boats (being removed), you have no idea how long some of them have been there.\u201d<\/p>\n

NYC Parks Marina Manager Nate Grove said there are as many as 600 abandoned vessels along the city\u2019s 520-mile coastline, adding that some vessels will never be removed because they have become a habitat for local wildlife. Others, however, must be removed because of the threats they pose to the same wildlife, he added. Abandoned vessels can also cause property damage if they are moved during stormy weather and pose navigation hazards for other boats in the water.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of these may get submerged, you can\u2019t see them. You get property damage during extreme weather events,\u201d Grove said. \u201cThen you\u2019ve got the environmental components: the leaching of resins, toxins that hold these boats together. The\u00a0leaking of microplastics into our marine ecosystem, and then fuels and oils that leak as well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AnAn abandoned vessel is removed from Flushing Bay. Photo by Shane O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n

NYC Parks is partnering with local non-profit Coastal Preservation Network<\/a> to carry out the initiative.<\/p>\n

Kat Cervino, the organization\u2019s president and co-founder, said the non-profit has been doing \u201cgreat work\u201d in rehabilitating the local coastline in College Point over the past 25 years but added that it can \u201conly do so much.\u201d She said the initiative was about showing respect to the local working-class community.<\/p>\n

\u201cRespect for a community\u00a0is inherently tied to respecting its environment,\u201d Cervino said. \u201d For many years, it has seemed to us in College Point that the more affluent communities in Manhattan and Brooklyn, where there\u2019s high-end developments, have gotten a lot of public investment in their waterways. Our time has come, and we\u2019re thrilled that the working-class community of College Point is finally getting the environmental respect it deserves.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez joined Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura on the shores of Flushing Bay in College…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311004,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[117618,117619,117620,116870,75,84,83,9,24,63,22458,93357,26889],"class_list":["post-311003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-abandoned-vessels","tag-big-rock-beach","tag-coastal-preservation-network","tag-flushing-bay","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-parks","tag-nyc-parks-commissioner-tricia-shimamura","tag-u-s-rep-alexandria-ocasio-cortez"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}