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QUEENS WEEKLY, JULY 19, 2020
Beechhurst resident claims rafting boats, loud
music are disrupting waterfront community
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Irene Bernstein-Pechmèze
is fed up with the
nightly recurring loud music
from boat passengers
that she says is deteriorating
the quality-of-life for
residents who live along the
waterfront in Beechhurst.
“There are a varying
number of boats out there
and it usually starts at
around 6 p.m. and they
raft up — many of them
with their own jet skis on
board — and it’s a flight
of the bumble bees for
hours,” Pechmèze said. “I
understand from the harbor
police that that kind of
personal watercraft device
is illegal after sunset, but
they don’t care. You can
even hear the loud booming
music while the air
conditioner is on and it’s
mind boggling.”
According to Pechmèze,
the nightly rafting of boats
on Little Neck Bay opposite
of Le Havre Co-ops at 168-
01 12th Ave. in Beechhurst
have become a public nuisance
for residents whose
apartments face the Throgs
Neck Bridge along the waterfront.
“It’s just a wonderful
place to live — until now,”
said Pechmèze, who left
town for a few days to get
some peace and quiet. “The
stress of waiting — is it
close to 6 p.m. and are the
boats out there again? I
can’t even sit outside in the
evening and read a book because
they’re out there.”
Overly frustrated, Pechmèze
decided to take action
by making phone calls to
311, the US Coast Guard,
NYPD 109th Precinct,
NYPD Harbor Unit, filing a
complaint with the mayor’s
office, Senator John Liu
and Councilmember Paul
Vallone’s office.
“The 311 operator insisted
that he needed a ‘street
address’ to report the incident,”
Pechmèze said. “It
was difficult to convince
him that the noise in question
was not coming from a
street location but from the
middle of Little Neck Bay.”
Rafting of boats on Little Neck Bay opposite of Le Havre Co-ops in Beechhurst have become a public nuisance for residents whose apartments face the Throgs
Neck Bridge along the waterfront. Photo courtesy of Irene Bernstein-Pechmeze
Pechmèze’s complaints
were also forwarded to the
NYC Department of Environmental
Protection to no
avail, she said.
Although the NYPD
109th Precinct was able to get
the Harbor Unit to show up
and disperse the boats one
night, it didn’t stop the party
from returning the following
night and every night thereafter,
Pechmèze said.
When Pechmèze contacted
the precinct’s NCOs
yet again, requesting them
to contact the Harbor Police
to disperse the boats,
she was told, “We have no
phone number for the Harbor
Police.”
“If you google the NYC
Harbor Police, the phone
number is there… If I can
find the phone number, the
officer can too,” Pechmèze
said.
While Pechmèze has
been making phone calls reporting
the illegal boating
activity, her neighbors have
expressed gratitude for her
efforts in spearheading the
uprising against the matter
which has never been the
case before, she said.
“The board and residents
are appreciative of
Irene’s efforts to deal with
this,” said Margaret Costello,
general manager of
Le Havre Owners Corporation.
“She has been on this
every night because she
experiences the noise first
hand. She’s been diligent
and constantly working
and she receives credit for
the time she puts in.”
Though Costello
doesn’t live in the building
along the waterfront,
she has made calls to
the precinct as well to
help bring some relief to
residents.
After numerous phone
calls and emails, the precinct
contacted Pechmèze
and Costello via email informing
them that they
spoke with NYPD Community
Affairs and the Harbor
Police. They were told that
if they ever heard or observed
anything to call the
precinct.
A statement sent to QNS
from the NYPD’s 109th
Precinct said “the NYPD
Harbor Unit is aware of the
situation and is always on
top of it.”
“Every time we get this
type of complaint, the 109th
Precinct Desk Officer or
the officer on Telephone
Switchboard will notify
our NYPD Harbor Unit
(Harbor Sector G) immediately,
then their supervisor
will dispatch a NYPD boat
to the location,” said Officer
Ares Huang.
According to Huang, the
precinct has received complaints
in the past summer
about rafting boats.
“As you know, the 109th
Precinct patrol unit cannot
get into the waterway to
stop this type of issue, but
we always forwarded complaints
to our Harbor Unit,”
Huang said.
In the meanwhile, Pechmèze
said she has forwarded
a letter to the deputy
inspector of the Harbor
Police and the commanding
officer of NYPD Queens
North regarding the issue
and lack of response by the
NCOs.
“I have exhausted every
possible avenue to get
some attention paid to this
and to hopefully find a solution
for us,” Pechmèze
said. “I’ve always felt privileged
to live in a beautiful
apartment with this view
on the waterfront, but with
the partying at night and
the shenanigans, someone
needs to find out why this
particular area has been
selected for this kind of
public nuisance.”
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4526.