For 18 years, George and Elena and their son, Edward, have lived on a 34-foot, two-room houseboat docked in a slip at the World's Fair Marina in Flushing Bay. But in 1999, the city reclaimed management of the marina, near La Guardia Airport, from a private company. In the last two years, George claims, it has refused to accept his payments for the slip and electricity, denied the family a key to the marina gate and locked the public bathrooms in winter.
The city filed a lawsuit on Sept. 10 in Queens Supreme Court that charges the family has flouted rules prohibiting "live-aboards" at the marina. It also accuses the family of dumping waste into the bay and asks for $7,800 in fees and utility charges.
The boat is without an engine and immobile, which the city claims is also against marina rules.
"It's discrimination," said George, citing houseboats at a city marina on the Hudson that have been allowed to stay.
Several of the 52 houseboats at the 79th Street Boat Basin, which has had a year-round community of residents for decades, are also immobile. After years of fighting with the city over whether the boat-basin residents should be allowed to live at that public marina, the city agreed to grandfather in 50 or so boats.
CITY ROCKS THE BOAT ON DOCK SQUATTERS
5 comments:
How dare this guy take up space that Mayor Bloomberg billioniare friends cannot dock their super boats there instead!
Notice the preferential double-standard that boaters on Manhattan's Upper West Side receive.
They tried pulling this on 40 houseboaters in Port Washington on Manhasset Isle to put up waterfront condos via imminent domain.
(A developer came to the Mayer in a sweet stealthy deal)
.....The Mayor was thrown out of office last November
buy a motor and leave!
Sorry to hear this kind of thing happening again and again. It's just so sad when politicians and business people do not care that they are creating such misery. It's happening over here too in the uk. One Family has been fighting their ground for compensation for years, just recenty taking their case to the Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Big buisness, bullying and the love of money, it's all over. Check out the Family site at www.mvpicton.co.uk
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