By A.J. Arias
The Greenwood Lake Commission took several comments from boaters and fishermen asking for assistance into looking into a public launch into the lake. Commissioner Kelly Tuturro, representing the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, and Eric Pain, representing the New York Department of Environmental Protection, have both said that their respective organizations are committed to looking into a public launch into the lake for boaters and fishermen. Both also admitted that fixing the issue would be a long-term solution and not something that could easily happen in the short-term.
At the time of meeting, the Commission could not offer a name of any marina that was currently allowing for bay entry into the lake during weekends. Many of the public comments brought up to the Commission that fishermen and boaters pay licenses to have access to public waterways. Greenwood is a public lake, which however currently has no public access point.
The commenters supported the idea of a public launch at Brown’s Point on the New Jersey end of the Lake. Additionally, there is a possibility of a partnership with the Boy Scouts for a public launch on the New York end of the lake. Both suggestions are not certain and remain only possibilities.
Not all of the Commissioners were on board with the suggestions. It was noted by Commissioner Paul Sullivan that Brown’s Point already suffers from a lot of traffic and that a public launch there could create a bottleneck.
The Commission stood by the idea that private marinas have the power to do as they see fit to run their own business. It was also mentioned that many of the Marinas are very busy and don’t have the room to allow for more public boaters. Additionally, they would be consumed with business if they were the only ones that opened to the public.
The issue is ongoing and many of the commenters said they will be returning to future meetings to see what progress will be made.
Next Meeting
The next meeting will be on Wed., May 26 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Check the Commission’s website for information at GWLC.org.
