Built in 1915 and owned and operated ever since by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC), the Englewood Boat Basin, which is actually located in Englewood Cliffs, is home to a marina with more than 130 boats, picnic tables, a playground and trails that lead south to Ross Dock and the Fort Lee-Edgewater border and north to NY State. This section of the park also includes Bloomer's Beach, a popular spot in the 1920s and 1930s for swimming in the Hudson.
The future of the marina is in jeopardy. With fewer services than other marinas in the area, the Englewood marina charges lower fees, enabling river access to people of different incomes.
"It’s the one place where blue-collar workers can afford to dock," says Charles Stamm, an auto-parts dealer who has been fishing the Hudson for 21 years.
Without a major renovation since the 1960s, the marina requires approximately $1.5 million in capital improvements to replace pilings and the break wall, according to James Hall, superintendent of the 13-mile-long New Jersey section of the park. Raising docking fees may be of little help. Those who could afford the higher price may go to a commercial marina, where services will match the price; some simply won't be able to afford other marinas. Transferring the boats to the nearby Alpine boat basin, also run by PIPC, is of little help. Alpine is at near capacity.
Currently, PIPC does not have the funds to pay for the project, and the state has not committed money. Some PIPC commissioners question whether PIPC or state money, if ever available, should be used for the project which would only benefit a limited population.
Even if the marina had the funding for the improvements, it would need to be dredged to allow better sailboat access. Many sailboats can't enter or leave the marina except at high tide. However, the Hackensack Riverkeeper, Bill Sheehan, and others have expressed concerns about the proposed dredging process.
Closing the marina would represent the loss of a boating community and one fewer access points to the river. Josh Hyman, a sailboat owner, Englewood resident and board member of the Friends of the Palisades, fears that public support to prevent further pollution in the river would wane should the marina close.
So, for now, the question remains: Should it be saved, and, if so, who should pay for it?
Editor's Note: Stephen Borg is a board member of the Friends of the Palisades.
