COPY OF FINAL SUBMISSION

Below is the final letter that the Guild sent to the Government concerning SOL security zone rulemaking.  This letter, as well as the supporting documents, incorporated recommendations made by individuals as well as human-powered boating leaders.  They were electronically filed before the deadline and are posted at:
 
http://www.regulations.gov/search/search_results.jsp?css=0&N=0&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchall&Ne=2+8+11+8053+8054+8098+8074+8066+8084+8055&Ntt=uscg-2007-0074&sid=11B025D045E0
 
We were able to state with confidence that the 12 organizations which contributed to and endorsed the recommendations account for about 80% of paddlers and rowers in the area.  We know the Coast Guard and National Park Service are carefully considering all of our comments about safety and access for human-powered boaters around the Statue of Liberty, and are urging them to continue discussing this matter with our community as they move forward.

Check back to get udates as this issue moves forward in the coming months.

Comments and Suggestions from Human Powered Boaters
Regarding Docket Number USCG-2007-0074
PROPOSED EXPANSION OF STATUE AND ELLIS ISLAND SECURITY ZONE

Each year thousands of paddlers and rowers boat the public waters in the Statue of Liberty area, along with hundreds of thousands of visitors on motorized private and passenger vessels.  The docketed proposed changes to the Statue/Ellis security zones could make the area more dangerous and less enjoyable for the operators of human powered vessels.

A number of human powered boating organizations, independent rowers and paddlers have communicated their concerns about the new proposed security zone expansion to LCDR Michael McBrady and other personnel in the USCG Waterway Management Division, Sector New York. LCDR McBrady responded that if the human powered community proposed a " 'kayaker corridor' between/behind the islands [to] improve safety while not being detrimental to security (i.e. kayaks are small and slow and not the vector of choice for terrorists trying to injure land based tourists or sink vessels) that would definitely be considered as an option by the USCG and USPS." This letter and attached Proposals are submitted in the context of LCDR McBrady’s suggestion, to help solve potential safety issues that would be created by the new zone.

Our specific concerns are:

The water on the east side of Liberty and Ellis Islands is often rough and exposed to winds. While experienced paddlers may enjoy exercising their skills in such conditions, those conditions can present difficulties for less experienced paddlers and rowers.  This situation is exacerbated by the heavy motorized passenger and recreational vessel traffic which transits just outside the security zone boundary.

The public water between the islands and New Jersey is often much calmer and sheltered than is the more open water east of the islands, and can provide safer passage for human powered vessels under some weather and water conditions, as well as access to takeouts in New Jersey in the event of severe weather.

The existing “public corridor” between Liberty and Ellis Islands serves two important purposes: 1) passage between the Hudson and the New Jersey shore, including Liberty State Park, without having to paddle further south and going around Liberty Island in what may be rough conditions; 2) for other paddlers and water conditions, that same passage between Liberty and Ellis Islands allows circumnavigation of Liberty Island, which is a traditional experience that has been enjoyed by paddlers and rowers for decades.

Before the current security zones were established, the passage between Ellis Island and the New Jersey shore had historically been a sheltered route for human powered boaters to and from Liberty Island. It would be very desirable to reopen that route so that human powered boaters can use that passage again rather than always having to pass Ellis Island on the more open water east of the island.

It would improve safety on the eastern side of the islands if human powered boaters had the option to paddle closer to the islands than the 400 yard limit being set for motorized vessels.
We urge the Coast Guard to amend the proposed rules and allow passage of human powered vessels within the boundaries of the planned new Statue/Ellis security zone, and submit three options for your consideration, as detailed in the following PDFs:

Proposal A: Keep the current 150 yard security zone in effect for human powered vessels, and open up an additional corridor along the New Jersey shore under the Ellis Island bridge.  This would provide additional safe paddling and rowing options in the area, and would reduce interactions with motorized vessels. The current buoys could be retained for human powered boaters and would be easy for them to comply with and for enforcement agencies to monitor.

Proposal B: Designate a 75 yard corridor for human powered vessels just inside the planned 400 yard exclusion zone and along the New Jersey shore, including under the Ellis Island bridge.  In addition, provide a 200 yard wide corridor between the islands, maintaining a 150 yard security zone around them. 

Proposal C: Designate a 75 yard corridor for human powered vessels just inside the planned 400 yard exclusion zone and along the New Jersey shore.  This would not require additional buoys as the paddlers and rowers would just have to stay within 75 yards of the new buoys and of the New Jersey shoreline.  The proposed reopening of a 75 yard passage at the western end of the Ellis Island Bridge would follow the same shoreline perimeter. A 75 yard corridor between Ellis and Liberty Islands would also be needed, and could be marked in much the same way as the recreational boat channel to Liberty State Park. 

Compared to Option ‘A’ and ‘B’, Option ‘C’ would require more precise navigation and control by human powered boaters, and would lengthen their paddling distances on Statue of Liberty circumnavigations.

The human-powered boating community would of course welcome other solutions to the problem that take into consideration the safety concerns outlined above.


These comments and proposed solutions have been drawn from the experiences of many of the most seasoned paddlers and rowers in the area – leaders of paddling and rowing organizations and commercial kayak touring companies whose members, clients and program participants account for more than 80% of the human powered boating traffic in the area. Among those organizations endorsing this submittal are:

Atlantic Kayak Tours
Hudson River Paddlers Guild
Hudson River Watertrail Association
Long Island City Community Boathouse
Manhattan Kayak Company
New York Kayak Company
New York Outriggers
New York River Sports
Red Hook Boaters
Sebago Canoe Club
The Downtown Boathouse
Village Community Boathouse

In addition these individuals also registered thier support for the proposal:

Fiona Cousins
Andrea Hecht
Jeff Folmsbee
Steve DelGaudio
Eric Peress
Bob Volin
Peter Collins
Mike Fischbein
Mike Fischbein
Peter Riley
VincentJ Kain
Tom Hennes
Marcus Demuth
April Tam
Paul Mallery
David Rhodes
William Haase
Roger Hodge
Stevie McAllister
James Lang
Joseph Calto
elizabeth green
Olly Gotel
Nancy Brous
nachum cohen
Diane Silvergleid
Susan Brettell
Kate DeRoberts
Lucas Liu
Mo Fridlich
Yvonne Collery
Carl Shannon
martin cohen
Claire Sommer
Andrew Burtsell
Harry Bubbins
Jeff Repka
Thomas Dowling
Chong Piper
Ron Kleiman
Mark Handy
Richard Muller