GL: Update on Great Kills, Staten Island

[Lawrence Zeitlin]

I used to live on Staten Island and kept a boat in the Great Kills  
harbor, but that was when Staten Island was a small sleepy borough of  
Gotham. I received an update on conditions from George Hechtman today  
to pass along.

On Apr 10, 2009, at 9:54 AM, George Hechtman wrote:
> Larry, I don't subscribe to the GL list anymore but saw your post  
> in the archive this morning. We use Great Kills whenever we are In  
> NYC. A few points:
>
> There is very limited anchoring room anymore, the harbor is filled  
> with moorings administered by the friendly Richmond Yacht Club.
>
> The best marinas to use are the yacht club if you qualify,  
> Atlantis, and Mansion (least costly). This way you can walk to the  
> nearby restaurants, marine stores,  nice little village and bus.  
> The state marina is a long ways from anything.
>
> It is closer to a 45 minute bus ride to the ferry. Once we learned  
> that through experience, we started taking the express "X" busses  
> ($5) that go all the way up through lower Manhattan to Central  
> Park; very convenient, with stops right on Hylan near the marinas.   
> The convenience stores/deli in the village sell the metro cards  
> which make using all the transit systems very convenient. I suppose  
> everyone should take the ferry at least once, it is good  
> orientation to when you will be transiting the harbor yourself.
>
> We really enjoy Great Kills; it has become a destination for us.  
> For refueling and pump out, it is worth a side trip to Atlantic  
> Highlands where prices are excellent, but it is a long and  
> expensive ($40) ferry ride to Manhattan if you anchor/moor or dock  
> there.
>
> We have taken to anchoring in Haverstraw Bay, off Croton point,  
> nice setting.


Great Kills harbor is insulated from most sea conditions. Large waves  
can't get in the small entrance channel. No rolling. When I was  
there, Great Kills was surrounded by middle class housing, usually  
inhabited by folks of Norwegian ancestry. It was as safe as any urban  
area can be. In fact crime in the NYC area is lower than in most  
large cities. If you really want to live dangerously, walk around in  
Washington D.C., Jersey City, or Miami at night.

I agree with George about a Haverstraw Bay anchorage. Tuck into the  
cove just north of Croton Point. There is 8 feet of water over a hard  
sand and clay bottom. Very good holding. Dinghy into the Croton town  
dock. Croton has some very good restaurants within walking distance.  
There is a gourmet supermarket, Zetina's, adjacent to a CVS, a liquor  
store, a Dunkin Donuts, a good Japanese restaurant, Samurari, a well  
stocked marine store. Zollers, a hardware store, a Chinese takeout, a  
pizza parlor, and a branch of the Hudson Valley hospital in case you  
eat too much. All of this is within three blocks of the town dock. It  
is also near the Metro North commuter railroad station for a NYC  
visit. If you anchor at Croton Point or use the adjacent Half Moon  
Bay marina, dinghy over to Croton Point Park for a little exercise.  
This is a large county park with hiking trails, a nature museum,  
athletic fields and basketball courts, a life guarded swimming area  
in season, rental cottages, and the ruins of the first commercial  
winery in the USA. The stone wine cellars are still there. Using the  
park is free. There is a charge for parking if you come by car but no  
charge if you dinghy in.

Larry Z