Babylon Town posting pictures of abandoned boats on web to find owners and fine them
Public safety chief says more than a dozen vessels were dumped last year in marinas and on land, leaving the town with a $5,000 tab to properly dispose of them.
By Rachel O'Brien rachel.obrien.newsday.com Updated May 28, 2019 6:00 AM
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To track down people who abandon their boats in the Town of Babylon, officials are trying a new tack: Shame.
Pat Farrell, the town’s head of public safety, said he gets calls every year about boats abandoned on public streets, in waterways or tied to town docks.
“In the past, people would just dump a boat in a marina,” Farrell said. “Now they’re getting more creative and dumping it in an industrial park.”
Or on a dead-end street, tied to a utility pole, he added.
Some boat owners get in over their heads when they purchase the vessel, underestimating the cost of repairs and upkeep, and simply dump it instead of paying costly disposal fees, Farrell said.
Although boats built in the mid-1970s or later come with a hull identification number, known as a HIN, most owners grind them down or cut them out of the boat so there’s no way to identify the vessel or its owner once it’s dumped, Farrell said. About 10 boats were abandoned on town property in recent years, but last year there were 15, and this year is on pace to match that number, town officials said.
Farrell and his staff are hoping a new Abandoned Boat Wall of Shame will stem the tide.
The wall of shame is posted on the town website and features photos of the boats, the dates they were found and where. The town will continue posting the boats on Facebook. If officials can find the owner, they’re assessed dumping fees plus the costs associated with properly disposing of the boat, which Farrell estimated is about $5,000.
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