Sandy Hook access?

[cowherder]

Any updates? thanks

[bababooey]

I haven't heard of any closures. More info needed

[DarkSkies]

I'm happy to let you guys know that there's a new Ranger/enforcement officer stationed there, and this guy is great! He came up to us, asked us how the fishin was, was very pleasant, but all business. I'm not going into details because I don't want to make it easier for poachers, but this guy did a very thorough search of the vehicle for contraband, short fish.

He didn't just take our word for it whether we were fishin or not, or whether we caught or not. He did the search anyway, and I was glad to have him do it. He was all business. There are no shades of grey for this guy, you either comply with the law, or you're getting a ticket.

He told us he wrote up 7 separate tickets for short fluke that evening, and is beginning to have a record amount of citations written in the short time he's been there.

His name is Keith. I told him a lot of guys complain privately to me, and don't want to get involved because they feel nothing will be done.

He encouraged me, or anyone else, to call dispatch when you see violations. Don't confront the people doing it, just document it if you can, description of people and their vehicle, and put that call in. (732) 872-5900.


If he's workin that night, he'll be on it right away.

A little about this guy:

He's a young kid (to me) , but deadly serious about his job and the responsibilities it entails. He fishes too, and has always complied with the law. He has heard all the excuses in the book, don't mistake his youth for niavete, hes sharp as they come.

Glad to have met ya Keith. Hope you get into some big fish on your time off, and I wanted to say for me, and some others who aren't as vocal as I am, that meeting you was a great thing, I hope you get promoted for all your good work, you definitely deserve it.


For anyone reading this who wants some more enforcement #,s they're listed at the stickies at the top of the page for each regional forum. Here's the NJ ones, make that call if you see something happening. Witnessing it, and then ranting about on the internet without calling, solves nothing.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=45

Make the call, guys, it will be taken care of. Thanks!

[skinner]

You said he checked your vehicle, does he know about the guys burying the fish in the sand, and marking them with sticks or something else so they can grab them up before they leave?

[buckethead]

I think it is great that Sandy Hook is stopping the people and checking the vehicles. I get so sick and tired of fishermen getting away with crap. We should all follow the regulations, it will help preserve the fish for the future.

[cowherder]

That's good to hear, Dark.

[bababooey]

Most excellent news. Now they need to put signs up in Spanish, Chinese, and Russian.

[cowherder]

I'm glad this guy lost his rights. I see how they are fixing things up, and felt it would bring too much traffic into the park.



http://www.app.com/article/20090812/...71/1004/NEWS01




National Park Service cancels lease with Sandy Hook Redeveloper




SANDY HOOK — For more than five years, James Wassel held a lease in his hands that gave him permission to redevelop 33 buildings on Fort Hancock. On Wednesday, the National Park Service took it away from him.

After spending several weeks reviewing a set of financial documents submitted in March by Wassel's company, Sandy Hook Partners, the National Park Service determined the proposal was insufficient to meet the purposes and requirements of the 60-year lease, said Brian Feeney, a government spokesman.

"It is unfortunate that Sandy Hook Partners was unable to secure a financing package that would preserve dozens of important historic structures at Fort Hancock," said Dennis R. Reidenbach, the National Park Service's northeast regional director, in a release.

Several of the project's opponents, who felt it would overcommercialize the Hook and set a precedent for private use of public lands, expressed satisfaction with the development.

"Hallelujah!" said Peter O'Such, a Fair Haven resident who closely followed the project's development for years. "For the National Park Service to say "no mas,' to quote Roberto Duran, is a milestone."

James and Judith Stanley Coleman, who headed the opposition group Save Sandy Hook, could not be reached for comment. Through a woman who answered the phone at their Middletown home, they said they felt "justified that our efforts were not in vain."

Wassel has 10 days to appeal the decision to a third-party arbitrator, Feeney said.

Wassel said he was surprised by the National Park Service's decision. He is weighing whether to appeal.

"You never expect something like this to happen," Wassel said.
Wassel proposed a mix of commercial, community, conference and educational uses for Fort Hancock, a weather-beaten hamlet of former military buildings near the tip of Sandy Hook.

For years, Wassel's detractors questioned whether he could obtain the financing for the project. After signing the lease, the National Park Service granted him six time extensions to provide the proof.


Wassel blamed the lack of financing on a drawn-out federal court case filed by Save Sandy Hook. Once Wassel prevailed in the case in December 2008, the National Park Service gave him 90 days to submit financial documents for the project's first phase.
triggerAd(2,PaginationPage,9);

In 2007, Wassel signed a separate 60-year lease for three Fort Hancock buildings — the Post Chapel, the Post Theater and a third structure — he went on to rehabilitate, said Dave Avrin, Sandy Hook's superintendent.
The 2007 lease for the three buildings, which were part of the original lease, remains in effect, Avrin said.

Despite losing his rights to the other 33 buildings, Wassel said he believes he can continue leasing the three buildings and remain financially viable.
"Our plan is to continue to operate them," Wassel said.

The National Park Service now needs to determine how to move forward with rehabilitating the buildings, a process that is only beginning, Avrin said.
"These buildings need some TLC big time," Avrin said.

Rep. Frank J. Pallone Jr., D-N.J., who is opposed to private developers leasing buildings in public parks, said he has been assured by federal officials that the National Park Service will be open to a process that would allow public entities and nonprofit organizations to play a larger role in Fort Hancock's redevelopment.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for the state, the federal government, local universities and other public entities to become engaged in the restoration of Fort Hancock," Pallone said. "It is important that any redevelopment plan does not include commercialization of our national park."

[c4charlie]

I agree with you. We do not need it commercialized or fishing access would be worse than it is today.

[storminsteve]

The problem as I see it whenever I go there is there are a lot of buildings that need repair. So if private people won't do it, and the NPS can't seem to afford it, who will do it? IMO this guy had a golden opportunity to make money and make things better. I heard all his financing was smoke and mirrors. He never had the financial reach to complete the deal, and someone should have figured that out at the start before he wasted the park service's time.

[surfwalker]

I followed this project the past few years as a concerned user of public access. I am positive that if this lease was approved in it's entirety, that eventually our access to these fishing grounds would have definitely been curtailed to extinction. I'm sure that they would not have let us drive around the park at all hours of the dark with commercial establishmentrs around. Public land that belongs to the public should remain that way and not be privatized, my strong opinion.

[clamchucker]

Spill at sewage plant could close Sandy Hook beach

http://www.app.com/article/20090825/...25137/1001/rss

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 25, 2009


SANDY HOOK — A chlorine spill at a sewage treatment plant on the New Jersey shore could temporarily close part of the beach at Sandy Hook.


The spill occurred Tuesday afternoon in a plant operated by the National Parks Service that serves the entire peninsula.
Parks service spokesman Brian Feeney says about 20 gallons of chlorine spilled and created a cloud of gas. Employees were evacuated and no injuries were reported.
Beachgoers at Gunnison Beach were evacuated, and Feeney said if the treatment plant is not back online by Wednesday the beach may have to be closed.

[storminsteve]

Beachgoers at Gunnison Beach were evacuated,

Gunnison? That could be a good or bad experience for the officers called in to do the evacuation.

[bababooey]

I heard the folks that hang at Gunnison tend to be more skewed toward the 50 y.o age group rather than the 20 y.o age group, Steve, with the alternate lifestyler males being the predominant group...not that there's anything wrong with that! If they asked me to do that detail I would have to ask for combat pay.

[storminsteve]

Heads up for you guys who fish Sandy Hook.
I was BSing with a Park Ranger today asking him if many guys were fishing there at night. In our conversation he mentioned they changed it up for night fishing. You now have to stop at the booth at the front. They shifted the process. Stop, check in with your pass, and then continue on.
He said they will be putting up signs so that guys will know.

[paco33]

Thanks for the heads up steve.

[buckethead]

Be just like island beach now. Except you don't have to pay $200.

[paco33]

Big changes down the road. I don't think I will like any of them.



SANDY HOOK ? There are changes coming to Sandy Hook. Well, maybe.

The National Park Service has hatched a trio of plans to give the Gateway National Recreation Area a makeover over the next two decades. The three visions for the popular summertime destination would potentially add new amenities by leasing public buildings for restaurants and lodging, adding campsites and increasing beach access.

But a fourth plan is also in the mix ? leave it the way it is.

Parks officials have been developing the plans since 2009, but Gateway National Recreation Area spokesman John Harlan Warren said change isn?t essential.

"We?re trying to bring as many people in the public into this discussion as possible. We want to know: What makes this park important?" Warren said. "If at the end of the day they say, ?Hey, don?t change,? then perhaps we don?t."

The three alternatives are part of a broad effort to map the future of the 26,000-acre park, which also includes space in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.

The plans would focus on three goals: improving recreation and visitor services, historical and environment conservation and bolstering aquatic elements of the park.

The first plan, "Discovering Gateway," is likely to be the most controversial. Under this proposal, several buildings in the Sandy Hook portion of the park would be earmarked for "a wide variety of potential reuses, ranging from lodging to restaurants, conference space and offices."

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said the right balance needs to be struck between public and privately operated aspects of the park.

"Our biggest concern is if you lease out all of the buildings you begin restricting access to the public ?," he said. "Not everyone can afford to go to Yosemite (National Park), but we can go to Sandy Hook."

A second plan would drive resources toward restoring the park?s historic buildings, such as Fort Hancock, and bolstering conservation efforts for Sandy Hook?s flora and fauna.

"One of the lovely things about Sandy Hook is it was never developed commercially; it?s surprisingly undisturbed," Warren said. "Of course, it has a strong military history and a very interesting military history, so those things would get top priority under this alternative."

The third plan would zero in on the water surrounding the small spit of land. Ferry service would be expanded, new water recreation areas added and water trails would be created while beach conservation efforts would be stepped up.

.

[paco33]

They had a meeting yesterday.


The National Park Service will conduct an informal beach meet-up from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday in Sandy Hook for the public to take a closer look at the proposals and ask questions. Details of the plans are also available online at nps.gov/gate.
New Jersey's ocean, bays, rivers, beaches, shores, and waterfronts belong to us all under the PUBLIC TRUST DOCTRINE.
NJDEP can't take them away, but a complacent public can give them up.
Fight for what is rightfully ours

[storminsteve]

Big changes down the road. I don't think I will like any of them.



.

Me neither paco. Change is not good when the govt puts it in terms like this. I agree the historic buildings should be kept up.They really need to find a way to fund that. Its part of our history. There was a guy a few years ago who was going to do that, wonder what happened to him?