Published in Cornell Chronicle
E-mail: cunews@cornell.edu

By Paul C. Focazio, NYSG's Web Content Manager

New York, NY, July 25, 2013 - On July 20, New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of the State University of New York (SUNY) and Cornell, expanded its Discover Clean and Safe Boating Campaign into New York City for the first time. The NYSG Extension Program, part of Cornell Cooperative Extension, broadened the campaign's reach to City of Water Day from its point of origin at the State University of New York at Oswego, some 300 miles away.


New York Sea Grant expanded its family-friendly Discover Clean and Safe Boating Campaign into New York City for the first time July 20 at the city's Governor's Island. Photo: Paul C. Focazio, NYSG.


City of Water Day is the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance's (MWA) annual effort to engage some 25,000 people at New York's Governor's Island and New Jersey's Liberty State Park with opportunities to become better stewards of the New York Harbor, the lower Hudson River and other surrounding waterways. They do it in part by providing free trips on kayaks, boats and other watercraft.

The free, family-friendly daylong celebration featured a 16-foot “made in New York” Grumman fishing boat and Ontario II canoe, both equipped with gear that’s required for clean, safe and legal boating on New York waters.

"Three things I like to remind people about are: having the right type of life jacket, the right number – one for everyone on board – and the right size, whether it be an adult, child or pet, such as a dog,” said campaign developer Dave White, senior extension associate with New York Sea Grant Extension and NYSG's coastal recreation and tourism specialist.

Other tips from White:

• Make sure the required fire extinguisher and safety flares aboard are up to date.
• Check the pressure on the extinguisher.
• Get a “bib” for your gas. This is an absorbent ring to go around fuel hose nozzle, to minimize splashes and drips.
• Ensure that anyone under 18 who wants to operate a motor boat alone in New York has taken a safety class. Everyone, regardless of age, who wants to operate personal watercraft or jet skis should also take a class.

NYSG, along with some of MWA's other 650 Alliance Partners, offered interactive displays at the festival on Governor's Island. There were also events and activities held at Liberty State Park.


City of Water Day is sponsored by the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance. Many who attended received free trips on kayaks, boats and other watercraft in such NYC waterways as lower Hudson River to help increase awareness on issues of public access, recreation and boating safety. Photo: Paul C. Focazio, NYSG.


NYSG, the Boating Industries Association of Upstate New York and Marathon Boat Group are sponsors of this year's educational boating campaign. For more on the campaign, see www.nyseagrant.org/marina. NYSG also documents its research, extension and education efforts in and around New York City at www.nyseagrant.org/nyc.

NYSG is part of a national network of 33 university-based state Sea Grant programs that are administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Cornell Cooperative Extension programs take university research-based findings and provide practical education to individuals, businesses and communities.


More Info: NYSG's Clean & Safe Boating Campaign ...

From the Central New York Boat Show in mid-Febrary through the summer months, the 2013 Discover Clean and Safe Boating campaign educates boaters about all the gear required and recommended for legal, safe and environmentally-friendly boating on New York's waters. "Our focus in 2013 is also on educating anglers and paddlesports enthusiasts about how to be safe on the water and how they can help reduce the spread of aquatic invasive species," says campaign developer New York Sea Grant Coastal Recreation and Tourism Specialist Dave White.

For more information on this year's campaign, which stretches from Oswego to, for the first time, New York City, see NYSG's April 2013 news item, "Clean and Safe Boating Campaign Launches." This news item features several YouTube clips from events held earlier in 2013, including February's Central New York Boat Show. Held in Syracuse, this New York’s largest and oldest boat show, with more than 500 power, sail and sport boats, personal watercraft, water recreation equipment, marine accessories and services, and docks on display in three buildings.


At the CNY Boat Show, New York Sea Grant's Dave White and others gave in-water demonstrations on the various types of life-saving floatation devices and canoe rollover safety tips. Left to right at the 2012 show: US Coast Guard E-4 Boatswain’s Mate Nicole Brooks, US Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 21 Syracuse Vice Commander Dan Welch, and NYSG Coastal Recreation and Tourism Specialist Dave White. Photo: Brian P. Whattam

On YouTube: NYSG's Clean & Safe Boating" Campaign at the Central NY Boat Show





More Info: MWA's City of Water Day - Additional photos and content ...


Visitors to NYSG's Clean and Safe Boating display at MWA's 2013 City of Water Day demonstrate what to do when out on the water. Life jackets are a life saver. According to the most recent recreational boating statistics from the U.S. Coast Guard, the chance of drowning in a boating accident is 1 in 11. But, the chance is reduced drastically to 1 in 66 when the passenger is wearing a life jacket. Photo: Paul C. Focazio, NYSG.


NYSG's Nordica Holochuck (pictured above, at far right) and Dave White at MWA's City of Water Day 2013 with a visitor from the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. Photo: Paul C. Focazio, NYSG.


NYSG's Dave White (pictured above, at right) discusses boating safety with a New York City Department of Parks and Recreation employee at MWA's City of Water Day 2013. Photo: Paul C. Focazio, NYSG.


(pictured above, l-r) NYSG's Paul C. Focazio, Nordica Holochuck and Dave White with 2013's Clean and Safe Boating display at City of Water Day on Governor's Island. Photo: Paul C. Focazio, NYSG.


New York Sea Grant's involvement in MWA's 2013 City of Water Day made a splash on the Cornell University Cooperative Extension homepage right around the time of this festive mid-July event.



NYSG's Web Content Manager Paul C. Focazio first represented the program at MWA "City of Water Day" in July 2012, providing attendees of the harbor festival on Governors Island with postcards and fact sheets on rip currents education, hurricane/storm surge research and social media outreach. Some 25,000 people took part in last year's festival – up to 20,000 on Governors Island and another 5,000 in NJ’s Liberty State Park. In addition to these two locations, there are well over two dozen locations throughout the New York-New Jersey Harbor region taking part in the all-day event. Photo: Kathy Lubner

MEDIA: On YouTube, On Air, On Blog ...

On YouTube: MWA's City of Water Day 2013 - Join The Fun!


City of Water Day is a free, family-friendly day-long celebration with a carnival-like atmosphere that helps to get people better plugged into the waters surrounding Manhattan and the NY metro area through engagement - namely, by providing them with  trips on kayaks, boats and other watercraft. There's a common thread here on issues of public access, recreation and boating safety.


On YouTube: 'City Of Water Day' Activities Celebrate Waterfronts In Five Boroughs (NY 1)



On Air: WCBS Radio
In this brief segment that aired in the morning of City of Water on Saturday, July 20, 2013, Roland Lewis, President and CEO of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, discusses some of the events that would take place during the day-long celebration.

City of Water Day
Filed By Jonathan Clark, Assistant News Director, WCBS Newsradio 880 AM



If you don't see the player above, it's because you're using a non-Flash device (eg, iPhone or iPad). You can download the mp3 file by clicking here (mp3). It may take a few minutes to download, so please be patient.

On Blog: HarborLAB
HarborLAB served at the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance‘s request as the public kayaking program at the Governors Island center of City of Water Day. They documented the day's experience via an August 2, 2013 blog entry at harborlab.org/2013/08/02/city-of-water-day-memories.


More Info: U.S. Coast Guard's Recreational Boating Statistics:
For more, see USGC's Boating Safety Resource Center at www.uscgboating.org.
(Accident Statistics at www.uscgboating.org/statistics/accident_statistics.aspx)


More Info: About New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, is one of 33 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NSGCP engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting scientific research, education, training and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources. Through its statewide network of integrated services, NYSG has been promoting coastal vitality, environmental sustainability, and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources since 1971.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube links. NYSG also offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/coastlines for NY Coastlines, its flagship publication, and Currents, its e-newsletter supplement, each distributed several times a year.