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By Colin Mixson
Brooklyn Daily
Let there be fish!
The National Parks Service reopened Canarsie Pier Monday, much to the delight of local fishermen. Closed since Hurricane Sandy, the pier, at the foot of Rockaway Parkway, received the all-clear after an engineering study concluded it won’t be falling into the ocean anytime soon.
“We’re happy to let people know that Canarsie Pier is once again open to our fishermen,” said Daphne Yun, a spokeswoman for National Parks. “We’ve been getting a lot of calls about it.”
Known to locals as a good spot to catch blue fish and fluke, the pier hasn’t been renovated since the storm. Although the pier is now accessible, its ranger station remains closed for repairs.
Of the $180 million Congress earmarked for the city’s 23,000-acre Gateway National Parks and Recreation area, $3 million has been appropriated for repairs to Canarsie Pier to be completed before 2016. Although no specific date could be provided, the ranger station should be open well before then, according to Yun.
“It should open before the end of the three-year deadline,” she said.
Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, who toured the pier with National Parks representatives in April, Monday morning took credit in a press release for “expediting” the engineering assessment to determine the pier’s safety, while lauding National Parks for getting it done.
“I applaud the effort by the National Parks Service to conduct a timely and comprehensive evaluation of the structural soundness of the pier,” said Jeffries. “Thankfully, the report concluded that Canarsie Pier is safe and can re-open just in time for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.”
Of Brooklyn’s Gateway fishing spots, all are now open except for a Floyd Bennett Field location underneath the Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge. At that location, sand dunes were washed away, a metal bulk head was exposed, and debris litters the beach. That area is expected to reopen by next summer.
Reach reporter Colin Mixson at cmixson@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4514.