Town of Oyster Bay, NY Article III Operation of Vessels and Water Activities

§ 241-14 Operation of vessels.

A. Each person operating a boat or vessel shall at all times operate it in a careful manner, having regard of the existing hazards, both actual and potential, and at such rate of speed as not to endanger the property of another or the life or safety of any person or so as to interfere with the free and proper use of the waterway by others.

B. Speed limits.

(1) It shall be unlawful to operate a boat at a greater speed than five miles per hour within 200 feet of the shoreline, a dock, raft, float, a moored vessel or channel system.

(2) A "dead slow no wake" zone shall exist in any area used as a boat basin, marina, anchorage or mooring area and at all entrances thereto and exits therefrom.

(3) A twelve-mile-per-hour speed zone shall exist, and excessive wake shall be prohibited in all that portion of the state boating channel which is within the Town of Oyster Bay.

(4) The Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety shall have the authority to impose speed limits in his/her discretion for safety reasons due to weather conditions or anticipated activity in the water (i.e., boating displays, fireworks, holiday events, etc.).

C. No boat shall be operated in such a manner as to cause a wake which is dangerous to life or limb or a person or to other boats or other property.

D. No person shall operate a boat or vessel within the waters and waterways of the Town while in an intoxicated condition. Upon the trial of any action or proceeding arising out of facts alleged to have been committed by any person arrested for operating a boat or vessel while in an intoxicated condition, the court may admit evidence of the amount of alcohol in the defendant's blood taken within two hours of the time of his arrest, as shown by a medical or chemical analysis of his breath, blood, urine or saliva. For the purposes of this section:

(1) Evidence that there was, at the time of taking the sample, 0.05% or less, by weight of alcohol in the defendant's blood, is prima facie evidence that the defendant was not in an intoxicated condition.

(2) Evidence that there was, at the time of taking the sample, more than 0.05% by weight of alcohol in the defendant's blood is relevant evidence, but it is not to be given prima facie effect in indicating whether or not the defendant was in an intoxicated condition.

(3) Evidence that there was, at the time of taking the sample, 0.15% or more, by weight of alcohol in the defendant's blood, may be admitted as prima facie evidence that the defendant was in an intoxicated condition.

§ 241-15 Muffler required for certain engines.

No person shall operate a boat propelled wholly or partly by an engine operated by gas, gasoline, naphtha, diesel oil or other fuel without having the exhaust from the engine run through a muffler or controlled by the introduction of water into the exhaust pipe or line.

§ 241-16 Pollution.

A. The dumping or discharging of marine toilets, sewage, oil, chemicals, refuse, garbage or wastes or any pollutant in any waters or waterways from any boat or vessel or dock facility or otherwise is prohibited.

B. No discharge, in any quantity, of any oil, gasoline, paint, solvent, paint thinner, lubricant, hydrocarbon materials, untreated sewage, litter, pollutants or any similar types of materials in the waters of the Town of Oyster Bay shall be allowed.

C. In order to prevent the spread of invasive plant or animal species to waters under the jurisdiction of the Town of Oyster Bay, prior to launching any vessel into Town waterways, the bilge areas, live wells, ballast tanks, and any other water-holding area shall be emptied and properly disinfected.

D. Any willful or intentional discharge of any such substances shall be a misdemeanor, upon which a sentence of up to six months in jail, a fine of $2,000, up to three years' probation or up to 1,000 hours of community service may be authorized, together with restitution for any costs associated with the cleanup thereof, including but not limited to actual cleanup, investigative time, administrative time and legal services time associated with ensuring compliance and ensuring the quality of waterways around the site or downstream therefrom of any such occurrence and the quality of any aquaculture near the site of such occurrence or downstream therefrom.

E. The disregard of any order promulgated by the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Resources, the Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety or the Town Board issued hereunder and communicated to any person which endangers the safety of persons or property or creates the risk of degradation of the environment or the quality of water or endangers aquaculture or the environment thereby shall be a misdemeanor which shall carry a term of six months imprisonment, a fine of $2,000 or up to three years' probation and shall authorize the imposition of up to 1,000 hours of community service, together with restitution for all expenses incurred by the Town as a result of such action or inaction, including but not limited to environmental cleanup, repair, maintenance of safety devices, investigation, chemical analysis, survey of waters or aquaculture, administrative time and legal services time associated with such incident in order to assure the quality of the environment or safety of persons or property or actions taken to assist or protect the same.

F. Each day of violation shall constitute a separate violation.

§ 241-17 Hawking and peddling on vessels.

No person shall enter upon or engage in the business of selling, hawking, peddling or vending any property, article, product, goods or thing or otherwise engage in commercial activity from any boat, vessel or float on the waterways of the Town without having first obtained permission of the Town Clerk, in compliance with the requirements of Town Code Chapter 173 where applicable, upon consultation with the Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety.

§ 241-18 Prohibited locations for certain water activities.

A. It shall be unlawful to boat or swim at the following locations:

Beach Road, at its south end between cul-de-sac and South Oyster Bay in Massapequa

Berkley Place, at its dead end at Seaford Creek

Cleveland Place, at its dead end at Seaford Creek

Franklin Place, at its dead end at Seaford Creek

Garfield Place, at its dead end at Seaford Creek

Harrison Place, at its dead end at Seaford Creek

Jackson Place, at its dead end at Seaford Creek

Jefferson Place, at its dead end at Seaford Creek

Jetmore Place, at its dead end at Seaford Creek

Lincoln Place, at its dead end at Seaford Creek

McKinley Place, at its dead end at Seaford Creek

Roosevelt Place, at its dead end at Seaford Creek

St. Mark's Place, at its dead end at Seaford Creek

B. Fishing and crabbing are hereby prohibited upon that portion of the highway of the Town known as "St. Mark's Place," from Ocean Avenue east to the bay and upon that portion of the Town known as "Beach Road," at the south end between cul-de-sac and South Oyster Bay in Massapequa.

C. Bathing, fishing, and crabbing are hereby prohibited upon that portion of the highway of the Town known as "Clocks Boulevard," from Lincoln Avenue southerly to the bay.

§ 241-19 Waterskiing, kite surfing.

A. No person shall operate a boat for purposes of towing a person on water skis, a surfboard or similar device unless there is in such a boat a person over the age of 10 years in addition to the operator and in a position to observe the progress of the person being towed.

B. No person shall ride on water skis, a surfboard or similar device or use or operate a boat or vessel to tow a person thereon during the period from sunset to one hour after sunrise.

C. No person shall engage in kite surfing or ride on water skis, a surfboard or similar device or use or operate a boat or vessel to tow a person thereon in a marked channel or within 200 feet of the lifeline markers of any public or semipublic bathing area or public dock or mooring area or in other areas as so marked or within 200 feet of any swimmer or bather or within 200 feet from any channel.

§ 241-20 Skin diving.

A. No skin diving shall be undertaken in any channel or in any waters where it may interfere with reasonable and proper operation of boats or within 200 feet of any public or semipublic beach used for bathing and swimming or within 200 feet of any person bathing or swimming within an area designated for bathing or swimming.

B. No person shall use, operate or discharge underwater any spear gun or similar apparatus within 200 feet of any public or semipublic beach used for bathing or swimming or within 200 feet of any bather or swimmer.

C. Any person engaged in skin diving shall maintain a visible red flag with a diagonal white bar on the boat or on the surface of the water in the area of the skin diving operations.

D. No boat or vessel shall approach within a one-hundred-foot radius of an area displaying a red flag with a diagonal white bar.