Rockland County Sheriff Urges Safety on Hudson River

Sheriff Louis Falco III beefed up security on the Hudson River patrolled by the county’s Marine Unit for the Memorial Day Weekend.

The Memorial Day weekend sees many boaters take to the water, and Falco hopes added security measures, with boats docked in and patrolling the north and south ends of the County, will help keep everyone safe.

“The lure of the water can be tempting to many. Throw in alcohol consumption and there is the potential for the fun to turn deadly. With the Rockland County Sheriff’s Marine Unit patrolling the Hudson, we hope to keep the Hudson safe for everyone to enjoy,” Falco said.

The Marine Unit was established as a full service navigational safety and enforcement unit. It is partially funded by state revenues and is based in the northern part of Rockland County. It utilizes three vessels to patrol the County’s 33-mile water boundary from Bear Mountain South to Palisades, New York. This unit provides enforcement, safety, ecological and rescue services while interacting with all emergency services and environmental agencies. The Unit is tasked with providing security at the Bear Mountain Bridge, Tappan Zee Bridge and the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant, in conjunction with United States Coast Guard and the Governor’s Hudson River Estuary Law Enforcement Task Force.

Recently the Marine unit has been requested to provide contract policing for the Tappan Zee Constructors for the new bridge being built. Coverage will be split between the north and south ends of the county.

The goal of the added patrols is to keep accidents from occurring. In 2013, tragedy struck when two passengers of a boat being piloted by Jojo Johns of Nyack were killed after the boat struck a Tappan Zee Bridge construction barge in the river. Toxicology tests determined that John had nearly twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system at the time of the crash.