Dear Editor:
I just want to take a moment and thank the City of Hoboken for the beautiful new kayak boathouse at Maxwellhouse Place. Looks like a dream. I can’t wait to see it up and functioning! I feel like having a paddling party there when it warms up! I am sure there are many more urban kayakers in Hoboken that can’t wait too! I am a long-time resident of Hoboken, and I have been paddling out there on the Hudson for years now. I have had to keep my kayak right across the river at a boathouse in NYC. It always seemed very silly to me that I had to go to the other side of the river just to get in my boat on the Hudson River.
It was so lovely to hear the opening day of the Maxwellhouse Park that there would be kayaks there, although I hear the City is still deciding on what kind of program they should have there – maybe storage of boats for a novice family program or storage for more professional kayakers. I am proud that Hoboken has joined the ranks of many of other communities in this area with lovely boathouses.
Hoboken has joined the waterfront ranks. Here are some of our boathouse friends. The Downtown Boathouse, 79th St. Boathouse Boat Basin, Long Island City Boathouse, Harlem Boathouse, The Gowanus Dredgers, Inwood Boathouse, Red Hook, Manhattan Kayak, New York Kayak and Sebago Club.
Anything I can do to help the Maxwellhouse Boathouse get up and running, I am there.
And if that wasn’t exciting enough, there is yet another great river access note for Hoboken. The Hoboken side of the Weehawken Cove will have a free community boathouse in a year or two. It will be built in the new Hoboken Cove Park. Our non-profit kayaking organization, The Hoboken Cove Community Boathouse, has been awarded a Hudson County Open Space grant recently.
Thanks for giving us our river back Hoboken!
Sandy Sobanski
Hoboken Cove Community Boathouse, Inc.