NYC Is A Graveyard For Abandoned Boats – But Now They're Digging Up The Dead

The Big Apple, the city that never sleeps, is made up of five boroughs — Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island — situated across a swath of islands and states that include New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. According to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, as of April 2025, New York City's coastline is roughly 600 miles, thanks to climate change and associated sea level rise over the years.  Amidst the hundreds of miles of coastline are a dizzying array of docks, beaches, public waterfront parks, rivers, and bays. Where there's water with hundreds of years of frenetic use, there are boats and ships (yes, there is a difference) – lots of them. 

As one might expect, a great many eventually turn up "dead" through abandonment or neglect and pose an imminent threat to both people and the environment. According to NYC's Department of Parks and Recreation, there are currently more than 600 such boats strewn along the city's shoreline. Thankfully, a coalition between NYC's Office of Marine Debris Disposal and Vessel Surrendering and the NOAA Marine Debris Program is working to clean them up. The Marine Debris Program isn't limited to cleaning up just derelict boats, but also large marine debris. Beginning in October 2025, the project will run through September 2028 and encompass waterways around the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens.

Ships "die" for several reasons. Owners may not have the money to keep up with maintenance, especially after severe weather. Others get stolen and forgotten, or simply break from their moorings and drift away haphazardly. These dead vessels can become stranded on shorelines, reefs, and marshes, or sink below the surface of tidal areas, posing dangerous navigation hazards. They also become eyesores for those trying to enjoy the waterfront. Removal isn't easy, and some require specialized equipment to retrieve from their elusive resting place. When the metal wreckage eventually breaks apart, it can spread debris and hazardous fluids that threaten marine life and coastal resources, all of which is incredibly costly to clean up.

Junk yards and impound lots are a given for stolen and broken-down cars, but where do you put decrepit boats and ships? Boats recovered by this program are taken to an independent Staten Island facility operated by Miller's Launch. The recovered boats have any fluids drained from them and are disassembled, at which point metal components are collected by salvage companies, while whatever is left over will be crushed and sent to a landfill.