House call: Home on the Hudson

Plus:

• So you wanna live in the basin?

Photo: Patrik Rytikangas

It’s easy to forget that Manhattan is an island—but for the 40-odd year-round permit holders in the 79th Street Boat Basin, water living is all they know. “I’ve lived here for 37 years,” explains Ed Bacon, who passes his days chartering out his 54-foot sailboat for parties and weddings (abaconyachtcharter.com) and his nights in the main cabin with his wife, Regina Jordan, a trained chef, and their dog, Ollie. Phil Sherman, owner of the East Village’s No Malice Palace, has lived in the basin for 17 years—he’s inhabited a variety of crafts in the past, but just purchased a 37-foot Gibson Sport houseboat, which can sleep up to six and has an expansive roof deck, complete with a pirate flag. “I love living on the water—I sleep like a baby out here,” he explains.

Back in the ’80s and ’90s, the basin housed about 80 boats all year, but in 1997, the city stopped granting year-round permits in an attempt to quell the population and keep berths open for summer boaters . The number of boats has dwindled to 40, and while still a fairly vibrant community—inhabitants include a partner at Goldman Sachs, an anesthesiologist, a documentary filmmaker, school teachers—its residents fear attrition. “We’re aging,” explains Bacon. “It would be great to get some new blood in here, particularly because it’s so empty during the winter.”

He’s about to get his wish: The Department of Parks & Recreation is changing the rules for the first time in a decade (the legislation, initiated in March, should be ratified by Tuesday 1) to start granting enough year-round permits to bring the population up to 52, or about half of its capacity. Even though the rent isn’t staggering, empty moorings are a significant wasted financial opportunity for the city.

For a stunning water view, it’s a huge bargain: Fees were just raised to $82 and $104 per foot per season, for winter and summer seasons, respectively, which means the average houseboat owner pays about $7,000 a year for their slip.

In exchange for new neighbors, current residents must own boats that actually run, and can meet Coast Guard regulations by May 2009. The basin is sprinkled with a few—including a wood-paneled brown-and-blue number that looks exactly like a floating suburban home,  at right—that clearly haven’t navigated the waters of the Hudson in a long time. “We might lose some of the boats with personality,” explains Sherman. “But this is a marina, so it should be full of boats that are actually boats.”