You Can’t Mix Residential And Marine Industry- PHOOEYYYY!

Our Grandfather bought this property back in 1953 from the Gorton’s company and my cousin Frank and I bought it from our fathers six years ago.  During that entire time we’ve been surrounded by houses that are directly in front of our dock and on both sides of our dock there are recreational boat marinas. You would think by listening to the anti-development, put up roadblocks to any progress crowd that a holy war would ensue if you ever mixed the two components but in reality it has been going on way before there was the ridiculous zoning that is in place now.  We’ve been peacefully coexisting with our awesome neighbors for decades.  Yes through starting up our diesel trucks early in the morning to go pick up bait or make deliveries, yes through the odors and smells that are inherent in the fishing industry, yes through years and years of sights, sounds and smells of heavy industry.  People move here I believe because they love it and embrace it.

So the folks that tell you it could never co-exist to have tourism and commercial fishing side by side, call bullshit on them. 

Our dock isn’t the only place where commercial boats and recreational boats and housing and industry are side by side- look at the Rocky Neck Railways and dockage situation down there- commercial boats and the highest density of tourism in our city basically on top of each other.

Beacon Marine Decades long of housing and marina space with cranes and a boat yard coexisting with an new Media Ad agency –Bait and Tackle all on the same property.

International Lobster/East Gloucester Marine/The Harbor Room function hall with apartments up above (the Moonies complex)

Our Dock with residential all along the front of our property line.

The Gloucester House next to Fisherman’s Wharf next to Lat 43

Captain Carlos Nightclub/Restaurant Complex and The Gloucester Seafood Display Auction.

Totes of lobster loaded up and waiting for the truck at 8PM

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Our Cool Neighbors.  They Get It- Great People.

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7 thoughts on “You Can’t Mix Residential And Marine Industry- PHOOEYYYY!

  1. Joey: I support you 110 percent. Thank you for putting it on paper. The two “industries” can and do/will coexist, hoping the rest of our good citizens of Gloucester can recognize this as well.
    Joe

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  2. You are right, Joey. Too bad more people don’t understand that the vitality of our fair city is based on the mix of things that go on. People who want sterility should live in a bedroom suburb. It will be interesting to see how folks receive the Birdseye project, which looks like it will be a very lively combination of uses.

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  3. And that’s why tourists flock here. To see a REAL working waterfront. Just look at Newburyport,the summer it’s buzzing with thousands of tourists but commercial fishing is gone except for 3 boats and one winch & boom to offload them. When summer is over so isn’t the tourist trade. But here in Gloucester we have a balance of industry and tourism….and we’ve had that for over 100 years! We should look into maintaining that balance or we’ll become a Newburyport….nice to look at but a ghost town during the off season!

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  4. who owns the most prop on the waterfront? The ugliest ?The most non functioning ? Yup Americold. i guess its ok tho ,they have been around a long time .wink wink

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  5. This BS started in the 1950’s with Urban renewal.. My granparents owned a house right across the street from the base of Scott St.
    Does anybody remember the old neighborhood around the Fitz Hugh Lane House? And remember all those years we put up wth the stink of the DeHy!!!!!!!How bout the old saying “Manchester by the Sea, Glosta by Da Smell”. What’s next the Mall at Portagee Hill cause it has a nice view?

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