On summer nights off the coast of the Bronx, the calm waters of the Long Island Sound give way to something resembling an open-air nightclub. The culprits, locals say, are “party pirates” — boaters who anchor near City Island, link their vessels together, and blast music so loud it rattles windows on shore.

“They can wake the dead,” said longtime City Islander John Sheridan, describing the thunderous bass that now defines the neighborhood’s summer soundtrack.

What began nearly a decade ago as a few “knuckleheads” playing music has grown into a phenomenon — fueled by the pandemic and the rise of social media. Today, fleets of yachts, jet skis, and pontoons transform the waters into what some call “fun on steroids.” Revelers, often scantily clad, have even been spotted dancing on stripper poles mounted on deck.

Nightlife at Sea

The parties often center around Hart Island — the city’s public cemetery — or Eastchester Bay, but their noise travels directly into the homes of City Island residents. Locals say the music, which typically begins at dusk, can blare until 4 a.m.

“You hear it in the early evening, but usually it’s a passing boat that goes away,” said resident Bob Preti. “By 10 o’clock at night, the boats drop anchor out there, and the party just goes on and on. The Sunday night phenomenon is very funny because it goes on ’til 4 in the morning. You’d think they have to go to work on Monday.”

The ragers aren’t harmless. In June, a 35-foot party boat caught fire near the Bronx shoreline, injuring nearly two dozen passengers. Its captain, 33, was later charged with drunk driving. Authorities say recreational boaters with a blood alcohol level of 0.08% are legally impaired; for commercial operators, the threshold is 0.04%.

Residents vs. Pirates

The growing tension has prompted complaints to the NYPD and calls for Coast Guard intervention. “You hear the loud music at 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning,” said Frederick Ramftl, president of the City Island Civic Association. “It’s all over the area here.”

One longtime resident, who asked not to be named, described seeing “people getting out of vans in thongs and mesh tops to board boats” before heading to the water.

Bronx Council Member Kristy Marmorato says her office is working to secure funding for more police presence. “We’re trying to work with the NYPD to fund an additional Harbor Unit for a patrol stationed on the North Shore during the summer months,” she said. So far, the police commissioner has not signed off.

The NYPD insists it is enforcing the law. “The Harbor Unit has issued 38 summonses to boaters this year, holding bad actors accountable,” a spokesperson said. The Coast Guard, meanwhile, has not publicly responded to the complaints.

The Pirates Speak

James “Whiteboy” Reichelt, a 39-year-old from New Rochelle who leads the “NYC Pirates” jet ski club, admits he helped create the scene but insists he is trying to bring order to the chaos.

“I’m one of the guys who kind of created the whole party scene in New York and around City Island and get blamed for a lot of parties and [boat] tie-ups,” Reichelt said. “So I try to help regulate some things on the water.”

He claims most boaters are willing to cooperate. “I have some courtesy for the people, and the NYPD doesn’t want to get 200 calls, so I say turn the music down at least at 10 o’clock. Ninety percent of the people will listen, but there’s always going to be some knuckleheads.”

Reichelt admits the pandemic shifted the parties from crowded waterfronts to more remote waters like Hart Island, where they drew less immediate police attention. After meeting with city officials earlier this year, he says he now understands residents’ frustration. “At the City Island meeting, I saw elderly people and people with newborns, and I wouldn’t want my grandma not to be able to sleep.”

Calls for Balance

Not all boaters want to see the parties end. Malcolm “Tommy” Jones, a 38-year-old from New Rochelle, spends nearly $10,000 a year to register and park his boat. He argues for designated “tie-up zones” where party boats can gather safely without disrupting neighborhoods. “They make it very difficult sometimes for us to enjoy our boats,” he said. “I just want them to be fair.”

Others defend the parties outright. Zeeshan “Princezee” Ali, a humorist with nearly 2 million YouTube followers, has filmed drone footage of the gatherings. “I don’t see a problem,” Ali said. “It’s just a community, like a yacht club. Everything is so positive out there.”

For City Islanders, however, the blaring bass and late-night revelry feel less like community and more like invasion. As one resident posted after July 4: “Bass for the last 18 hours.”

With summer far from over, locals remain caught between sleepless nights and a regulatory tug-of-war — while the “party pirates” keep the waters alive with lights, music, and controversy.