Despite the third-wettest June on record in Central New York and closures of the New York State Canal System earlier this summer, business is still booming along the Seneca River.
“Did it slow us down? Not really,” said Adam Case, co-owner of Marble Island Bait and Tackle. “Most of our business is drive-up business.”
“When the canal was really high, we had a whole bunch of people,” said Nicki Case, who works in her husband’s shop.
An April 2014 report from the New York State Canal Corporation stated that users of the canal system have a $6.2 billion impact on the state’s economy. That includes both commercial and tourist users of the system.
While the closures of the canal system last month didn’t affect foot traffic at Marble Island Bait and Tackle, Adam Case said the heavy rains have affected the quality of fishing in B’ville. When the lock is closed, the running water goes still.
“There’s no fresh water rolling through the bottom side of the dock. The water [deoxygenates]. When the sun comes out, it makes it worse,” Case said.
Standing water and the sun promote the growth of algae and invasive species such as water chestnuts, or as Case calls them, “those little spiny things you step on on the shore that are like Legos under your feet.”
Nicki Case said the sunlight and lack of movement make fish sit closer to the bottom of the waterway, making it harder to catch a bite.
The Cases noted that they don’t have much competition in B’ville, which makes their job a little easier.
“Being the only game in town does have its advantages,” Adam Case said. “That being said, we try to keep our prices low. We’re not a big box store.”
As for other recreational users of the canal, boaters get hungry like everyone else. Dawn Custer, owner of Canal Walk Cafe, said the weather has not really affected her business.
“If it snowed today, it definitely would affect it,” she said. “People don’t want to sit out on the patio if it’s raining, [but] by and large everybody eats breakfast.”
A sunnier July has been a boon to eateries with outdoor seating, like Canal Walk Cafe.
“Sunshine makes everybody want to go out and do things. You’re less prone to doing things if it’s in the middle of a monsoon,” Custer said. “We’re pretty constant here, which is nice.”
Custer said she met “some great people” when boaters were stuck in B’ville last month due to the canal closure.
“The people that were stuck here were eating here,” she said.
Tom Taylor, who owns Sammy Malone’s and Muddy Waters Kitchen and Bar, said boaters frequent his establishments, and the weather in June was not kind.
“It definitely has impacted us at Sammy Malone’s and Muddy Waters,” Taylor said. “You can’t compete with Mother Nature. You can’t predict the weather and you can’t control the weather.”
Taylor said he understood the Canal Corporation’s decision to close the canal system last month, especially given the recent drownings in the Seneca River. Two brothers, Joseph and Robert Mead, drowned June 13 when their kayaks capsized near the dam, and Joshua Koegel went under in Van Buren the morning of July 11. His body was found two days later.
“Public safety is first and foremost, and if the canal closure is what they have to do to protect people, you can’t argue with that,” he said. “Lord knows there’s been some tragedies here.”
Village Mayor Dick Clarke said if the canal closure had any effect on the cost of village operations, it was minimal. The village waived the $5 water and electric hookup fee for the boaters who were stranded last month, but Clarke said many of them paid it anyway. The Department of Public Works had to make a few extra trash pickups because there were more people accumulating garbage at the lock, but that’s about it.
“Life went on,” Clarke said.
Clarke said he has received positive feedback from the boaters who stayed in B’ville last month. One couple sent a donation to the village and a note praising the hospitality of Baldwinsville residents.
The hiccup in canal traffic last month might even be boosting tourism in B’ville. Clarke said DPW foreman Chuck McAuliffe told him that boaters docked at the lock had heard from others who have passed through the village, “If you’re coming up the canal, make sure you stop in Baldwinsville.”
“We’re getting a very good reputation,” Clarke said.
Clarke surmised that the canal closures may have affected people who only wanted to take a day trip on the canal system, but B’ville businesses and fishers seem largely unharmed.
“When I have gone over [to the river to talk to fishers], they usually have a couple fish in the cooler,” he said.
