Two Bodies Found In Coney Island Creek in Jet Ski Accident During Kaiser Park Outing

A NYPD Patrol boat searched the waterway for lost JetSkiers Willie Tom, 44, and Celine Lin, 24, around Coney Island's Kaiser Park at W. 31st Street in Brooklyn on the Fourth of July.  (Photo: Bryan Pace for the New York Daily News)  

Brooklyn

The bodies of two friends who disappeared while riding a personal watercraft in Coney Island Creek were pulled from the water Friday, cops said, according to the New York Daily News. 

Family of Willie Tom, 44, and Celine Lin, 24, the two people who drowned in Coney Island Creek, mourn as NYPD search for their missing bodies Friday.   (Photos: Anthony Delmundo/New York Daily News)

Grieving friends and family watched as the bodies of Willie Tom, 44, and his friend, Celine (Cici) Fu, 29, were pulled ashore from the water near where the pair went missing on the Fourth of July. 

Tom was riding with Fu — his best friend’s wife — on another pal’s personal watercraft when he made a short turn that tossed the woman into the creek shortly after 8 p.m. Tom dived into the water to save her, but the pair, who were not wearing life vests, were soon overcome by the water. 

 A friend said the two broke the surface three or four times before they disappeared for good. Michael Tom, 38, said he wasn’t surprised to hear that his older brother died during a valiant struggle to rescue Fu, who was frantically flailing because she couldn’t swim.    

“He was a very experienced Jet Skier, a very good swimmer — a great swimmer — and I guess there was no way he was coming out without her,” Michael Tom said. “Even the best lifeguards get pulled under when someone is panicking.”  

The pair were enjoying the holiday with friends at Kaiser Park before Tom borrowed his pal’s watercraft for a ride.


Police officers search by land and by water for the bodies.  

Read More:

Two bodies found in Coney Island Creek as distraught family watches from shore

New York Daily News - July 5, 2013 - By Erik Badia and Joe Kemp

4th of July tragedy: Recovery mission begins for Jet Skiers missing in Coney Island Creek 

WPIX - July 4, 2013 -  by Mike Sheehan    

Bodies Of Missing Jet Skiers Found Off Coney Island Shore

NY1 - July 5, 2013 - By Erin Clarke

Fourth of July beachgoers riding Jet Ski go missing in Coney Island Creek

despite extensive rescue attempts 

New York Daily News - July 4, 2013 - By Thomas Tracy, Mark Morales and Daniel Beekman 

Push To Restore Brighton/Manhattan Beach Waterfront Access

A crumbling esplanade connects Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach Park. A chain link fence was built by the late Jack Laboz in the 80's to prevent the general public from accessing the promenade in front of his large house at 293 Amherst St. between Amherst & Beaumont Sts. along the waterfront. In December 1993, a State court ruled in favor of Mr. Laboz, "a politically connected Brooklyn developer" which allowed the fence to remain. (Photo: Brooklyn View)

Brooklyn

Brooklyn leaders are pushing a public-promenade plan that would reconnect the exclusive seaside neighborhood of Manhattan Beach with the rest of the borough’s less affluent southern shorefront, according to the New York Post.

Under the proposal, an eight-block rickety walkway that was fenced off from "outsiders" through a 1993 court order would be reopened and replaced with a new promenade. It would connect with the neighborhood’s public beach to the east and the Brighton Beach and Coney Island boardwalk to the west.

"Waterfront views should never be blocked," said Theresa Scavo, chairwoman of Brooklyn Community Board 15. "The city is finding ways to bring greenways for walking and biking to Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn. Why can’t Southern Brooklyn have something like that?"

The proposal is one of many being pitched by the Brooklyn Borough Board — comprised of Borough President Marty Markowitz and community board leaders like Scavo — for consideration as the city Planning Department drafts its "Vision 2020" comprehensive citywide waterfront development plan.

Other Brooklyn goals of note include establishing recreational access at both Plumb Beach in Mill Basin and polluted Coney Island Creek, bringing back ferry service to the 39th Street, 69th Street and Steeplechase Piers and widening a heavily used waterfront bike path running from Bensonhurst, past the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and to Bay Ridge.

The weatherworn Manhattan Beach cement esplanade dates back to the mid 1800s and was once heavily used.

But a state judge in 1993 ruled it private property belonging to shorefront homeowners by siding with Jack Laboz, a politically connected Brooklyn developer.

Laboz six years earlier blocked off part of the walkway by erecting a massive fence behind his grand home at 293 Amherst St. His deep pockets helped withstand a legal challenge by some of Manhattan Beach’s roughly 800 homeowners.

Scavo said that, if the city gets involved, she believes it could use its clout to easily overturn that ruling because some property deeds describe the esplanade as a pedestrian street.

Read More:

Beach battle B'klyn wants public access

New York Post - November 29, 2010 - By Rich Calder

NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: MANHATTAN BEACH; Awaiting Esplanade Ruling

New York Times - November 28, 1993 - By Lynette Holloway

NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: BROOKLYN UPDATE

New York Times - December 26, 1993