Waterfronts all over the world are rapidly changing as hotels and condos are built right around the old marine services and commercial yards that long called those waterfronts home. Whether it is Newport, RI or San Diego or Naples, FL, there is constant conflict between the new people –condo owners and hotel guests—and the watermen and service folks who ply their trades as they have for generations.
In Naples, Florida, one yard owner, Molly Strassel, has found herself and her marine service yard , Molly’s Marine Services, under siege. As it happens, MMS is one of the few marine services companies left in the Naples area. Faced with an angry crowd of condo dweller, who unsuccessfully petitioned the city of Naples to shut gown Strassel’s business on the grounds of excessive noise, the group has now launched a civil suit to get their way.
No doubt there are two sides to the story. Read all about it in Trade Only Today.
