What Happened
Boating accidents on Long Island waters have dropped by more than one-third since 2019, the year before New York State began requiring powerboat operators to complete mandatory maritime safety courses — a decline that law enforcement officials and boating experts are directly linking to the impact of Brianna’s Law, according to a Newsday analysis published July 3, 2026.
There were 104 boating accidents in Nassau and Suffolk counties in 2019, the last year before the safety class requirement took effect. That number fell dramatically to just 39 accidents across both counties in 2024, before rising again to 69 in 2025, according to reports compiled by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The decline represents a 34% drop over the six-year period. Newsday reported the reduction in accidents has coincided with a significant fall in boating fatalities off Long Island as well: there were no boating deaths on Long Island waters in 2024, and only three in 2025. By comparison, the death toll reached highs of nine in both 2008 and 2012, and spiked to 10 in 2020.
Brianna’s Law is named for Brianna Lieneck, an 11-year-old girl from Deer Park who died in a boating crash in August 2005 on the Great South Bay. Her death sparked years of advocacy and public debate about safety on Long Island’s waterways. The law was phased in over five years, beginning in 2020, with requirements introduced incrementally by age group. Before the law was enacted, only boaters born after May 1, 1996, were required to complete a safety course — meaning a large portion of active boaters on Long Island’s waters had never received any formal training. Al Tuzzolo, a senior marine patrol officer with Southampton Town who has served for 19 years, described the pre-law landscape bluntly. “You had a vast majority of people, as far as boating went, who didn’t have any training,” Tuzzolo told Newsday. “You could go down and buy a 30-foot boat and get on it and drive away with no education.”
Brianna’s mother, Gina Lieneck, 56, of St. James, spent years lobbying for the mandatory safety classes and said she believes Long Island waterways are safer today as a result. “I don’t think it’ll fix everything 100%, but it’ll make it better and make people think more,” she said. A total of 62,558 boaters in New York State completed the safety course in 2025, nearly triple the statewide total of 24,044 enrolled in 2005. Nationally, the U.S. Coast Guard reported that 556 recreational boating fatalities in 2024 represented an all-time low, and that 69% of those deaths occurred when the boater lacked safety education.
On a late June morning, a Newsday reporter accompanied a crew of Suffolk County deputy sheriffs aboard Marine 41 as it pushed into the Great Peconic Bay ahead of the July Fourth holiday weekend. Not long after the vessel crossed to the Shinnecock Canal, Deputy Sheriff Jimmy Milano spotted a boat leaving the canal appearing to be speeding. Officers tied off the boat and conducted a safety inspection, which revealed an empty fire extinguisher. Milano issued only a warning, not a ticket, and sent the boater back to shore to replace it. “There’s a lot of space that looks open, but it’s not,” Milano said. “Response time is a lot longer on the water, and we don’t want to see anyone get hurt or get killed.” Separately, Babylon Town bay constables Steve Jaworowski and Tobie Monaco were patrolling the Great South Bay on a late Monday afternoon in June when they spotted a small boat that appeared to carry a group of teenagers. After pulling the 18-foot vessel over, the constables found the 18-year-old driver and passengers to be compliant — they produced life vests, boating licenses, and safety certificates, though with some frenzied searching. “Have a good one. Be safe,” Monaco told the group. Jaworowski noted the change he has observed over the years: “I used to see a lot more accidents, more unsafe operations, deaths.”
On a warm Friday evening in June, Oyster Bay town constables Rob Walles and Mike Baumann launched from the dock at John Burns Park in Massapequa aboard a 27-foot patrol boat, setting out through the interconnected South Shore waterways and into South Oyster Bay as the sun set behind waterfront homes. Their patrol was part of an increasing enforcement presence that officials across multiple Long Island towns say is making a difference. Chris Fisher, a deputy Suffolk County sheriff, said the visible presence of patrols alone has a deterrent effect. “At the very least, our presence seems to put people on alert, and that’s what we’re here for,” Fisher said.
Location & Road Context
The boating accident declines were recorded across Nassau and Suffolk counties, with key patrol corridors including the Great South Bay, Great Peconic Bay, Shinnecock Canal, South Oyster Bay, and waterways near Massapequa Cove. These interconnected waterways see heavy recreational boating traffic, particularly during the summer months and around major holidays such as Independence Day. Long Island’s coastal geography — with open bays, narrow channels, and high-density marina areas stretching from Oyster Bay to Riverhead — has historically made enforcement challenging and response times longer than on land.
For more on water-adjacent road and traffic conditions on Long Island’s South Shore, visit our Long Island roads coverage.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Southampton Town recorded 1,991 citations and arrests in 2025, nearly double the 1,021 total from 2020, according to town and state parks data reported by Newsday. The town currently employs seven full-time and eight part-time officers on the water — more than double its staffing levels from two decades ago. The Town of Babylon has supplemented its bay constable force with retired police officers, and the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department has extended its marine enforcement season into October to cover a growing population of fall boaters.
Statewide, New York counted 19 boating deaths in 2025, along with one disappearance. Prior year totals show significant fluctuation: nine deaths in 2024, 18 in 2023, 28 in 2022, 18 in 2021, 31 in 2020, and 15 in 2019, according to the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation’s annual reports.
Broader Impact
Not everyone credits the safety course requirement alone. Christopher Squeri, executive director of the New York Marine Trades Association, had opposed Brianna’s Law, arguing it would not adequately address operator inattentiveness. While he acknowledged recent positive fatality trends, he cautioned: “Education helps, but if you look at the statistics, operator inattention, alcohol and other issues are the number one cause of what we’re doing here.” Statewide data bears out the concern — alcohol and drug use contributed to more than 20% of fatal boating accidents in New York between 2005 and 2025, according to the state’s annual boating reports, a figure that some boating educators say reflects how deeply ingrained alcohol has become in maritime culture on Long Island. For more on accidents and safety trends across Long Island, visit our full coverage.