Gunfire punctuated a rowdy booze cruise in Sheepshead Bay last week when party-goers got into a tussle on Emmons Avenue, rattling neighbors who say the frequent bashes on the boat are getting out of control.
The trouble started when two men began arguing before the Golden Sunshine, a party ship advertised as “One big boat filled with all bad [money-grubbing women],” set sail around midnight on Oct. 8, according to Kemar Wilson, whose entertainment company rents out the 350-person catamaran for weekend parties.
One of the angry combatants stayed behind, Wilson said, and when the double-decker ship returned three hours later, he confronted his rival and fired the weapon into the air near the boat’s berth at Pier Two, on Emmons between Bedford Avenue and E. 26th Street.
No one was injured, according to police who confirmed that shots had been fired.
But the noise terrified neighbors who say the incident proves the boat’s booze cruises have gone off the deep end.
“When I heard the gun shots I couldn’t believe it,” said one resident who started a petition to end the alcohol-fueled joyrides, and asked that his name not be used. The partiers “have no respect for the neighborhood.”
Residents who live across from the Golden Sunshine said that inebriated revelers often get in loud fights after returning from the cruises, leave empty liquor and beer bottles on sidewalks and lawns, and take up parking spaces used by local drivers.
“They’re very rowdy when they get back,” said Bill Campione, who lives on Emmons Avenue.
Matt Peer said the booze cruisers wake him up at night.
“They should be more considerate to the neighborhood,” said Peer. “It’s definitely a problem.”
Wilson said on the night in question he rented the boat to a group from Brownsville, and that the party was a low-key affair — even though a ticket for the event suggested otherwise.
The stub promises music from DJ Scrappy and two others, and features a picture of three scantily-clad women.
The boarding passes cost $20, with VIP tickets going for $30.
The parties feature live music, dancing and typically include free food.
Wilson has been renting the Golden Sunshine from the boat’s longtime captain, Joe Lind, since 2009.
Lind declined to comment.
The “luxury” vessel is outfitted for weddings, birthdays and other parties, according to Lind’s website.
Wilson said he was aware that the passengers he recruits often show up for his cruises already drunk, or else “pre-game” in their cars on Emmons Avenue before boarding the ship. And he admitted some bring guns with them, though not onto the boat itself, where passengers are screened beforehand by ticket collectors.
But he insisted the shooting was an isolated incident, and said he has no plans to stop using the boat for parties, despite the mounting opposition from neighbors.
“It’s not [part of] a continuous problem,” he said.
Cops recovered one spent shell casing from the shooting, but made no arrests.
A police source said the incident is under investigation.
