Your Debtor’s Boat Is an Asset You Haven’t Collected Yet
If you have a civil judgment and the debtor owns a vessel, that boat sitting in a NYC marina may be exactly what satisfies your claim. We can seize it.
What Makes Marshal Guida Different
Appointed by the Mayor
Edward F. Guida Jr. holds Badge #14 — a formal mayoral appointment giving him direct statutory authority to seize personal property, including vessels, across all five boroughs.
All Five Boroughs Covered
From City Island in the Bronx to Great Kills Harbor in Staten Island, our enforcement authority extends across every borough without restriction.
35+ Years of NYC Enforcement
The Guida family has served NYC creditors since 1988. Our staff’s institutional knowledge spans two generations of civil enforcement work.
Fees Set by Statute
Marshal fees aren’t negotiated or arbitrary — they’re established by New York law. No surprise billing, no hidden charges, no guesswork on your end.
Vessel Execution Under CPLR Article 52
Boats Are Seizable Property — Here’s What That Means for You
Most judgment creditors exhaust the obvious options first — wage garnishment, bank levies — and still come up short. What they often overlook is the vessel sitting in a marina slip, registered in the debtor’s name, worth more than months of garnished wages combined.
Under CPLR § 5232(b), a NYC City Marshal can levy by seizure on any personal property “capable of delivery” — and that includes motorboats, sailboats, yachts, jet skis, and personal watercraft of all kinds. This isn’t a niche legal maneuver. It’s a straightforward enforcement tool that most creditors simply don’t know exists.
If your debtor owns a registered vessel anywhere across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, or Staten Island, we have the authority to move on it. A single seizure and auction can satisfy a judgment that years of garnishment never touched.
Why Pursue Watercraft Judgment Seizure
What a Vessel Seizure Can Actually Do for Your Judgment
When wages and bank accounts come up dry, a registered boat can be the highest-value asset left — and it’s sitting in plain sight.
- A single vessel auction can recover more than months of capped wage garnishment ever would.
- Every motorized vessel on New York waterways must be registered with the NY DMV, making boat ownership a traceable, documented fact.
- Your judgment stays enforceable for 20 years under New York law — any vessel the debtor owns now or acquires later remains fair game.
- Unpaid judgments accrue interest at 9% per year, so the longer you wait, the more you’re owed — but also the more urgency there is to act.
- A mayoral-appointed marshal has direct statutory enforcement authority that collection agencies and attorneys acting alone simply do not have.
- Professionally executed seizures protect you from creditor liability — improper enforcement can expose you to legal risk, compliant enforcement doesn’t.
Boat Seizure NYC: The Seasonal Window
The Boating Season Opens a Narrow Window — Don’t Miss It
New York City’s boating season runs roughly from late April through October. During those months, vessels are physically present at marinas across all five boroughs — docked, registered, and accessible.
At Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, boats line Emmons Avenue through the summer. At the 79th Street Boat Basin on the Hudson River in Manhattan, seasonal slips fill up by Memorial Day. Up at City Island in the Bronx, the marinas and boatyards stay active well into fall. Jamaica Bay in Queens and Great Kills Harbor in Staten Island see steady activity through the season.
Once the season ends, boats move. Some go to winter storage, sometimes out of state. Some get sold. Some get transferred to a family member’s name. A debtor who knows a judgment is outstanding has every incentive to move that asset before you can reach it. Acting during the boating season — when the vessel is physically present and dockside — is the clearest path to a successful seizure. Waiting costs you leverage. If you have a judgment and reason to believe the debtor owns a vessel, now is the time to engage.
NYC Marshal Marine Seizure Authority
A Marshal’s Authority Is Different From Everyone Else’s
There’s a common misconception that seizing a boat requires the U.S. Marshals Service or some kind of federal admiralty proceeding. That’s true for federal maritime law — but it has nothing to do with enforcing a New York Civil Court or Supreme Court money judgment.
For state-court judgments, a NYC City Marshal is the right officer. We operate under CPLR Article 52, which authorizes direct physical seizure of personal property — including vessels — to satisfy a civil judgment. Collection agencies can send letters. Attorneys can file motions. But only a court-authorized enforcement officer — a NYC City Marshal or the NYC Sheriff — can physically take a vessel into custody under a court-issued execution.
Edward F. Guida Jr. #14 is that officer for creditors across all five boroughs. Our office processes executions efficiently, keeps you informed at each stage, and conducts every seizure in strict compliance with the NYC Marshals Handbook — protecting the integrity of the enforcement action and your standing as a creditor.
How NYC Vessel Execution Works
From Judgment to Seized Vessel — Here’s the Process
Bring Us Your Judgment
You provide your civil court judgment and any asset information you have — vessel registration, marina location, or slip details — and we take it from there.
We Issue the Execution
We prepare and serve the property execution under CPLR Article 52, formally authorizing the levy by seizure on the debtor’s vessel.
Seizure and Sale
The vessel is taken into custody and sold at public auction. Proceeds are applied to satisfy your judgment, with our statutory poundage retained from the amount collected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a NYC City Marshal actually seize a boat to satisfy a civil judgment?
Yes — and it’s more straightforward than most creditors expect. Under CPLR § 5232(b), a NYC City Marshal is authorized to levy by seizure on any personal property “capable of delivery” owned by the judgment debtor. Boats, motorboats, sailboats, yachts, jet skis, and personal watercraft all qualify. The vessel doesn’t have to be at a specific marina or in a specific borough — as long as it’s registered to the debtor and located within our enforcement area across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, we can move on it. This applies to judgments from NYC Civil Court, New York State Supreme Court, and Small Claims Court alike.
What if I don’t know exactly where the debtor’s boat is docked right now?
You don’t need to have a slip number to get started, but we do need asset location information before we can physically execute the seizure. All motorized vessels operated on New York waterways must be registered with the New York State DMV — that registration is a public record and can be used to verify ownership. Post-judgment discovery tools like information subpoenas can also compel the debtor to disclose asset information under penalty of contempt. We can walk you through what you need to gather before we proceed.
Does it matter if the boat has a loan or lien against it?
A vessel with an existing marine mortgage or UCC lien can still be seized — the presence of a loan doesn’t make the asset off-limits. What it does affect is how the auction proceeds are distributed. The senior lienholder (typically a bank or lender) gets paid first from the sale proceeds, and your judgment is satisfied from whatever remains. Whether it makes economic sense to pursue seizure depends on the vessel’s current market value relative to what’s owed on it. That’s a practical calculation worth thinking through before you engage, and we’re happy to talk it through with you honestly before you commit to anything.
Which boroughs does NYC Marshal Edward Guida cover for boat and watercraft seizures?
We cover all five boroughs — the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island — without restriction. That matters because boats move. A debtor might dock seasonally at Great Kills Harbor in Staten Island, store the vessel at a boatyard on City Island in the Bronx, and register a mailing address in Queens. Our authority follows the asset across borough lines. We’re familiar with the boating communities across NYC — from Sheepshead Bay and Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn and Queens, to the 79th Street Boat Basin on the Hudson River in Manhattan, to the marinas along the North Shore in Queens and the waterfront communities of the Bronx. Wherever the vessel is, we can reach it.
How long do I have to collect on my judgment in New York — is it too late to pursue a boat seizure?
New York gives you more time than most states. Under CPLR § 211(b), a judgment is enforceable for 20 years from the date it was entered, and it can be renewed after 10 years. Interest accrues on the unpaid balance at 9% per year during that entire window. So even if your judgment is several years old, you haven’t necessarily missed your opportunity — especially if the debtor has since acquired a vessel or moved assets around. That said, time still matters in a practical sense: the longer a debtor has to move, sell, or transfer property, the harder enforcement becomes. If you have an outstanding judgment and a reason to believe the debtor owns watercraft, sooner is better than later.
What’s the difference between a NYC City Marshal seizing a boat and the U.S. Marshals Service?
These are two completely separate legal mechanisms that often get confused. The U.S. Marshals Service handles vessel arrests under federal admiralty and maritime law — these are typically in rem actions where the vessel itself is the defendant, often involving maritime liens, cargo disputes, or federal claims. That process has nothing to do with enforcing a New York State civil court money judgment. When you win a judgment in NYC Civil Court or New York State Supreme Court and want to collect against the debtor’s personal property — including a boat — you work with a NYC City Marshal. We operate under CPLR Article 52, which is the state civil enforcement framework. If your judgment came from a New York court, a NYC City Marshal is the right officer for the job.
Call us at (718) 779-2134 or email us at gu*****@**********14.com to see how we can help you.