I own a home on river in NY state. The river is designed as public but the surrounding properties are private. We entered the water at our residence and made our way upstream with 2 tubes.
We swam in the water at a point where it’s waist deep on an adult and after we were done swimming I told him I would take him to go see the rapid area of the river. I put him in the tube and started pulling him upstream. I stayed in the middle of the river where it was deeper so I could pull the tubes easily. Right before we reached our destination a gentleman comes out to the water edge. I waved and said hi we’re your neighbors! He wags his finger and says you better turn around right now! You can’t be here. I said what are you talking about? We live right over there and we’re just floating past. He says this is private property and your trespassing. I said this is a public river and I’m in the water and not on your property. He said I own the water too if you don’t leave I’m going to call the cops and have both of you arrested! I started to laugh but my kid got scared and started to cry. At this point I became upset and said what is wrong with you! What special kind of monster are you to make a little boy cry! He said I don’t care the cops will be at your house soon and they will arrest you! At this point my kid is sobbing uncontrollably and saying daddy I don’t want to go to jail! I yelled at the man and said you need to turn around and walk away you maniac! He started cursing and saying he was going to call the cops. I said good call them I dare you! I hope you feel good about yourself making a little kid cry. You’re a monster and you should turn around and go inside now. He said come on come out of the water and make me. I said ok you got issues buddy shut your mouth and go inside. He said I’m calling the cops. I said good call them you maniac! He cursed some more and walked away. I said nice language to use around kids! We went home and no cops ever showed up. Was I wrong to tell him off?
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I own a home on river in NY state. The river is designed as public but the surrounding properties are private. We entered the water at our residence and made our way upstream with 2 tubes.
We swam in the water at a point where it’s waist deep on an adult and after we were done swimming I told him I would take him to go see the rapid area of the river. I put him in the tube and started pulling him upstream. I stayed in the middle of the river where it was deeper so I could pull the tubes easily. Right before we reached our destination a gentleman comes out to the water edge. I waved and said hi we’re your neighbors! He wags his finger and says you better turn around right now! You can’t be here. I said what are you talking about? We live right over there and we’re just floating past. He says this is private property and your trespassing. I said this is a public river and I’m in the water and not on your property. He said I own the water too if you don’t leave I’m going to call the cops and have both of you arrested! I started to laugh but my kid got scared and started to cry. At this point I became upset and said what is wrong with you! What special kind of monster are you to make a little boy cry! He said I don’t care the cops will be at your house soon and they will arrest you! At this point my kid is sobbing uncontrollably and saying daddy I don’t want to go to jail! I yelled at the man and said you need to turn around and walk away you maniac! He started cursing and saying he was going to call the cops. I said good call them I dare you! I hope you feel good about yourself making a little kid cry. You’re a monster and you should turn around and go inside now. He said come on come out of the water and make me. I said ok you got issues buddy shut your mouth and go inside. He said I’m calling the cops. I said good call them you maniac! He cursed some more and walked away. I said nice language to use around kids! We went home and no cops ever showed up. Was I wrong to tell him off?
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> It is possible but unlikely that he owned property extending into a public water way
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Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.
I am reasonably certain that navigable waterways are public and that ownership of real property that abuts said waterway ends at the foreshore. If the body of water you were in is navigable then, basically, this guy is full of shit. NTA
How dare that fool frighten your son for using space that he has every right to use.
I hope you explained to your son that sometimes other people don’t know what they are talking about and may say mean things to try to scare people into doing things their way.
Also, he doesn’t have to be scared of good policemen whose job it is to help and protect him.
I would be tempted to float downriver every day with all the fryI could gather to float with me. The screaming man’s ownership rights end at the edge of the land and he’s not entitled to any more than that.
NTA
NTA. It may vary with the location, but where I live waterways are indeed public. You can own the land up to the shore, but you don’t own the lake/river.
I actually had a similar thing happen to me a few years ago with a cottager that was mad that we were fishing with our young kids from our boat along the shoreline of her property. Much shouting back and forth ensued. She told us to go fish in front of our own property, and I yelled back that there was no room because people were already fishing there (which was true, there’s a shoal in front of our shoreline and it’s a popular fishing spot- which is fine, the lake is public!) She proceeded to cuss us out and I proceeded to yell back that she was shouting at an old man (my dad) and a couple of little kids and that was REAL neighbourly of her. Eventually she went back inside with her husband trying to calm her down and my kids got a good story about me fighting with the neighbours.
A short time later I saw the same cottager let her dog take a leak on a kid’s sandcastle at a public beach that has a ‘no dogs’ sign clearly posted, so she was clearly a class act all around!
There are assholes everywhere you go what can I say. Your son was going to encounter one sooner or later.
I’m petty af so guess which part of the river I’d be in every day hahaha. Love to see the look on his face when the cops inevitably tell him he doesn’t own the river.
NTA and I hope your son has many great summer memories pissing this guy off for swimming in “his” river
Yes you were wrong. When your child is in extreme distress you act in their best interests. In this case that would have been immediately removing them from the situation. You didn’t do that. Instead you entered into a slagging match with your neighbor while your terrified child cried.
Absolutely disgusting parenting. Your primary responsibility was to your child and you completely disregarded them so you could engage in an absolutely pointless fight about ownership or right of use of a river. YTA to your child. What a monster.
I mean, obviously he’s the asshole.
But you should have just ignored him, and concentrated on reassuring your kid that nothing was wrong.
NTA
He doesn’t own the river.
The cops will laugh at him.
ESH. There came a point in the conflict where you were actively escalating it. If you didn’t have a child, sure, stand your ground.
But your kid was there, watching Daddy and this scary man almost get into a physical fight. That must have been terrifying. Sometimes as a parent, you have to lose the battle to protect your child. You should have walked away instead.
Monster is harsh as I’m sure adrenaline clouded their judgement but you’re right, the priority is to get the scared child out of there.
Don’t telegraph your punches, apologise profusely, get your kid out of there, go back at night and introduce some rocks to their windows 🪨
Not going to probably be a popular sentiment op here in reactionary Reddit-land, but I’d say maybe you should have pushed it farther to make that creep understand the fine art of MYOFB.
This is a BS story. The details are all wrong. You went to the deeper water to pull the tube easier? YTA for making up crap.