Boaters in Throgs Neck may finally be getting easier and increased access to Bronx marinas.

Members of the Locust Point Yacht Club have been frustrated for years with their inability to pass through Hammond Creek.

They say low tide near the inlet that opens the creek makes it very difficult to make it through the inlet that leads into the Locust Point and Hammond Cove marinas in Throgs Neck. Club members say the water can sometimes get down to three feet deep.

An estimated 500 boaters use the marinas annually and sometimes the low tide can create dangerous situations.

"We had a fire at the little bungalows and it was low tide and a fire boat couldn't get in," said Patrick Devine, a club member. "They were all stuck out here, so instead of one little bungalow going up, about six went up."

Boaters like Patrick Devine have called for the waterway to be dredged for more than a decade. This process would be done by removing silt from the bottom to make the water deeper.

After a long wait, a study by the city's Economic Development Corporation is pushing the project forward.

"There's an opportunity to remove between 5,000 and 10,000 cubic yards of material in this area that will materially benefit future navigations and uses of this waterway for boaters in this area," said Max Taffet, NYCEDC VP of Ports and Transportation

The funding for the study was secured by Sen. Jeff Klein. He says that the cost of getting the dredging done will be $1.5 million. City officials say they're working to get grant money and permits before work can begin.

Klein says work should begin in the fall and the dredging should be complete for next summer.