By Tien-Shun Lee
Despite his extensive knowledge of boats, the owner of a popular World’s Fair Marina snack bar/gasoline dock died on his vessel from carbon monoxide poisoning during the recent blackout, said police and marina business owners. His employee also lost her life on the boat.
Peter Kiefer, 70, the owner of the marina concession stand, Pete’s Backyard, used his gas generator to power the air conditioner on his boat during the Aug. 14 blackout, said Kiefer’s grandson, Tim Kiefer, 34. The boat is usually hooked up to outlets on the dock and powered by electricity like a regular house.
The gas generator was apparently faulty and leaked lethal carbon monoxide into the interior of the boat, which was sealed tightly to keep the cool air from the air conditioner inside, said Tim Kiefer.
Kiefer and Catherine Sealey, 41, of Jackson Heights, who worked as a waitress at Kiefer’s snack bar, were discovered dead shortly before 1 p.m. on August 15 by Peter Vizzio, the owner of the Cloud 9 cruise boat company, said police. Vizzio went into the boat to investigate after Kiefer’s daughter told him that Kiefer was not in his concession stand at mid-day Friday, where he usually was.
“As soon as he went in, he noticed two parakeets dead,” said Tim Kiefer. “He went down into the cabins and he (Kiefer) was already cold. She (Sealey) went so fast she was still sitting up. They both went in their sleep and didn’t feel a thing.”
Ordinarily Kiefer would have driven Sealey home after work, said Tim Kiefer, but on the day of the blackout, his car was in the shop. So instead, he offered to let her stay in a spare cabin on his boat.
According to Kiefer’s friends on the marina, Kiefer started up his generator at around 8:30 p.m. and turned on the air conditioning to cool down the boat’s cabin. He then went upstairs with Sealey to the deck of his boat and stayed there until a little past midnight.
Kiefer usually lived on his boat during the summer months, even though he had an apartment in Flushing, said Tim Kiefer.
“He loved the water. There wasn’t a time that he didn’t have a boat,” said Tim Kiefer of his grandfather, who served in the U.S. Marines during the Korean War in the early 1950s. “There wasn’t anything about boats that he didn’t know. He could look at a boat a mile away without glasses and tell you what kind it was.”
Everyone who had a boat at the marina knew Kiefer, said his grandson. Kiefer built his snack bar 20 years ago with his own hands, and then built his gasoline dock, one of the only gas docks for boats in northern Queens, about 10 years ago.
“He was a very good man. He took a very rundown marina gas dock that was practically non-functioning and turned it into the premier gas dock in northern Queens that was known by everybody,” said Peter Sarro, the owner of the Skyline Princess cruise ship, which docks close to Kiefer’s snack bar. “He was very supportive of our business, and we were in turn very supportive of him. He will be sorely missed out here.”
A memorial service for Kiefer was held last Thursday at Queen of Peace Roman Catholic Church in Flushing.
Sealey was cremated last week and the family scheduled a mass her Wednesday at 7 p.m. at La Iglesia Episcopal in Astoria, said her mother, Therese Pineda.
“She had a lot of artistic talent, and she loved to organize boat trips,” said Pineda of her daughter, who used to design sweaters and jewelry when not working at the marina. “Pete was a great guy. He was a really a father figure to Cathy, and she enjoyed working (at Pete’s Backyard).”
Tim Kiefer said he and his half-brother, Joe Christ, 22, plan on running Pete’s Backyard and the gas dock now that their grandfather is gone. The concession stand sells burgers, juice, ice, candy and soda, among other things.
Aside from his grandson and step-grandson, Kiefer is survived by his daughter, AnnMarie, 16, and four great grandchildren.
Reach reporter Tien-Shun Lee by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com, or call 718-229-0300, ext. 155.
