Man behind iconic Delaware River tubing hot dog stand passes from COVID-19

Charlie Dwyer

ALEXANDRIA TOWNSHIP, NJ – The owner of Delaware River Tubing and the Famous River Hot Dog Man died Monday from complications of COVID-19. Greg Crance, 56 operated his stand on a platform in the middle of the Delaware River delivered joys visitors for nearly two decades.

Crance and his business have been under attack from the State of New Jersey which has been fining him between $1,000 and $4,500. The citations were issued by the New Jersey State Park Police and local municipalities. The Murphy administration has been issuing fines since the company’s agreement with the NJ DEP and the company expired in 2018.

Photo by Delaware River Tubing.

The state had issued Crance a cease and desist and continued to harass Crance through the 2020 season.


“It’s a waterway that the public has an absolute right to use for a variety of reasons. For boating, for commerce, and in this case, for recreational uses,” his lawyer said in a hearing in 2019. “They can’t discriminate about the type of use, because under federal law, the public has the right to access the Delaware River.”

Crance had fought a two year long battle with the state and local officials over his business before his passing.

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