The city is moving forward with its plans to replace the wood from
most of Riegelmann’s Boardwalk in Coney Island with cement or a
synthetic material, the Brooklyn Paper reported. Once the Public
Design Commission approves the plan later this month, the New York
Department of Parks & Recreation plans to first replace the wood with
concrete On The Boardwalk Between Coney Island Avenue and Brighton
15th Street in Brighton Beach. Eventually, the only section that would
remain wooden are four blocks between West 10th and West 15th streets.
Community Board 13 and residents are opposed to the change. “The
Boardwalk is historic,” said Brighton Beach resident Ida Sanoff. “It’s
not a sidewalk.”
A spokesperson for the parks department said the change to concrete is because it
is sturdier and cheaper. While residents pointed out that test sections
made of concrete had cracked, the Parks Department said that did not signify
structural damage. [Brooklyn Paper]