New Year, New Push to “Keep the Boards in the Coney Island Boardwalk”

January 5, 2012 by Tricia

The New Year brings a new petition from concretewalk opponent and founder of the Coney-Brighton Boardwalk Alliance Rob Burstein. “Keep the Boards in the Coney Island Boardwalk–No Concrete! and Save the Rainforests” is circulating among our Coney friends on Facebook and has already gathered more than 365 signatures out of goal of 5,000. Addressed to 23 elected and appointed officials, the petition’s goal is to put a stop once and for all to the Parks Department’s plan to pave all but four blocks of the 2.7 mile Boardwalk with concrete and plastic wood. Some parts of the Boardwalk, like the spot in the above photo, have already been paved as part of a pilot project. The petition says in part:

If the Parks Department has its way, the Boardwalk will be turned into a concrete sidewalk! Their explanation for this choice is the citywide dictate to limit the use of rainforest wood, but there are in fact many other options available. Send a message to New York’s Parks Department to tell them that the choice is not between saving the rainforest and saving the Boardwalk — the correct choice is to do both! Stop the use of rainforest wood, and replace it with one of the available sustainable domestic hardwoods such as Black Locust or White Oak for the surface decking (the part that we all see and on which we walk). The support structure underneath should be made from recycled plastic lumber, which the U.S. Army has used to build bridges that support tanks and locomotives. This design would be both cost-effective and desirable, and, most importantly, would preserve the basic elements of what makes the wondrous Coney Island Boardwalk a boardwalk.

The last time ATZ wrote about the proposed concretewalk was in October, when the City’s Public Design Commission refused to approve the Parks Department’s plan. The PDC, a distinguished group of architects, artists and representatives of the City’s cultural institutions, told Parks that more environmental and engineering studies were needed to address the questions that they had.

According to a report on the blog A Walk in the Park, no one on the commission supported the use of concrete. “Why do we need the concrete at all,” one commissioner said. It was a victory for concretewalk opponents, winning time to organize more support for keeping the boards in the Coney Island Boardwalk.

UPDATE, March 13, 2012…

For an update read “The 10 People Who Will Decide the Fate of Coney Island Boardwalk” (ATZ, March 9, 2012)

The Coney-Brighton Boardwalk Alliance’s website http://savetheboardwalk.wordpress.com went live on March 5, 2012 while an online petition continues to gather signatures.

Related posts on ATZ…

February 29, 2012: Exclusive: Coney Boardwalk Group’s Letter to PDC Rebuts Parks

December 4, 2011: Brass Ring Dept: Coney Island “Carousell” RFP Up for Grabs

May 5, 2011: May 7: Coney Island Boardwalk Trash Can Art Contest

November 15, 2010: Nov 16: Concrete, Wood or Plastic? Discussion on Future of Coney Island Boardwalk

Posted in News | Tagged Boardwalk, Brighton Beach, concrete, Coney Island, Coney-Brighton Boardwalk Alliance, local, Parks Department, rainforest wood | 8 Comments

8 Responses

on January 5, 2012 at 11:00 am | Reply vikki

thanks for this report! On New Year’s Day, I noticed that the boardwalk area just beyond Ruby’s and Cha-Cha’s (going towards Child’s Restaurant) is being torn up and replaced by concrete. There was already a narrow walkway of concrete and the boardwalk on both sides around it were torn up (presumably to be replaced by concrete).
- on January 14, 2012 at 11:37 am | Reply Tricia
  
  They have been redoing the section between W 10th and W 15th in sections for the past few years. The wood is being taken out and replaced with concrete underneath and wood on top. According to the proposed plan, these are the only four blocks that will remain wood. In addition to Brighton, there is already asection of concretewalk on the west end of the Boardwalk
on January 5, 2012 at 4:41 pm | Reply Concerned Coney Island resident

if you walk by West 12 st, you can see the wood they removed already, probably to be sold to be made in furniture. Looking at the wood, the long beams probably date back decades, and still smells like fresh wood when cut.

Right now the boardwalk by the businesses between Stilwell and West 12 st, after a rain, there are puddles. No drainage.
on January 7, 2012 at 8:33 am | Reply paula

a couple of years ago i went for a walk on the boardwalk. i tripped over one of the huge nails that was sticking out of the wooden planks. i don’t think , in over 50 years, I EVER FELL SO BAD ( if that’s possible). It was an early sunday morning, no police, no where to report this. From that point on,i returned to the boardwalk and really noticed that the planks were not maintained. It saddens me , but if I have to walk along and look only at the wood, just not to fall, than put the concrete. If we are assured that these wooden planks will be maintained , than keep the wood.
on January 8, 2012 at 11:16 am | Reply Bogframe

The problem with loose boards isn’t just lack of maintenance, it’s the police driving full-sized police cars on the boardwalk. Of course you’ll have nails popping up! It’s a boardWALK! There is no reason to have anything larger than a golf car on those boards.
As to the question of concrete vs. wood, it’s a BOARDwalk! You don’t need rainforest timber, we have plenty of domestic redwood which is resistant to mold and rot. Cement is vulnerable to salt air, it’s not kind to the feet nor the knees and it’s not necessary.
on January 8, 2012 at 2:50 pm | Reply Concerned Coney Island resident

The other day I saw a full size SUV stopping and talking to someone in front of the Boardwalk businesses, i so wanted him to fall through. He had no business being there.
on January 9, 2012 at 8:16 am | Reply Coney Island “Boardwalk” Vs. Coney Island “Slabwalk” « SAllan's Corner

[…] I just read on this website that the Parks Department wants to replace all but 4 blocks of this beautiful, historic boardwalk […]
on January 12, 2012 at 12:37 pm | Reply Mr Jones

Concerning Silver Salty’s photos, they are magnificant. The first photo with the concrete, is the exact photo from the second photo 3 years earlier showing the wood. The cropping is exact.