Fight over Coney Island boardwalk repair

Plastic or concrete?

The battle over which material to use in refurbishing a five-block stretch of Coney Island's historic boardwalk continues to rage after a city commission recently rejected a parks department plan.

That plan, while not publicly unveiled, used concrete, a department spokeswoman said.

The Design Commission sent parks officials back to the drawing board last month after boardwalk advocates and residents showed commissioners chunks of concrete that fell off slabs installed less than two years ago.

The department is now working on a revised plan for the famed 89-year boardwalk.

Coney Island residents and environmentalists say they fear the department will try to push through a concrete-heavy design that will include using the material on the boardwalk substructure.

Without providing specifics, parks spokeswoman Katie Karp said "a thorough investigation of all materials" is under way.

"We want the best and most beautiful boardwalk," she said.

Karp said the use of "some concrete" is being considered. The revised plan is expected to be ready at the end of this month. A hearing has not been scheduled by the Design Commission.

Boardwalk advocates believe repairing the structure with concrete will only encourage greater use by motor vehicles.

Using concrete on the boardwalk will "turn a pedestrian boardwalk into a highway for trucks and SUVs," said Ida Sanoff, 60, of Brighton Beach, chairwoman of the preservation-minded Natural Resources and Protective Association.

"We feel the parks department has not done their due diligence" in looking into the plastic alternative, said Geoffrey Groft, of NYC Parks Advocate.

Tim Keating, of Rainforest Relief, supports using plastic on both the boardwalk's surface and substructure.

"The parks department completely missed this alternative," Keating said, adding that domestic hardwoods such as black locust and white oak should also be considered for the boardwalk surface.

Coney Island resident Rob Burstein, 56, who grew up in the area, supports a plastic substructure and domestic wood surface.

"This is our backyard," he said. "The parks department comes in here and just ignores the community's wishes and desires."