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Coney Island Boardwalk to Become Concretewalk
By
Ben Yakas
Published Apr 21, 2010
Modified Apr 21, 2010
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Apr 21, 2010
Modified Apr 21, 2010
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Can you still call it a boardwalk if you take the boards out of it? It's an existential question now facing fans of the famed Coney Island Boardwalk—the city has begun replacing the classic wood planks on the Riegelmann Boardwalk with large concrete slabs from Ocean Parkway to Brighton First Road.
And though administration officials are gung-ho about the durability of the concrete, they admit that things won't quite be the same: “It’s not going to look like wood at all,” Martin Maher, chief of staff of Brooklyn Parks, told Brooklyn Paper. Residents are already grumbling about the change: “Not only is it going to be ugly, it’s going to be unbearably hot...People are not going to be able to walk barefoot over that. They’re going to burn their feet.” said Brighton Beach resident Ida Sanoff.
In the meantime, as you consider the disrespect being given to wood, you can revisit the boardwalk in scenes from classic movies such as Uptown Girls, Two Weeks Notice and Steven Seagal's Out For Justice.
Tagged
boardwalk
brighton beach
coney island
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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