Protesters demand city preserve Coney Island’s boardwalk
City replacing wooden sections with concrete
Residents from Coney Island and Brighton Beach turned out in force for a Jan. 18 rally to demand that the New York City Parks Department halt a project currently underway to renovate the historic Riegelmann Boardwalk because the work entails pulling up wooden parts of the boardwalk and replacing the sections with concrete.
More than 100 residents braved a driving rain to take part in the rally organized by council members Mark Treyger (D-Coney Island-Gravesend-parts of Bensonhurst) and Chaim Deutsch (D-Brighton Beach-Sheepshead Bay-Manhattan Beach).
The protesters demanded that the city immediately halt ongoing work on the boardwalk, charging that the work will irrevocably alter the character of the boardwalk. Residents also said a concrete boardwalk would result in environmental concerns for nearby homes and businesses.
Treyger and Deutsch also repeated a request they made in late 2014 for the boardwalk, a world-famous tourist attraction that sees millions of visitors a year, to be declared a city landmark.