Brighton Beach's New Concrete “Boardwalk” Already Cracking

The concrete section of the Riegelmann Boardwalk in Brighton Beach is already cracking despite being open for only a few months. This is just one of the issues locals wanted to avoid. In a "pilot" program the Parks Department has replaced sections of the historic boardwalk in Coney Island and Brighton Beach with concrete instead of with traditional wood or with a sustainable material. The City refuses to allocate proper funds to maintain the wooden boardwalk. On March 21, CB 13 voted against the proposal.

Brooklyn

THE COMMUTE: This week’s Commute is for those of you who walk or run on the Riegelmann Boardwalk, which is in danger of extinction as we know it. The latest proposal calls for a 12-foot wide concrete strip for motorized vehicles, yielding to opposition from those who opposed a boardwalk entirely made of concrete. Now here is the latest development, according to Sheepsheadbites.

The new concrete boardwalk, laid last year, has already developed numerous hairline cracks after only one winter. The 300-foot segment between Ocean Parkway and Brighton 1st Road is already showing signs of age, although the city favored concrete over choices such as natural wood,kebony-treated wood and recycled plastic lumber. Also, the concrete is staining and shows off gum spots remarkably well.

The City Lies

This all flies in the face of the city’s claims that concrete was the most sturdy and economical choice and would last virtually forever, something they suggested on multiple occasions.

“Concrete is less expensive to use, can last decades rather than up to 10 years, and requires virtually no maintenance,” Parks Spokesperson Meghan Lalor said last fall. “It is significantly more effective than the other choices.”

Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Kevin Jeffrey said the material costs less, is not slippery, is easier to repair and is less likely to break or rot than its alternatives. There was no mention as to how snow would be removed or if the concrete walk would be salted or plowed and how much wear and tear that would cause.

In actuality, the wood in use now was guaranteed for 20 years with some sections lasting as few as 12 years – not 10 as the city asserted. The problem with wood, however, is that much of it came from tropical rain forests, justifiably sparking opposition from environmentalists. But the city’s opposition to other materials seems a little less substantial.

The makers of Recycled Plastic Lumber claim it can last as long as 50 years, but the city says the material is too slippery when wet. I walked on the small section installed along Steeplechase Pier and can tell you it is also slippery even when dry. Apparently the original wood grain texture giving it some traction has already worn away leaving an ultra-smooth surface. Also, I do not understand why the slats were installed with no space between for the water to drain. But, overall, these are issues that can be remedied with minor design tweaks.

Recently two groups have sprouted to preserve the Riegelmann Boardwalk: Todd Dobrin’s Friends of the Boardwalk, and Rob Burstein’s Coney-Brighton Boardwalk Alliance, which is circulating an online petition.

What Should Be Done?

Concrete apparently is not as durable as the city claimed it would be because the hairline cracks will only get worse with age and eventually will have to patched – unless, of course, the city wants to be faced with huge lawsuits, since falls on concrete are much more severe than falls on wood. Concrete is also criticized because it is more difficult to walk or run on than wood and that it is hotter than wood to walk on with bare feet. I am in favor of the recycled plastic lumber as long as a variety can be found that will not become slippery after only a few years, and if it could be installed to look like the traditional boardwalk. I do not believe we should have to destroy the rain forest to obtain a lumber that is usable for the boardwalk. Other varieties such as kebony-treated lumber should be considered. However, the makers of kebony have not come forth to show that pricing is economically feasible as they have alleged.

What I Think Will Happen

A small section composed of recycled plastic lumber with a concrete driving strip will be constructed. The city will not acknowledge the fact that concrete is not holding up as intended, but will state after a year that recycled plastic lumber is too slippery and not suitable for further use, and will revert to their original plan to complete the remainder of the boardwalk (except for five blocks within the amusement area which they may increase to 10) entirely of concrete. They will buy the cheapest grade of recycled plastic lumber on the market to ensure that it fails, and will make no attempt to find a type that will not get slippery or wear out too fast. They also will do no investigation of using non-tropical woods or kebony (or similarly treated) wood.

Related posts

• Twenty Bones To Mark The Coney Concrete-Walk
• Parks: Coney Island Boardwalk Will Be Concrete
• Coney Island Boardwalk Rehab Begins Immediately
• Concrete Coney Boardwalk? New Jersey Laughs At Us

Read More:

New Concrete “Boardwalk” Is Already Cracking

Sheepsheadbites - June 13, 2011 - by Allan Rosen

CB 13 Rejects Coney Island/Brighton Beach Concrete Board Walk

A Walk In The Park - March 24, 2011

Brooklyn Bridge Park Loses in $11M In Capital Funds As Pols Fight Over Maintenance Funds

"To responsibly allocate those capital funds, however, a plan must be in place to ensure the maintenance of these investments for future generations, " said Brooklyn Bridge Park Development spokeswoman Ellen Ryan. One City, One Standard?

The city is still refusing to take responsibility to pay for the maintenance and operation of the Brooklyn Bridge Park. The City chopped $11 million from funds to rebuild Brooklyn Bridge Park as politicians argue over the building of private condos on the property to pay for maintenance. The 20% cut is a blow to plans to build Pier 2, a chunk of the park at John St. and other projects. (Pier 2 Rendering by Michael Van Valkenburgh)

Brooklyn

The City has chopped $11million from the money it pledged to finish building Brooklyn Bridge Park - as a fight over housing threatens to put the rest of the funds in jeopardy, according to the New York Daily News.

When Mayor Bloomberg took over the gleaming waterfront park from the state last year, he promised $55 million to help finish building the long-awaited green space.

But city officials quietly slashed that to $44 million earlier this year. The 20% cut is a blow to plans to build Pier 2, a chunk of the park at John St. and other projects.

The rest of the money could be in danger as well, unless the Bloomberg administration and local politicians can resolve a fight over whether to build more luxury condos in the park.

A new report suggests city officials are sticking with controversial plans to build the condo towers and use their income to pay for the park's upkeep. Local pols could veto that plan, but the city could pull all its promised funding if there's no deal on how to pay for the park's maintenance.

"This funding cut and the results of this report call the city's commitment to completing the park into question," said State Sen. Daniel Squadron (D-Brooklyn Heights), a leading condo foe.

A consultant's report released last week finds the park could raise between $2.4 million and $7million a year - without housing - through new fees, parking and other options.

That's not enough to pay for the park's whopping $16 million annual maintenance budget. Even raising that much money depends on levying a new "park improvement district" fee on local property owners, a plan that lacks political support.

"It seems clear from the final outcome of the report that some residential housing is needed on the site," said Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy executive director Nancy Webster.

Park spokeswoman Ellen Ryan said the funding was slashed as part of a citywide cut in capital money for parks.

"The Bloomberg administration is committed to Brooklyn Bridge Park, as demonstrated by its allocation of over $130 million for park construction to date and the additional commitment of capital funds to build more sections of the park, including active recreational amenities," Ryan said.

"To responsibly allocate those capital funds, however, a plan must be in place to ensure the maintenance of these investments for future generations."

But housing opponents were outraged because the report didn't consider using tax revenues from waterfront Watchtower properties the Jehovah's Witnesses expect to sell. "It's unfortunately a political document rather than an impartial analysis," Squadron said.

The park's board, dominated by Bloomberg appointees, is expected to sign off on the report today.

Read More:

Brooklyn Bridge Park loses $11M in funds as pols fight over funding for grounds maintenance

New York Daily News - June 14, 2011 - By Erin Durkin

More Housing Likely For Brooklyn Bridge Park- Report

A Walk In The Park - June 10, 2011

Randall's Island $ 120 Million Ballfield's Go Largely Unused - Private Sports Camp Scraped

Built at enormous taxpayer expense, as expected the fields go largely unused during the Summer when the public would normally be expected to use them the most. Critics of the Randall's Island Sports Field development plan have long pointed out the lack community based planning and consultation before investing these funds. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.

Manhattan

On April 27th, in a subject line, IMG Academies - Not Moving Forward this Summer, Randall's Island Sports Foundation head Aimee Boden sent an email out informing people that a pay-to-play private sports camp had been cancelled.

" I am sorry to announce that IMG Academies recently informed us that they have decide not to hold a summer sports camps ( IMG Academies) in New York this summer. It is our understanding that it was a business decision based on their low enrollment numbers and finances. "

The deal called for Florida-based IMG Academies to operate a private sports camp on Randall's Island after donating $200, 000 to the Randall's Island Sports Foundation. The camp was to be given exclusive access during the day to approximately twelve fields during the Summer for six weeks. Costing between $ 495 - $ 895 per week per child, IMG was to offer soccer, lacrosse, football and baseball. They projected a capacity of hosting 100 children per sport per week. But plans fell through in April, with IMG citing low enrollment.

In a January 13th, 2011 letter to Melissa Mark- Viverito Chair of the Parks and Recreation Committee, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe cited the low traffic to justify plans for a private sports camp.

"Fields on Randall's Island have gone largely unused during weekday daytime hours in July and August, and thus availability should not be an issue," he wrote.

The Parks Commissioner agreed to allow IMG to bypass getting a concession agreement for the "pilot program."

"With regard to how the arrangement shall work, there will be no concession agreement. Just like any other park user, IMG will apply to Parks for field permits."

The Parks Commissioner went to pains to avoid the appearance of a pay-to-play scheme.

"With regard to IMG donating to RISF, while we should all hope and expect that IMG will support the community and RISF by making a generous contribution toward park maintenance, there is no agreement that obligates them to make such a donation," the Commissioner wrote.

"That is not accurate," said a city source familiar with the agreement. "The deal was always contingent upon them (RISF) getting a "donation." – Geoffrey Croft

The City installed the largest concentration of artificial turf fields in the country in order to accommodate the private school pay-to-play scheme. (The deal was struck down by two judges) Heat and odor are just two reasons sited for the lack of use, poor planning to accommodate community needs, and a lack of access to the island, are among the others.

If you build it, they will come - but not to Randalls Island.

Dozens of new ballfields in the sprawling park beneath the RFK-Triborough Bridge went unused last summer by the kids who need them most, the city parks boss admits, according to the New York Daily News.

And with school almost out for summer, advocates are complaining the $120 million revamp of Randalls Island Park in early 2010 created a playground for the rich and took crucial dollars from neighborhood ballfields.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe cited the low traffic earlier this year to justify plans for a private sports camp.

"Fields on Randalls Island have gone largely unused during weekday daytime hours in July and August, and thus availability should not be an issue," he wrote City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito in January.

The deal called for Florida-based IMG Academies to operate the camp on Randalls Island after donating $200,000 to the Randalls Island Sports Foundation. But plans for the $895-a-week camp fell through in April, with IMG citing low enrollment.

Mark-Viverito (D-East Harlem/Bronx) slammed the pricey park rehab, claiming thousands of trees were cut down to make way for the artificial turf fields.

"Why would you build so many fields and then have a problem in terms of utilization?" she asked. "It was shortsighted and now we're paying the price."

"From day one, we were concerned there was no need to build so many" new fields, said Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates. "Now that has come to fruition. The result is the fields are empty."

The park boasts fancy golf and tennis centers, but no basketball courts, he added.

During the rehab, the city took heat for a $2.2 million-per-year pay-to-play scheme involving Manhattan private schools. It was struck down in court after East Harlem and Bronx community groups sued.

"The fields were built mostly to accommodate the private schools," Croft said. And Marina Ortiz, of East Harlem Preservation, called the park "a private playground ... designed to bring in revenue."

There's a move afoot now to try and spread the word about what's in the park. Randalls Island fields go unused partly because they are isolated and more people need to be made aware of the space, said Frances Masrota of Manhattan Community Board 11.

Access Denied. 10-year-old children don't normally apply for permits, nor should they be required to. Ballfields used for pick-up play are the most utilized by the public yet the policy on Randall's Island prohibits such uses.

Read More:

Ballfields at $120 million Randalls Island largely unused, not attracting neighborhood kids

New York Daily News - June 14, 2011 - By Daniel Beekman

High Line Breeds Big Business But What's Next?

The High Line had 59 employees for less than 3 acres of open space, not including City funded Park Enforcement Officers. The elevated esplenade has spurred hundreds of millions of dollars of development in the area yet the City is still justifying a private parks department run it as well as divert concession revenue funds from the city general fund.

“It is a way for the Friends of the High Line to provide the high level of maintenance this park requires,” he said. “It’s really difficult raising maintenance money … Keep in mind this park has really become an economic development magnet. The city’s investment of about $112 million is dwarfed by the private sector in the buildings around it.”

High Line co-founder Robert Hammond thinks the City has recently added 20,000 acres of parkland.

Manhattan

Robert Hammond, a former dot-commer and amateur artist who became an urban folk hero for his decade-long fight to save the High Line, keeps a card from an anonymous commenter above his desk.

“The High Line is beautiful and should be preserved,” it reads. “No doubt you will ruin it. So it goes.”

Whether the High Line’s pristine restoration has ruined its allure as one of the city’s last wild escapes remains a matter of some dispute. But as the city opened the second section this week, the celebrated rail trellis has come to be seen by some critics as a symbol of the new New York for the Bloomberg era, a place that privileges high-end enchantments and requires steady dollops of fashion, celebrity and financial philanthropy for anything to move the municipal bureaucracy, according to The New York Observer.

“The biggest blockbuster opening of the summer isn’t The Hangover Part II—it is the High Line Part 2,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a ceremonial groundbreaking this week, where he announced a $5 million gift to the park from the Tiffany Foundation and a matching gift from the philanthropists Donald Pels and Wendy Keys. “And when I say blockbuster I mean every block from 20th to 30th Street!”

“All the High Line really proves is that wealthy, connected people simply have better access to government and are able to do this kind of thing,” said Geoffrey Croft, executive director of New York City Park Advocates. “I give everyone a lot of credit for seeing this through, but let’s be honest—I’ve been working for years and years to get a tiny piece of park land out in Maspeth, and these guys are able to get a $100 million in a very short period of time.”

The story of the saving of the High Line has been about how two regular guys—Mr. Hammond and his West Side neighbor Joshua David—teamed up to sell New York on their dream, over the objections of Big Real Estate and City Hall. The truth is slightly more complicated. Mr. Hammond, who now serves as executive director of Friends of the High Line, was a college roommate of former City Council speaker Gifford Miller (who was singled out for praise at the groundbreaking) and the group recruited backers from the downtown glitterati—like actor Ed Norton and fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg. Only when a rezoning insured that high-end development would accompany preservation of the park did a deal finally go through to save the abandoned track.

“To be a little selfish, I thought it would be good for me as a landlord in the future,” said Douglas Oliver, an early supporter of the project who owns a building along the High Line that he recently rented to the satellite campus of an elite global private school for the net price of $30 a square foot. “All the landlords thought it would be detriment to the area. Now they have property worth a lot more than it was before.”

Mr. Oliver was right in the end. In a preview walk-through with reporters last week, Mr. Bloomberg touted the returns on the city’s $115 million dollar investment in the High Line: $2 billion in private investment, mostly through the glass-clad towers that have grown up around the trestle, like so much of the native flora carefully laid amid the old railway ties.

There is some disagreement over how much the High Line (and the public outlays that came with it) was needed to actually spur growth in West Chelsea—the project was approved as the neighborhood underwent a massive rezoning, and just as Hudson River Park opened the waterfront to New Yorkers for the first time.

“This neighborhood was changing dramatically before the High Line, too,” Mr. Hammond told The Observer. “Sometimes people credit it with everything, with the only reason the neighborhood has gentrified. It was changing before us.”

The High Line has stoked fears in some preservation and planning circles that it will set a new precedent for urban development in the city, one in which new public spaces get created only if the promise of gaudy new buildings suggests they will turn the city a handsome profit.

“I think it is a cautionary tale. You have to be careful about crediting it as a model,” said Jerilyn Perine, a former housing commissioner under Mr. Bloomberg. “If you are going to be making those kinds of arguments you run the danger of never developing public spaces that will have that spike in real estate value.”

The long-term concern is the High Line might be the first step in a new, two-tiered system of public spaces in the city, one where projects that can entice Lisa Marie Falcone to stand up suddenly at a gala and pledge $10 million for a catwalk to be called “The Falcone Flyover” and those that don’t, well, don’t.

“I think all neighborhoods should have great parks,” responded Mr. Hammond. “I think they have added 20,000 acres of new parks in the city, and the High Line is what, three acres of that? So I think there have been great parks built all over the city.”

But calling the High Line a park isn’t quite right. One gallerist in the area told The Observer that it was basically like having Yankee Stadium on the West Side, with visitors stepping off the train and taking a quick stroll before heading back the other way.

“It’s not a recreational park, as we’ve understood it,” said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe. “It’s a place where you re-create yourself, which is the root word, where you re-create yourself in nature … Even in a tiny, narrow, glorified alleyway on the busy West Side, nature is taking place.”

Park advocates across the city are watching nervously to see what happens long after the second section opens, once the Von Furstenbergs and Falcones of the world find other amusements. When it ceases to be one of the hippest playgrounds around, who will pay for the High Line’s upkeep?

Friends of the High Line thought they had a solution when they proposed a “Park Improvement District,” a first-of-its-kind tax on residents and businesses around the park to pay for upkeep. Neighbors were up in arms at the proposal, and it was eventually dropped.

Earlier this year, Friends of the High Line secured a unique deal with the city to open a number of cafes on the site and to keep most of the money generated from those concessions, even though the city charter states that all concession money must go back into the city’s general fund.

“That money is being stolen from taxpayers to go to that park,” said Mr. Croft, the parks advocate, noting that the High Line has 54 employees for less than three acres, while most public spaces have none. “Talk about a disparity. This is a poster child for what is wrong with the park system.”

Standing underneath a web of scaffolding, in the shadow of another new building going up on the High Line, Mr. Benepe said that arrangement was not uncommon for parks that operated as public/private partnerships and said it was necessary because Friends of the High Line, and not the city, was responsible for most of the park’s upkeep.

“It is a way for the Friends of the High Line to provide the high level of maintenance this park requires,” he said. “It’s really difficult raising maintenance money … Keep in mind this park has really become an economic development magnet. The city’s investment of about $112 million is dwarfed by the private sector in the buildings around it.”

Those glass towers tunneling over the High Line might do more than increase property values or keep the Chelsea economy humming through the recession; they could help provide the park with a built-in wealthy constituency who will ensure that the High Line stays beautiful in perpetuity, much as the old-money co-ops that line Central Park look after its upkeep.

In the meantime, a thousand ships have launched from the example of Mr. Hammond and Mr. David, as dreamers around the country look to turn every bridge left lying around into their city’s next great public space, and even a few developers have talked of constructing something like the High Line out of whole cloth. But they may want to make sure they have their Falcones and their Von Furstenburgs lined up first.

Standing on the second section, looking resplendent in a sheer bright purple dress and orange top, Ms. Von Furstenburg greeted well-wishers and peered over dark sunglasses at what her $10 million gift two years ago has wrought.

“Dreams can come true. That is the story of the High Line,” she said. “It’s great. “It’s wonderful. It’s what New York should be about.”

Read More:

Living The High Line: Elevated Park Brings Big Business, But What’s Next?

New York Observer - June 7, 2011 - By David Freedlander