The Coney Island boardwalk’s planks are sourced from a Brazilian tree known as ipê, a heavily-durable and rot-resistant wood whose extraction has contributed to the deforestation of the Amazon. The price of ipê has also increased significantly in recent years.
Defenders of a hardwood boardwalk see the Parks Department's position as economic and practical. Coney Island Council Member Mark Treyger said he has requested the de Blasio administration identify other hardwoods, either domestically or sustainably sourced from South America, but was brushed off.
“The de Blasio administration has said that no supply exists, but we found out later that was not the case,” Treyger said. “I don't think it's contradictory to push for resiliency and the historic nature of the boardwalk.”
When the privately-funded High Line stopped using ipê in 2011, they switched to another tropical wood, a reclaimed teak from the industrial buildings of southeast Asia. By comparison, the sections of the Rockaway boardwalk that were destroyed by Superstorm Sandy were rebuilt with recycled plastic and concrete.
In a presentation about removing a section of wood on the Brighton Beach stretch, the Parks Department said they had evaluated the costs and life cycle of various domestic and tropical hardwoods, before concluding that each had “significant drawbacks” compared to plastic and textured concrete.
While concrete is the cheapest and most durable, the recycled plastic was found to "provide similar aesthetic standards to wood with a much higher life cycle than the wood options,” the agency noted.
Rob Burstein, a Brighton Beach resident who has organized rallies and petitions to keep the boardwalk wood, disagrees. He said that the recycled plastic material is slippery when wet, hard on the soles of runners, and turns a “sallow greyish color” over time.
“Our fight for a real wood boardwalk is something that’s not only important for aesthetics, it’s important for the way people use the boardwalk,” Burstein said.
There is also a prevailing sense among some Coney Island locals that the city’s lax oversight of the People’s Playground would not be tolerated at a more affluent destination.
Residents have complained for years of dilapidated stretches of the boardwalk, with nails sticking out, boards missing, and sections wobbling — in part because of the heavy Parks Department vehicles that frequently drive over the pathway, according to Treyger. Until earlier this year, the agency did not have a full-time carpenter dedicated to the boardwalk.
While the new funding is aimed at improving those conditions, the looming removal of wood has only exacerbated the frustrations of some residents with the parks department's stewardship.
“There’s always been the feeling out here that we’re the uncared for step child of the city,” said Burstein. “Otherwise, the boardwalk would not be in this current state of disrepair to begin with.”
"wood" - Google News
November 24, 2021 at 05:32PM
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NYC To Replace "Entirety" Of Coney Island's Wood Boardwalk With Recycled Plastic - Gothamist
"wood" - Google News
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