An incoming City Council member who’ll soon be representing Coney Island says he’ll fight Mayor de Blasio’s plan to run a plastic boardwalk through the heart of the neighborhood’s fabled amusement district.
Ari Kagan, a Brooklyn Democrat replacing term-limited Mark Treyger in January, said Friday he fully supports the city’s desire to renovate the long-rickety 2.7-mile Riegelmann Boardwalk running from Coney Island to Brighton Beach.
But while the city wants to replace the boardwalk’s existing hardwood with plastic planks and concrete, Kagan said he believes hardwood should be spared along a famous, roughly five block stretch of the walkway running by Luna Park, the landmark Cyclone roller coaster and other rides and attractions.
“We need to do everything possible to maintain the historical nature of the boardwalk,” said Kagan.
Two weeks ago, Mayor de Blasio announced the Parks Department would spend $114.5 million on the first phase of a massive reconstruction of the boardwalk, which will rely on recycled plastic planks that are more sustainable than wood. The boardwalk’s planks traditionally come from Brazil.
The city has yet to decide which part of the walkway to target for phase one.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams will ultimately decide the boardwalk’s fate after he replaces a term-limited de Blasio as mayor in January. Kagan said he hopes to work with Adams on a solution. Adams declined comment Friday.
In 2015, Adams joined Treyger and other pols and preservationists at a rally in Coney Island demanding the boardwalk remain wood.
“The song is ‘Under the Boardwalk,’ not ‘Under the Concrete,’” Adams then told the crowd, referring to The Drifters hit song.
However, Adams declined comment Friday when asked if he still feels the same way.
Parks Department spokeswoman Meghan Lalor defended the city’s plan, saying it “has a long-standing policy of reducing the use of tropical hardwoods.”