Riegelmann Boardwalk

{{Infobox park

| name = Riegelmann Boardwalk

| image = Променад Закусочный1.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| image_alt = Shops along the boardwalk, with the Parachute Jump, a tall red truss structure, in the background

| image_caption = Shops along the boardwalk, with the Parachute Jump in the background

| location = Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

| nearest_city = New York City

|coordinates = {{Coord|40.5733|-73.9788|type:landmark_region:US-NY_dim:2000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| area = {{convert|2.7|mi|km}} long by {{convert|50|to|80|ft|m}} wide

| created = 1923

| operator = New York City Department of Parks and Recreation

| visitation_num =

| status = Open

| designation =

| open = 6 a.m. to 1 a.m.

| embedded = {{Designation list

| embed = yes

| designation1 = NYCL

| designation1_number = 2583

| designation1_date = May 15, 2018{{harvnb|Postal|Baldwin|2018|ps=.|p=1}}

}}

The Riegelmann Boardwalk (also known as the Coney Island Boardwalk) is a {{convert|2.7|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} boardwalk on the southern shore of the Coney Island peninsula of Brooklyn in New York City, New York, United States. Opened in 1923, the boardwalk runs along the Atlantic Ocean between West 37th Street to the west, at the edge of the Sea Gate neighborhood, and Brighton 15th Street to the east, in Brighton Beach. It is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks).

The Riegelmann Boardwalk is primarily made of wooden planks arranged in a chevron pattern. It ranges from {{Convert|50|to|80|ft|m|abbr=}} wide and is raised slightly above sea level. The boardwalk connects several amusement areas and attractions on Coney Island, including the New York Aquarium, Luna Park, Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, and Maimonides Park. It has become an icon of Coney Island, with numerous appearances in the visual arts, music, and film. After its completion, the boardwalk was considered the most important public works project in Brooklyn since the Brooklyn Bridge, with a comparable impact to the Catskill Watershed and Central Park.

By the mid-19th century, the Coney Island waterfront was divided among several private entities who erected barriers. Plans for a Coney Island boardwalk were first discussed in the late 1890s as a means of uniting the different sections of Coney Island, and as a revitalization project for these areas. The boardwalk, designed by Philip P. Farley, was named after Brooklyn borough president Edward J. Riegelmann, who led its construction. The Riegelmann Boardwalk's first portion opened in 1923, with further extensions in 1926 and 1941, as well as several modifications and repairs throughout the 20th century. After NYC Parks proposed repairing the boardwalk with concrete in the early 21st century, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Riegelmann Boardwalk a scenic landmark in 2018. A renovation of the boardwalk was announced in November 2021 but was delayed.

Description

= Dimensions and materials =

{{Multiple image

| align = right

| direction = vertical

| total_width = 250

| image1 = Coney Is Av boardwalk rebuild jeh.JPG

| caption1 = Internal structure of the boardwalk, seen in a 2016 rebuild

| image2 = ConeyIsland_boardwalk.JPG

| caption2 = The modified-chevron pattern of the planks

| alt1 =

}}

The Riegelmann Boardwalk stretches for {{convert|2.7|mi|km}} from West 37th Street at the border of Coney Island and Sea Gate to Brighton 15th Street in Brighton Beach. The boardwalk is {{Convert|80|ft|m|abbr=}} wide for most of its length, though portions in Brighton Beach are {{Convert|50|ft|m|abbr=}} wide.{{harvnb|ps=.|Postal|Baldwin|2018|p=6}}{{Cite news|date=April 7, 1923|title=The Industrial Development of Brooklyn During 1922: An Address Before the Rotary Club of Brooklyn|first=T.I.|last=Jones|page=31|work=Brooklyn Life|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34185443/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021000/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34185443/the-coney-island-boardwalk/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} It is raised {{convert|13|or|14|ft}} above sea level to protect against storm surges. According to a speech given in 1923 to the Rotary Club of Brooklyn, the raised boardwalk was designed to "give ample clear space under the boardwalk" both parallel and perpendicular to the deck. Staircases and ramps lead southward to the beach at intervals of {{Frac|1|1|2}} blocks or {{Convert|300|ft|m|abbr=}}. Ramps also connect the boardwalk to the streets to the north.

The boardwalk has a steel and concrete foundation supporting wood planking for the walkway, though much of this is no longer visible due to the beach having been raised after the boardwalk was constructed. The boardwalk was built using {{convert|1700000|yd3|m3}} of sand, {{convert|120000|ST|LT}} of stone, {{convert|7700|yd3|m3}} of reinforced concrete, and {{convert|3600000|ft|m}} of timber flooring. To prevent violent waves from crashing against the boardwalk, sixteen rock jetties were built at intervals of {{Convert|600|ft|0}}.{{Cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5CEgAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA22-PA47|title=Coney Island to Have 80-Foot Boardwalk|journal=American Lumberman|date=June 17, 1922|page=47|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921020950/https://books.google.com/books?id=5CEgAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA22-PA47|archive-date=September 21, 2020|url-status=live|issue=pt. 1}} The beaches are not a natural feature; the sand that would naturally replenish Coney Island is cut off by the jetty at Breezy Point, Queens.{{Cite web|title=U.S. Geological Survey, Geology of National Parks, 3D and Photographic Tours, 72. Coney Island|url=https://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/nyc/parks/loc72.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161219132804/https://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/nyc/parks/loc72.htm|archive-date=December 19, 2016|publisher=United States Department of the Interior}}{{Cite book|title=A Stronger, More Resilient New York|date=2013|publisher=City of New York|pages=337|chapter=Chapter 17, Southern Brooklyn|chapter-url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/sirr/downloads/pdf/Ch17_SouthernBrooklyn_FINAL_singles.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723064012/https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/sirr/downloads/pdf/Ch17_SouthernBrooklyn_FINAL_singles.pdf|archive-date=July 23, 2018|url-status=live}} Following the boardwalk's construction, sand has been redeposited on the beaches via beach nourishment.{{Cite news|date=March 16, 1935|title=Shifting Sands|page=15|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34219616/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021046/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/34219616/shifting-sands/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}}

The boardwalk is designed to handle a maximum load of {{Convert|125|lb/ft2|kg/m2|abbr=}}. To accomplish this, designer Philip Farley installed a precast concrete-girder structure under the boardwalk on the advice of J.W. Hackney, who designed Atlantic City's boardwalk. Pile bents were placed every {{Convert|20|ft|0}}, with each bent containing two bundles of four reinforced concrete piles. The piles rest on bases that measure {{Convert|14|in|cm}} square and extend downward {{Convert|20|ft|0}}.{{harvnb|ps=.|Postal|Baldwin|2018|pp=6, 14}} The ends of the girder structures are cantilevered outside the piles.{{harvnb|ps=.|Postal|Baldwin|2018|p=14}}

The boardwalk's planks are set in a modified chevron design, running at 45-degree angles between two longitudinal wooden axes. The diagonal pattern was intended to "facilitate ease in walking", according to American Lumberman magazine, while the {{Convert|6|ft|m|-wide|abbr=|adj=mid}} wooden axes were designed for chairs to be rolled down the boardwalk.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pa1_JQAACAAJ|title=Seven Years of Progress: Important Public Improvements and Achievements by the Municipal and Borough Governments of the City of New York, 1918–1925|publisher=Government of New York City|year=1925|page=157|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021014/https://books.google.com/books?id=pa1_JQAACAAJ|archive-date=September 21, 2020|url-status=live}} The boardwalk was first built using Douglas fir planks from Washington state.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qucoAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA9-PA39|title=Lumber World Review|publisher=Lumber Review Company|year=1921|page=9|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921020956/https://books.google.com/books?id=qucoAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA9-PA39|archive-date=September 21, 2020|url-status=live|issue=v. 41}} By the early 2010s, sturdy hardwoods were added to the boardwalk, as were plastic and concrete. The boardwalk is used as a bike lane between 6{{Nbsp}}a.m. and 9{{Nbsp}}p.m. each day, except during summers, when cycling is curtailed after 10{{Nbsp}}a.m.{{Cite web|date=2019|title=NYC DOT – Bicycle Maps|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/bikemap-2019.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514162629/https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/bikemap-2019.pdf|archive-date=May 14, 2019|website=nyc.gov|publisher=New York City Department of Transportation}} The boardwalk must be manually shoveled during snowstorms, as road salt and snowplows both damage the wood.{{cite web | last=Camille | first=Jada | title=Slippery when snowy! Winter weather reveals safety loophole for Coney Island boardwalk | website=Brooklyn Paper | date=February 21, 2024 | url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/slippery-snow-safety-coney-island-boardwalk/ | access-date=March 4, 2024 | archive-date=March 4, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304012431/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/slippery-snow-safety-coney-island-boardwalk/ | url-status=live }}

= Amenities =

File:Coney Is Beach td (2018-09-03) 76 - Riegelmann Boardwalk.jpg

There are restrooms, benches, and drinking fountains along the boardwalk's length, both atop the deck and beneath it. Five pavilions and five pergolas were completed in 1925 by J. Sarsfield Kennedy.{{Efn|The pavilions were constructed at West 8th, West 15th, West 21st, West 27th, and West 33rd Streets. The pergolas were constructed between the following streets: West 12th Street/Jones Walk, West 23rd/24th Streets, West 29th/30th Streets, and West 35th/36th Streets.}} These no longer exist but were designed in the Mediterranean Revival style and contained arched doorways, along with tiled roofs supported by corner piers and Tuscan columns.

There were also "comfort stations", or restrooms, beneath the boardwalk, characterized by ornamental semicircular stairs and rooftop terraces at the same height as the deck. Most of the shade pavilions south of the boardwalk were built in the 2000s and 2010s and are elevated to comply with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) storm-surge regulations, though there are also some historic pavilions from the 20th century. The newer pavilions, designed by Garrison Architects, are modular structures that are installed in pairs. The modular structures contain double-layered stainless-steel facades and are powered by photovoltaic cells.{{cite book |last1=Banker |first1=Mary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AxhcnAEACAAJ |title=We Build the City : NYC's Design + Construction Excellence Program |last2=Burney |first2=David J. |last3=Merkel |first3=Jayne |date=2014 |isbn=978-1-941806-16-6 |page=89 |publisher=Oro Editions |oclc=841912195 |access-date=September 27, 2022 |archive-date=September 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927130209/https://books.google.com/books?id=AxhcnAEACAAJ |url-status=live }} There are four non-functional historic cast iron fountains as well as newer, functioning steel fountains.{{harvnb|ps=.|Postal|Baldwin|2018|p=7}}

The boardwalk's original street furnishings included 170 street lights with twin lamps, similar to those installed on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. These street lights are placed every {{Convert|80|ft|m}}, as well as at street intersections. Benches that faced the ocean were installed by the J.W. Fiske Ironworks Company, but have since been replaced.

= Attractions =

Modern attractions on the boardwalk include Luna Park, Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, and the New York Aquarium.{{Cite NYC neighborhood map|Coney Island}} The boardwalk is adjacent to Maimonides Park, which opened in 2001 and is the home stadium of the Brooklyn Cyclones, a Minor League Baseball team.{{Cite web|last=Vecsey|first=George|date=June 26, 2001|title=Sports of The Times; Summer Rite Returns To Borough of Churches|url-access=registration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/26/sports/sports-of-the-times-summer-rite-returns-to-borough-of-churches.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225044942/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/26/sports/sports-of-the-times-summer-rite-returns-to-borough-of-churches.html|archive-date=February 25, 2019|website=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331}} A live performance venue, the Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island, opened on the boardwalk in 2016.{{Cite web|last=Ramos|first=Andrew|date=June 29, 2016|title=Massive entertainment amphitheater opens on iconic Coney Island Boardwalk|url=https://pix11.com/2016/06/29/massive-entertainment-amphitheater-opens-on-iconic-coney-island-boardwalk/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722220325/https://pix11.com/2016/06/29/massive-entertainment-amphitheater-opens-on-iconic-coney-island-boardwalk/|archive-date=July 22, 2019|publisher=WPIX|language=en}} Several amusement parks that formerly faced the boardwalk, including Steeplechase Park (1897–1964), the original Luna Park (1903–1944), and Astroland (1962–2008), no longer exist.{{harvnb|Postal|Baldwin|2018|ps=.|p=18}}

There are several officially designated landmarks on the boardwalk. The Childs Restaurants building, a New York City designated landmark that is now the site of the Ford Amphitheater, opened in 1923 at West 21st Street; its terracotta facade was designed to blend in with the boardwalk's appearance.{{Cite web|last=Kurshan|first=Virginia|title=(Former) Childs Restaurant Building (Designation Report)|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/childs.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090320171205/http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/childs.pdf|archive-date=March 20, 2009|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission}} To the east is the Parachute Jump, a defunct parachute tower ride standing {{Convert|250|ft|0}} tall,{{Cite web|date=May 23, 1989|title=The Parachute Jump|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1638.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226111313/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1638.pdf|archive-date=February 26, 2019|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission}}{{Cite web|date=June 26, 1939|title=Steeplechase Park Highlights: Parachute Jump|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/steeplechase-park/highlights/12477|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711133824/https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/steeplechase-park/highlights/12477|archive-date=July 11, 2019|publisher=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation}} which is both a city landmark and a National Registered Historic Place.{{Cite web|last=Croghan|first=Lore|date=May 11, 2016|title=Coney Island landmarks, present and (we hope) future|url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2016/05/11/coney-island-landmarks-present-and-we-hope-future/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711133828/https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2016/05/11/coney-island-landmarks-present-and-we-hope-future/|archive-date=July 11, 2019|website=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|language=en-US}} The B&B Carousell, directly beside the Parachute Jump, is the last operating carousel in Coney Island and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.{{Cite web|date=2016|title=Historic Structures Report: B&B Carousell|url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/16000035.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216195426/https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/16000035.pdf|archive-date=February 16, 2017|publisher=National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service}} The Coney Island Cyclone, a wooden roller coaster built in 1927 at West 10th Street, is the only operating coaster on Coney Island from the 20th century, and is both a city and national landmark.{{Cite web|date=July 12, 1988|title=The Cyclone|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1636.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223171706/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1636.pdf|archive-date=December 23, 2016|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|page=5}}{{Cite news|last=King|first=Kristen|date=August 4, 1995|title=Cyclone Honors to Roll|work=New York Daily News|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/ny_local/1995/08/04/1995-08-04_cyclone_honors_to_roll.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423084631/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/ny_local/1995/08/04/1995-08-04_cyclone_honors_to_roll.html|archive-date=April 23, 2009}} Set inland from the boardwalk is the Wonder Wheel (built 1920), an eccentric Ferris wheel which is {{Convert|150|ft|0}} tall and recognized as a city landmark.{{Cite web|date=May 23, 1989|title=The Wonder Wheel|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1708.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191004131105/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1708.pdf|archive-date=October 4, 2019|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission}} Other attractions on the boardwalk include the Thunderbolt roller coaster and the Abe Stark Recreation Center, as well as small amusement rides, shops, and restaurants.

The First Symphony of the Sea, a wall relief created by Japanese artist Toshio Sasaki, was installed along the boardwalk, outside the New York Aquarium, in 1993. It is {{convert|332|ft|m}} long and {{convert|10|ft|m}} tall.{{Cite web|last=Hevesi|first=Dennis|date=March 31, 2007|title=Toshio Sasaki, 60, a Sculptor of Major Projects in New York, Dies|url-access=registration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/31/obituaries/31sasaki.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517012457/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/31/obituaries/31sasaki.html|archive-date=May 17, 2018|website=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} The relief contains depictions of waves, fish, and zygotes of marine species in terrazzo and ceramic.{{Cite web|title=History of the New York Aquarium|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/zoos/ny-aquarium|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728193445/https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/zoos/ny-aquarium|archive-date=July 28, 2020|publisher=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation}}

== Steeplechase Pier ==

File:Coney Is Beach td (2018-09-03) 17 - Steeplechase Pier.jpg

Steeplechase Pier, the only one remaining on Coney Island's beach, extends {{Convert|1040|ft|0}} southward from the boardwalk's intersection with West 17th Street. It is near Steeplechase Park, of which the pier was originally part. The pier had been built by 1904, at which point it was estimated as being {{Convert|2000|ft||abbr=}} long.{{harvnb|ps=.|Postal|Baldwin|2018|p=16}} A newspaper article from that year praised the view from the pier: "There is no more beautiful view around New York than the sight of the twinkling colored lights of Coney Island and its reflection in the water."{{Cite news|date=June 6, 1904|title=The Great Steeplechase by the Sea|page=4|work=The Evening World|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34208300/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921020956/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34208300/the-great-steeplechase-by-the-sea/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} Steeplechase Pier was originally used by anglers and, until 1932, was used by ferry lines to Coney Island.{{harvnb|ps=.|Postal|Baldwin|2018|p=17}}

The original Steeplechase Pier was erected by builder F.{{Nbsp}}J. Kelly at an unknown date and was completed within 30 days.{{Cite news|date=March 21, 1940|title=F. J. Kelly, Dies: Building Executive|page=13|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34208251/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021015/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/34208251/f-j-kelly-dies-building-executive/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} The pier was ceded to the city in October 1921 just before the boardwalk was constructed, and was reopened in December 1922. Several proposed improvements, such as a widened deck and an auditorium, were never built. In the following years, Steeplechase Pier was damaged multiple times by hurricanes, fires, and boat accidents. The most serious incident was a fire in 1957 that destroyed the pier;{{Cite news|date=April 23, 1957|title=Fire Ruins the Steeplechase Pier; Building Floats in Flames to Sea|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/04/23/archives/fire-ruins-the-steeplechase-pier-building-floats-in-flames-to-sea.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716213407/https://www.nytimes.com/1957/04/23/archives/fire-ruins-the-steeplechase-pier-building-floats-in-flames-to-sea.html|archive-date=July 16, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|date=April 23, 1957|title=Dual Probe Launched into Coney Pier Blaze|page=430|work=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33932396/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921020956/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33932396/dual-probe-launched-into-coney-pier/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} a larger replacement opened the next year, with a T-shaped extension at the end.{{Cite news|date=September 13, 1958|title=Steeplechase Pier Reopens|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/09/13/archives/steeplechase-pier-reopens.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716213406/https://www.nytimes.com/1958/09/13/archives/steeplechase-pier-reopens.html|archive-date=July 16, 2019|issn=0362-4331}} The pier was rebuilt most recently in 2013 after it was damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.{{harvnb|ps=.|Postal|Baldwin|2018|p=9}}{{Cite web|last=Dailey|first=Jessica|date=July 17, 2013|title=Mapping the Post-Sandy Improvements to NYC Beaches|url=https://ny.curbed.com/maps/mapping-the-post-sandy-improvements-to-nyc-beaches|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726014612/https://ny.curbed.com/maps/mapping-the-post-sandy-improvements-to-nyc-beaches|archive-date=July 26, 2019|website=Curbed NY}} Two years after it reopened, the pier received a $3.4 million grant for a total reconstruction.{{Cite web|last=Spivak|first=Anna|date=May 5, 2015|title=Coney Island's Steeplechase Pier receives $3.4 million in FEMA funding|url=https://brooklynreporter.com/2015/05/coney-islands-steeplechase-pier-receives-3-4-million-in-fema-funding/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725145634/https://brooklynreporter.com/2015/05/coney-islands-steeplechase-pier-receives-3-4-million-in-fema-funding/|archive-date=July 25, 2019|website=The Brooklyn Home Reporter|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=April 28, 2015|title=$3M in Sandy funding approved for Coney Island's Steeplechase Pier|url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2015/04/28/3m-in-sandy-funding-approved-for-coney-islands-steeplechase-pier/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725145632/https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2015/04/28/3m-in-sandy-funding-approved-for-coney-islands-steeplechase-pier/|archive-date=July 25, 2019|website=Brooklyn Eagle|language=en-US}}

History

= Context =

The Coney Island House, established in the early 19th century, was the first seaside resort on Coney Island.{{Cite news|date=March 5, 1939|title=Yellowed Pages of Coney Island Register Reveal Visits of Many Great and Near-Great of Day|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-yellowed-pages/151216179/|access-date=July 12, 2024|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|pages=11|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=July 12, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240712231812/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-yellowed-pages/151216179/|url-status=live}} Coney Island could be reached easily from Manhattan, while appearing to be relatively far away. As a result, Coney Island began attracting vacationers in the 1830s and 1840s, and numerous resorts were built.{{Cite book|last1=Berman|first1=John S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a_paj4cavDwC&pg=PA15|title=Coney Island|last2=Museum of the City of New York|publisher=Barnes and Noble Books|year=2003|isbn=978-0-7607-3887-0|series=Portraits of America|page=15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103013032/https://books.google.com/books?id=a_paj4cavDwC&pg=PA15|archive-date=January 3, 2016|url-status=live}} New railroad lines, built after the American Civil War, served Coney Island's restaurants, hotels, bathing pavilions, theaters, the waterfront, and other attractions.{{Cite book|last=Snyder-Grenier|first=Ellen Marie|title=Brooklyn! : an illustrated history|date=1996|publisher=Temple University Press|author2=Brooklyn Historical Society|isbn=1566394082|page=182|oclc=34282893}}{{Cite book|last=Cudahy|first=Brian J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FtUzg07N0wwC|title=How We Got to Coney Island: The Development of Mass Transportation in Brooklyn and Kings County|publisher=Fordham University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-8232-2211-7|page=71|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021022/https://books.google.com/books?id=FtUzg07N0wwC|archive-date=September 21, 2020|url-status=live}} A series of fires destroyed the resorts in the 1880s and 1890s. This opened up large tracts of land for the development of theme parks; the first of these was Sea Lion Park, which opened in 1895 and closed eight years later. By the first decade of the 20th century, Coney Island contained three competing amusement parks (Luna Park, Dreamland, and Steeplechase Park), and many independent amusements.{{Cite book|last1=DeSena|first1=Judith N.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S-YNs4ih1FUC|title=The World in Brooklyn: Gentrification, Immigration, and Ethnic Politics in a Global City|last2=Shortell|first2=Timothy|publisher=Lexington Books|year=2012|isbn=978-0-7391-6670-3|pages=147–150|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507155913/https://books.google.com/books?id=S-YNs4ih1FUC|archive-date=May 7, 2016|url-status=live}}{{Cite book|editor-last=Parascandola|editor-first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NDMzBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA24|title=A Coney Island Reader: Through Dizzy Gates of Illusion|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-0-231-53819-0|page=11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021009/https://books.google.com/books?id=NDMzBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA24|archive-date=September 21, 2020|url-status=live}}{{harvnb|ps=.|Denson|2002|p=50}}

The beach remained largely inaccessible to the public, since it was the private property of beachfront lots.{{harvnb|Devine|1904|ps=.|pp=801, 804}} In 1882, the first lots were acquired from the village of Gravesend at unusually low prices and subdivided to private interests.{{Cite news|date=October 3, 1882|title=Coney Island Leases; Valuable Lots on the Sea-Shore Secured for a Mere Song|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=registration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1882/10/03/archives/coney-island-leases-valuable-lots-on-the-seashore-secured-for-a.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723171120/https://www.nytimes.com/1882/10/03/archives/coney-island-leases-valuable-lots-on-the-seashore-secured-for-a.html|archive-date=July 23, 2019|issn=0362-4331}} Some portions of the beach contained private boardwalks, but other portions had no infrastructure, and some sections of the beach were enclosed by fences that extended into the water.{{Cite news|date=August 18, 1907|title=The Coney Island That Was|page=21|work=The New York Sun|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34162678/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021033/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34162678/the-coney-island-that-was/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}}{{harvnb|ps=.|Devine|1904|p=805}} In the 1890s, a private boardwalk was built to connect the hotels and bungalows in Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach;{{harvnb|ps=.|Denson|2002|p=41}} this walk extended for nearly {{Convert|1|mi|km|abbr=}}.{{Cite news|date=July 14, 1918|title=Surf Bathing Now in Full Swing; No Decrease in the Popularity of New York's Summer Sport, Though Fashions Have Changed|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=registration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1918/07/14/archives/surf-bathing-now-in-full-swing-no-decrease-in-the-popularity-of-new.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724145337/https://www.nytimes.com/1918/07/14/archives/surf-bathing-now-in-full-swing-no-decrease-in-the-popularity-of-new.html|archive-date=July 24, 2019|issn=0362-4331}} George C. Tilyou, who operated various amusements in Coney Island and later consolidated them into his Steeplechase Park, built boardwalks in his resorts at Coney Island and Rockaway Beach.{{Cite news|date=May 20, 1900|title=A Rockaway Boardwalk|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/79447036/|access-date=July 12, 2024|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|pages=37|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=July 12, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240712231812/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/79447036/|url-status=live}} Numerous privately owned piers jutted into the water at West 5th, West 8th, and West 17th Streets. Public beach accessibility was considered almost nonexistent; in 1904, it was estimated that there were {{Convert|1.4|in2|cm2|abbr=}} of public beachfront on Coney Island for each of the 3.7 million residents of New York City.{{harvnb|ps=.|Devine|1904|pp=801, 805}} In 1912, the West End Improvement League of Coney Island noted that only one street, West 23rd Street, had direct public access to the beach from Surf Avenue, the southernmost west–east artery on what was then an island.{{Cite book|last=Durst|first=Seymour B.|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100855103|title=Neglected Coney Island|date=1912|publisher=West End Improvement League of Coney Island|page=10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723165339/https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100855103|archive-date=July 23, 2019|url-status=live}}

= Planning and construction =

File:Thunderbolt Coney Island 2.jpg at West 15th Street]]

Interest in creating a public boardwalk increased in the 1890s, when the formerly separate boroughs of New York City were consolidated. The economist Simon Patten, a boardwalk proponent, said that the construction of a similar boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the late 19th century had helped to revitalize the formerly rundown waterfront there.{{Cite news|date=June 12, 1904|title=He Likes the New Coney Island|page=6|work=New-York Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34160150/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021021/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34160150/he-likes-the-new-coney-island/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} The New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor took a similar position.{{harvnb|ps=.|Devine|1904|p=580}} In 1897, the Board of Public Improvements and Brooklyn borough president Edward M. Grout proposed a boardwalk along the southern shore of Coney Island, between West 37th and West 5th Streets. The board and Grout expected that property owners would relinquish their waterfront plots to create a {{Convert|100|ft|m|-wide|abbr=|adj=mid}} space for a boardwalk.{{Cite news|date=September 15, 1900|title=Move for a Boardwalk|page=6|work=New-York Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34160783/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021037/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34160783/move-for-a-boardwalk/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} A bill proposed in the New York State Legislature in 1901 would have required property owners to pay half of the boardwalk's $350,000 construction cost.{{Cite news|date=January 16, 1901|title=New Coney Island Boardwalk; Bill for $350,000 Structure – Property Owners to Pay Half for Land|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=registration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1901/01/16/archives/new-coney-island-boardwalk-bill-for-350000-structure-property.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723200239/https://www.nytimes.com/1901/01/16/archives/new-coney-island-boardwalk-bill-for-350000-structure-property.html|archive-date=July 23, 2019|issn=0362-4331}} However, the bill was heavily opposed by organizations who cited the bill's language and the projected property losses as reasons for their disapproval.{{Cite news|date=February 27, 1901|title=Coney Island Boardwalk; Much Opposition to the Bill for a Public Recreation Ground|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=registration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1901/02/27/archives/coney-island-boardwalk-much-opposition-to-the-bill-for-a-public.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723202313/https://www.nytimes.com/1901/02/27/archives/coney-island-boardwalk-much-opposition-to-the-bill-for-a-public.html|archive-date=July 23, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|date=February 27, 1901|title=Coney Island Board Walk Bill Opposed at Albany|page=8|work=New-York Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34161109/|via=newspapers.com}} Ultimately, only one segment was constructed near the Seaside Park resort, between West 5th Street and Ocean Parkway.

Other organizations in the 1900s presented numerous proposals to build a boardwalk, though these mainly entailed building a walkway over the ocean, rather than constructing a beach or clearing the waterfront.See, for instance:

{{Cite news|date=December 4, 1908|title=Plans For Two-Mile Boardwalk|page=2|work=New-York Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34161365/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021020/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34161365/plans-for-two-mile-boardwalk/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}}
{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34161765/|title=Plan Huge Promenade Over Sea Out Beyond Coney Island's Breakers|date=March 5, 1911|work=New-York Tribune|page=21|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=September 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021049/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34161765/plan-huge-promenade-over-seaout-beyond/|url-status=live}} In 1912, the West End Improvement League published a 36-page booklet about the benefits of constructing a {{Convert|60|ft|m|-wide|abbr=|adj=mid}} boardwalk.{{harvnb|ps=.|Postal|Baldwin|2018|p=11}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aKtJAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA92|title=Proceedings of the Board of Aldermen|publisher=New York City Council|year=1911|page=92|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021020/https://books.google.com/books?id=aKtJAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA92|archive-date=September 21, 2020|url-status=live}} This plan was endorsed by the New York City Board of Estimate, which in April 1913 approved a special committee's report on the feasibility of building such a structure.{{Cite news|date=April 3, 1913|title=Coney Boardwalk Now Assured|page=1|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34161893/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021031/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/34161893/coney-boardwalk-now-assured/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} This time, Coney Island residents largely supported the proposed boardwalk, though there were disputes over whether to pay the $5 million cost through private capital or city funds.{{Cite news|date=May 2, 1913|title=All Coney Island Comes to Fight for Boardwalk|page=16|work=New-York Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34162901/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021106/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34162901/all-coney-island-comes-to-fight-for/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} Simultaneously, in 1912, New York State sued amusement owners for taking private ownership of Coney Island's beach.{{Cite news|date=December 21, 1912|title=State Claims Coney Island; Contends in Suit Against Tilyou That Beach Belongs to People|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=registration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/12/21/archives/state-claims-coney-island-contends-in-suit-against-tilyou-that.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715144806/https://www.nytimes.com/1912/12/21/archives/state-claims-coney-island-contends-in-suit-against-tilyou-that.html|archive-date=July 15, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|date=October 24, 1912|title=State Sues To Win Back Coney Island For People|page=1|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34162140/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021041/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/34162140/state-sues-to-win-back-coney-island-for/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} A judge ruled the next year that all of the beachfront exposed at low tide belonged to the state.{{Cite news|date=September 28, 1913|title=Holds Tidal Lands Belong To State; Beach at Low Tide Must Not Be Obstructed, Justice Benedict's Decision|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=registration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1913/09/28/archives/holds-tidal-lands-belong-to-state-beach-at-low-tide-must-not-be.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715144807/https://www.nytimes.com/1913/09/28/archives/holds-tidal-lands-belong-to-state-beach-at-low-tide-must-not-be.html|archive-date=July 15, 2019|issn=0362-4331}} An appellate court affirmed this decision in 1916, with an exception made for part of Steeplechase Park, a plot of land granted by the state prior to the creation of the park.{{Cite news|date=July 13, 1916|title=Court Frees Coney beach; Appeals Tribunal Holds Occupants Have No Right to the Land|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=registration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1916/07/13/archives/court-frees-coney-beach-appeals-tribunal-holds-occupants-have-no.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716002155/https://www.nytimes.com/1916/07/13/archives/court-frees-coney-beach-appeals-tribunal-holds-occupants-have-no.html|archive-date=July 16, 2019|issn=0362-4331}} All obstructions on the beachfront were demolished in accordance with the ruling.{{Cite news|date=October 14, 1916|title=Wreck Buildings at Coney Island|page=1|work=Brooklyn Standard-Union|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33905740/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021123/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33905740/wreck-buildings-at-coney-island/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}}{{harvnb|ps=.|Immerso|2002|p=125}}

The Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue station, completed in 1920, allowed greater access from the rest of New York City. Overcrowding became common, with up to one million people filling the island on the hottest days. In May 1921, the state legislature voted to give the city the right to acquire any uplands facing the Atlantic Ocean on Coney Island, as well as on Queens' Rockaway Peninsula west of Beach 25th Street in Far Rockaway, Queens.{{harvnb|ps=.|Postal|Baldwin|2018|p=12}} In preparation for this action, the city held meetings on the initial boardwalk design in 1919. The city approved Brooklyn borough president Edward J. Riegelmann's proposal for an {{convert|80|ft|m|-wide|adj=mid}}, {{convert|9000|ft|m|-long|adj=mid}} boardwalk between Ocean Parkway and Sea Gate in July 1920.{{cite news |title=Third Av. Railway Asks Bus Franchise: Would Extend Its Service from Dyckman Street Ferry to 207th Street. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1920/07/17/archives/third-avrailway-asks-bus-franchise-would-extend-its-service-from.html |url-access=limited |access-date=July 12, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|98056550}} |archive-date=July 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240712231337/https://www.nytimes.com/1920/07/17/archives/third-avrailway-asks-bus-franchise-would-extend-its-service-from.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=July 16, 1920 |title=C. I. Boardwalk Wins Approval |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-c-i-boardwalk-wins-approva/151215855/ |access-date=July 12, 2024 |work=Times Union |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-c-i-boardwalk-wins-approva/151215886/ 7] |via=newspapers.com}} City officials held a groundbreaking ceremony on October 1, 1921,{{Cite news|date=October 2, 1921|title=Celebrate Start Of Coney Boardwalk; Board of Trade Gives Dinner to Board of Estimate – First Stake Driven by Riegelmann|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=registration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1921/10/02/archives/celebrate-start-of-coney-boardwalk-board-of-trade-gives-dinner-to.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723200238/https://www.nytimes.com/1921/10/02/archives/celebrate-start-of-coney-boardwalk-board-of-trade-gives-dinner-to.html|archive-date=July 23, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |date=October 2, 1921 |title=Coney Boardwalk Ready by July 31, Riegelmann Says |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-coney-boardwalk/151215982/ |access-date=July 12, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=4 |via=newspapers.com}} the day they obtained title to the land.

The actual beach improvement and boardwalk construction began in 1922.{{Cite journal|last=Dornhelm|first=Richard B.|date=September 25, 2003|title=The Coney Island Public Beach and Boardwalk Improvement of 1923|journal=Urban Beaches|language=en|publisher=American Society of Civil Engineers|pages=52–63|doi=10.1061/40682(2003)6|isbn=978-0784406823}} Construction was overseen by Philip P. Farley, consulting engineer for Brooklyn from 1918 to 1951.{{harvnb|ps=.|Postal|Baldwin|2018|p=13}} The first bents for the boardwalk structure were erected in March 1923, and the last bents were completed ten months later. Initially there was some opposition to the boardwalk's construction, and business owners unsuccessfully attempted to erect fences to prevent construction progress.{{Cite news|date=May 15, 1923|title=How Riegelmann Stuck to the Job|page=12|work=Brooklyn Times-Union|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34185343/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021052/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34185343/how-riegelmann-stuck-to-the-job/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} Concurrently with the boardwalk improvements, Riegelmann petitioned the city to make improvements to the beach and surrounding streets to make the boardwalk easier to access.{{Cite news|date=September 30, 1923|title=To Start Building New Coney Streets During Next Month|page=7|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34187156/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021129/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34187156/to-start-building-new-coney-streets/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} In accordance with this, sand from the seabed was used to replenish the eroded shorelines.{{Cite news|date=September 8, 1922|title=Pushing the Ocean Back to Make a New Coney Island Boardwalk|page=2|work=The Evening Telegram|url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspapers%25206%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Evening%2520Telegram%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Evening%2520Telegram%25201922%2520Sep%2520-%2520Oct%2520%2520Grayscale%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Evening%2520Telegram%25201922%2520Sep%2520-%2520Oct%2520%2520Grayscale%2520-%25200039.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021144/https://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%206/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Telegram/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Telegram%201922%20Sep%20-%20Oct%20%20Grayscale/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Telegram%201922%20Sep%20-%20Oct%20%20Grayscale%20-%200039.pdf|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=fultonhistory.com}} Timber bulkheads, timber groynes, and granite jetties were installed starting in August 1922. The beach could accommodate more than a half-million people when the project was finished.{{Cite book|last=Hazelton|first=Henry Isham|volume=2|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89067605949&view=1up&seq=610|title=The Boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, Counties of Nassau and Suffolk, Long Island, New York, 1609–1924|publisher=Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Incorporated|year=1925|page=1082|issue=v. 5|access-date=January 4, 2021|archive-date=May 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509135452/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89067605949&view=1up&seq=610|url-status=live}}

= Opening and early operation =

File:Coney Is Beach td (2018-09-03) 07 - W 16th Street Comfort Station.jpg

In April 1923, shortly before the boardwalk was completed, city officials named it after Riegelmann.{{Cite web|date=April 14, 1923|title=Propose Hylan and Craig As New Names for Streets|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/04/14/archives/propose-hylan-and-craig-as-new-names-for-streets.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517082059/https://www.nytimes.com/1923/04/14/archives/propose-hylan-and-craig-as-new-names-for-streets.html|archive-date=May 17, 2018|website=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|date=April 18, 1923|title=Coney Island Boardwalk Is Named After Riegelmann|page=21|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34185199/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021102/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/34185199/coney-island-boardwalk-is-named-after/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} As one of the project's main leaders, he had boasted that the boardwalk would raise real estate values on Coney Island.{{Cite news|date=August 6, 1922|title=Oh, Mr. Riegelmann, Are You Going To Head That Big Baby Parade|page=64|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34163051/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021116/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/34163051/oh-mr-riegelmann-are-you-going-to/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} Despite his role in the boardwalk's development, Riegelmann and his assistant commissioner of public works opposed the name, preferring that the project be known as the "Coney Island Boardwalk". Riegelmann stated that, when the boardwalk was completed, "poor people will no longer have to stand with their faces pressed against wire fences looking at the ocean".

The boardwalk was opened in three phases between Ocean Parkway and West 37th Street. The first section of the boardwalk, comprising the eastern section between Ocean Parkway and West 5th Street, opened in October 1922.{{Cite web|date=October 29, 1922|title=First Section of Boardwalk at Coney Is Opened to Public|url-access=registration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1922/10/29/archives/first-section-of-boardwalk-at-coney-is-opened-to-public.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517005923/https://www.nytimes.com/1922/10/29/archives/first-section-of-boardwalk-at-coney-is-opened-to-public.html|archive-date=May 17, 2018|website=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} The boardwalk was extended westward to West 17th Street in December 1922.{{Cite web|date=December 25, 1922|title=Coney Boardwalk Opened to the Public; Fifty Thousand Persons Promenade Near Extension to Steeplechase Park|url-access=registration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1922/12/25/archives/coney-boardwalk-opened-to-the-public-fifty-thousand-persons.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517012508/https://www.nytimes.com/1922/12/25/archives/coney-boardwalk-opened-to-the-public-fifty-thousand-persons.html|archive-date=May 17, 2018|website=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} The final section of the boardwalk, from West 17th to West 37th Street, was officially opened with a ceremony on May 15, 1923.{{Cite news|date=May 16, 1923|title=Crowds at Coney To Open Boardwalk; Mayor and Other City Officials Review Big Parade and Witness Flag Raising.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/05/16/archives/crowds-at-coney-to-open-broadwalk-mayor-and-other-city-officials.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724143821/https://www.nytimes.com/1923/05/16/archives/crowds-at-coney-to-open-broadwalk-mayor-and-other-city-officials.html|archive-date=July 24, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|date=May 15, 1923|title=Coney Boardwalk Officially Opened with Big Features|page=1|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9575194/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021103/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/9575194/coney-island-boardwalk-opens-1923/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} At the time of its opening, the boardwalk was said to be wider and more expensive than the comparable boardwalks at Atlantic City, the Rockaways, and Long Beach on Long Island.{{Cite news|date=May 13, 1923|title=How Coney's Boardwalk Compares With Others|page=20|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34186063/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021153/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/34186063/how-coneys-boardwalk-compares-with/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}}

After the boardwalk was completed, Charles L. Craig, the New York City Comptroller, said that it could not be considered a "real boardwalk" without pergolas and restrooms. Accordingly, in June 1924, the New York City Board of Estimate approved the erection of five comfort stations and five beachfront pavilions.{{Cite news|date=June 18, 1924|title=Instructions to Bidders|page=32|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34186806/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021057/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/34186806/instructions-to-bidders/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} The pavilions were completed by early 1925. The Board of Estimate, in December 1922, approved another project to widen, create, or open private streets that led to the boardwalk. The work, which began in 1923, entailed condemning 288 lots, including 175 houses and portions of Steeplechase Park.{{Cite news|date=March 11, 1924|title=Awards $6,139,968 For Land Taken in Coney Street Plan|page=3|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20414569|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021134/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20414569/awards-for-coney-land-grab/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} Eighteen streets, each {{Convert|60|ft}} wide, were created between West 8th and West 35th Streets. Surf and Stillwell Avenues were widened, and the city took over several private passageways, including West 12th Street.{{Cite news|date=February 10, 1924|title=Razing Buildings To Clear The Way For Coney Streets|page=64|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34199758/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021108/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34199758/razing-buildings-to-clear-the-way-for/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} Sewers and sidewalks were installed. Brooklyn public officials believed these changes would revitalize Coney Island's shore and lessen congestion on Surf Avenue. In total, the boardwalk and related improvement projects cost $20 million (about ${{Inflation|index=US|value=20|start_year=1924|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation/year|index=US}}). Of this cost, 35 percent was paid through taxes, and the remainder was paid by the city.{{Cite news|date=April 18, 1932|title=Around the Town with Joe Early|page=46|work=Brooklyn Times Union|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34219328/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021220/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34219328/around-the-town-with-joe-early/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}}

The Brighton Beach extension of the boardwalk, which would build out the boardwalk from Ocean Parkway eastward to Coney Island Avenue, was formally approved by the city's Board of Estimate in June 1925.{{Cite news|date=June 14, 1925|title=Work Starts Soon on Coney Island Extension|page=13|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34207640/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021113/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/34207640/work-starts-soon-on-coney-island/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|date=June 14, 1925|title=Coney Taxpayers in For a $350,000 Levy|page=28|work=The Standard Union|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34208022/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021126/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34208022/coney-taxpayers-in-for-a-350000-levy/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} The extension was {{Convert|3000|to|4000|ft|abbr=}} long,{{Cite news|date=March 15, 1925|title=Old Coney Island Undergoing Transformations in New Structures|page=72|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34207934/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021221/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/34207934/old-coney-island-undergoing/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} and entailed expanding the beach and creating new paths to the boardwalk. Real estate developments were proposed as a result of the extension,{{Cite news|date=October 18, 1925|title=New Coney Boardwalk Makes Realty Demand|page=26|work=The Standard Union|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34207881/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021112/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34207881/new-coney-boardwalk-makes-realty-demand/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} which was completed by mid-1926.{{Cite news|date=June 1, 1926|title=Open Boardwalk Addition July 4|page=3|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34207996/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021117/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/34207996/open-boardwalk-addition-july-4/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} The $1 million extension was to be funded via taxes levied on Coney Island property owners. Although some property owners objected to the assessments,{{Cite news|date=September 21, 1927|title=Coney Taxpayers Protest; 200 Object to Assessments in Payment for Boardwalk|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/09/21/archives/coney-taxpayers-protest-200-object-to-assessments-in-payment-for.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725145633/https://www.nytimes.com/1927/09/21/archives/coney-taxpayers-protest-200-object-to-assessments-in-payment-for.html|archive-date=July 25, 2019|issn=0362-4331}} they were ultimately forced to pay for the project.{{Cite news|date=July 1, 1926|title=Rules Coney Must Pay For Its Boardwalk; Chairman of Assessors Refuses to Make City Pay Part of Tax – Tilt Over 'Petting Parties.'|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/07/01/archives/rules-coney-must-pay-for-its-boardwalk-chairman-of-assessors.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725145629/https://www.nytimes.com/1926/07/01/archives/rules-coney-must-pay-for-its-boardwalk-chairman-of-assessors.html|archive-date=July 25, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}

A similar scheme to extend the boardwalk {{Convert|3000|ft|m|abbr=}} westward, from West 37th Street to Coney Island Light, was opposed by the residents of Sea Gate, the private community through which the boardwalk would have been expanded.{{Cite news|date=June 9, 1927|title=Sea Gate To Fight City Plan at Coney; Residential District Opposes Project to Build Boardwalk into Private Community|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/06/09/archives/sea-gate-to-fight-city-plan-at-coney-residential-district-opposes.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725011225/https://www.nytimes.com/1927/06/09/archives/sea-gate-to-fight-city-plan-at-coney-residential-district-opposes.html|archive-date=July 25, 2019|issn=0362-4331}} In June 1927, borough president James J. Byrne approved the Sea Gate extension and bought land on the Sea Gate waterfront.{{Cite news|date=June 8, 1927|title=Byrne Plans to Buy Select Sea Gate for City|pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34218767/ 1], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34218796/ 2]|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|via=newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|date=June 10, 1927|title=Byrne Wins Victory On Sea Gate Plans; Estimate Board Votes to Add to Coney Boardwalk Despite Opposition of Residents|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/06/10/archives/byrne-wins-victory-on-sea-gate-plans-estimate-board-votes-to-add-to.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725013924/https://www.nytimes.com/1927/06/10/archives/byrne-wins-victory-on-sea-gate-plans-estimate-board-votes-to-add-to.html|archive-date=July 25, 2019|issn=0362-4331}} The following year, the bulkhead lines in Sea Gate were approved for demolition, in anticipation of the boardwalk being extended.{{Cite news|date=September 12, 1928|title=Sea Gate Defeated in Harbor Line Case; War Department Approves City Request for Discontinuance of Old Limits There|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/09/12/archives/sea-gate-defeated-in-harbor-line-case-war-department-approves-city.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725145634/https://www.nytimes.com/1928/09/12/archives/sea-gate-defeated-in-harbor-line-case-war-department-approves-city.html|archive-date=July 25, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|date=September 11, 1928|title=City Gains Right for Boardwalk Around Sea Gate|pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34219247/ 1], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34219264/ 2]|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|via=newspapers.com}} The boardwalk extension was slated to connect to a steamship pier operated by the Coney Island Steamship Corporation.{{Cite news|date=May 4, 1930|title=Enlarging Boardwalk; Coney Island Extension to New Steamship Pier|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/05/04/archives/enlarging-boardwalk-coney-island-extension-to-new-steamship-pier.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115023135/https://www.nytimes.com/1930/05/04/archives/enlarging-boardwalk-coney-island-extension-to-new-steamship-pier.html|archive-date=January 15, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|date=May 4, 1930|title=Coney Isle Walk to Reach New Pier|page=41|work=Brooklyn Times-Union|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42314448/|via=newspapers.com}} However, the company was permanently enjoined from selling stocks and bonds in July 1930. The corporation claimed that the Brooklyn government had allocated $3 million to extend the boardwalk in December 1929, but borough president Henry Hesterberg denied having done so.{{Cite news|date=July 8, 1930|title=Sale of Coney Island Boat Shares Halted|page=3|work=Brooklyn Standard Union|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42314674/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021234/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42314674/sale-of-coney-island-boat-shares-halted/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|date=July 8, 1930|title=Steamship Firm Accused of Fraud in Sale of Stock|page=3|work=Brooklyn Times-Union|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42314898/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021258/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42314898/steamship-firm-accused-of-fraud-in-sale/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} The boardwalk was ultimately not extended past the fence on West 37th Street.{{Cite news|last=Kirk|first=Vincent R.|date=May 10, 1931|title=Home Developments Have Transformed Coney Island Area|pages=[https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/42315579/ 49], [https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/42315665/ 50]|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|via=newspapers.com}} After a four-block section of the boardwalk was damaged in a July 1932 fire,{{Cite news|date=July 14, 1932|title=Early Coney Fires Razed Large Areas|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/07/14/archives/early-coney-fires-razed-large-areas-dreamland-was-burned-in-1911.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712145651/https://www.nytimes.com/1932/07/14/archives/early-coney-fires-razed-large-areas-dreamland-was-burned-in-1911.html|archive-date=July 12, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|date=July 14, 1932|title=$3,000,000 Fire Sweeps Over Coney Island|page=1|work=Elmira Star-Gazette|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33793308/|via=newspapers.com}} it was rebuilt and reopened within a month.{{Cite news|date=August 19, 1932|title=Coney Island Walk Reopened by City; Hesterberg Aides and Business Men Join in Exercises, Parade and Addresses|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/08/19/archives/coney-island-walk-reopened-by-city-hesterberg-aides-and-business.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115023923/https://www.nytimes.com/1932/08/19/archives/coney-island-walk-reopened-by-city-hesterberg-aides-and-business.html|archive-date=January 15, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}

= Moses reconstruction =

In 1938, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) took over responsibility for the boardwalk's maintenance.{{Cite web|title=Coney Island Beach and Boardwalk|url=http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/coney-island-beach-and-boardwalk/highlights/204|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619061018/http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/coney-island-beach-and-boardwalk/highlights/204|archive-date=June 19, 2015|publisher=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation}} Parks commissioner Robert Moses criticized the condition of the Coney Island, Rockaway, and South Beach boardwalks, saying, "These beaches and boardwalks were never properly planned, and cannot under present conditions be properly maintained and operated."{{Cite book|last=Moses|first=Robert|url=http://archive.org/details/improvementofcon00newy|title=Improvement of Coney Island, Rockaway and South Beaches|date=1937|publisher=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation|page=5}} In a letter to mayor Fiorello La Guardia, Moses wrote:

The boardwalk was constructed too near the water without providing any play areas on the north side. [...] When sand was pumped in to increase the width of the beach, instead of obtaining good white material, the contractor was allowed to deposit brown sand on the beach. Streets were cut through which dead-ended at the boardwalk, and which are no good as traffic arteries and are not proper parking spaces. The zoning ordinance was adapted to the wishes of the property owners rather than to the requirements of the public welfare.

File:Русские Харчевни.jpg

Moses unsuccessfully tried to prohibit carnival barkers from the boardwalk.{{cite news |date=August 30, 1938 |title=Moses Can Ask, Not Tell, Coney To Curb Noise: Court Rules Commissioner Exceeds Power in Cases Against Barkers, but Says They'd Better Co-operate |page=11A |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1254436983}}}}{{Cite news |date=August 30, 1938 |title=Moses Can't Curb 'Barkers' at Coney; Court Rules Commissioner Has No Power to Silence Criers --But Issues Warning |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/08/30/archives/moses-cant-curb-barkers-at-coney-court-rules-commissioner-has-no.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=August 24, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824164002/https://www.nytimes.com/1938/08/30/archives/moses-cant-curb-barkers-at-coney-court-rules-commissioner-has-no.html |url-status=live }} He also announced plans to expand it eastward, to the vicinity of Corbin Place in Brighton Beach, as well as to incorporate another {{convert|18|acre|ha}} within Brighton Beach.{{Cite web|date=August 5, 1938|title=City Plans To Add 18 Acres-to Coney; Purchase of Brighton Beach Tract and Extension of Boardwalk Proposed by Moses|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/08/05/archives/city-plans-to-add-18-acrestoconey-purchase-of-brighton-beach-tract.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517012416/https://www.nytimes.com/1938/08/05/archives/city-plans-to-add-18-acrestoconey-purchase-of-brighton-beach-tract.html|archive-date=May 17, 2018|website=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} The expansion would add capacity for 50,000 visitors along the Coney Island Beach.{{Cite web|last=Sprague|first=Marshall|date=August 14, 1938|title=Plan To Improve 'The Island'; Scheme of Commissioner Moses Would Increase Waterfront by One-third, Making Room for 50,000 More Coney Bathers|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/08/14/archives/plan-to-improve-the-island-scheme-of-commissioner-moses-would.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517010141/https://www.nytimes.com/1938/08/14/archives/plan-to-improve-the-island-scheme-of-commissioner-moses-would.html|archive-date=May 17, 2018|website=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} The project involved rebuilding an {{convert|800|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} stretch of the boardwalk,{{Cite magazine|last=O'Connell|first=Tom|date=July 15, 1950|title=Send 'Em Away with a Smile, Is Philosophy of Jim Onorato|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4B8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT30|url-status=live|magazine=Billboard|language=en|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021216/https://books.google.com/books?id=4B8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT30|archive-date=September 21, 2020}} relocating it {{Convert|300|ft|m|abbr=}} inland and straightening its route; this required the condemnation of 20 buildings and the demolition of the Municipal Baths at West 5th Street.{{Cite news|date=January 17, 1940|title=Coney Island Work Begun; Removal of Lamps First Step in Moving Back Boardwalk|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/01/17/archives/coney-island-work-begun-removal-of-lamps-first-step-in-moving-back.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725145635/https://www.nytimes.com/1940/01/17/archives/coney-island-work-begun-removal-of-lamps-first-step-in-moving-back.html|archive-date=July 25, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|date=May 31, 1940|title=Streamlining Can't Hide Fact It's Still Coney Island|page=3|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34219774/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021122/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/34219774/streamlining-cant-hide-fact-its/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} City officials announced plans in August 1938 to acquire {{convert|18|acre}} along the Brighton Beach shoreline.{{Cite news |date=August 5, 1938 |title=City Plans to Add 18 Acres-to Coney; Purchase of Brighton Beach Tract and Extension of Boardwalk Proposed by Moses |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/08/05/archives/city-plans-to-add-18-acrestoconey-purchase-of-brighton-beach-tract.html |access-date=August 24, 2023 |url-access=subscription |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517012416/https://www.nytimes.com/1938/08/05/archives/city-plans-to-add-18-acrestoconey-purchase-of-brighton-beach-tract.html |url-status=live }} That October, the city acquired {{Convert|18|acre||abbr=}} from developer Joseph P. Day for the eastward extension.{{Cite news|date=October 14, 1938|title=Deal by City Assures New Beach Areas|page=20|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34220172/|via=newspapers.com}} The expanded beach in Brighton Beach opened to the public in July 1939,{{Cite news |date=July 5, 1939 |title=Timid Crowds at Coney Avoid New Public Beach |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1939/07/05/archives/timid-crowds-at-coney-avoid-new-public-beach.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=August 24, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824164001/https://www.nytimes.com/1939/07/05/archives/timid-crowds-at-coney-avoid-new-public-beach.html |url-status=live }} and officials began allowing bicyclists to use the boardwalk that year.{{Cite news |last=Stessin |first=Lawrence |date=October 1, 1939 |title=City Aiding the Cyclist; It Opens Up More Riding Paths While Worrying About Casualties |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1939/10/01/archives/city-aiding-the-cyclist-it-opens-up-more-riding-paths-while.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=August 24, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824164002/https://www.nytimes.com/1939/10/01/archives/city-aiding-the-cyclist-it-opens-up-more-riding-paths-while.html |url-status=live }}

Moses had originally planned to clear another {{Convert|100|ft|m|abbr=}} inland of the boardwalk, but these plans were modified in August 1939 to preserve the amusement area there.{{Cite news |date=August 21, 1939 |title=Coney Island Plan Revised By Moses; He Offers Alternate Schemes to Mayor, Both Retaining Present Atmosphere |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1939/08/21/archives/coney-island-plan-revised-by-moses-he-offers-alternate-schemes-to.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725151143/https://www.nytimes.com/1939/08/21/archives/coney-island-plan-revised-by-moses-he-offers-alternate-schemes-to.html |archive-date=July 25, 2019 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |date=August 21, 1939 |title=Moses Offers Two Proposals for Coney Island Beach Improvement |pages=3 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-moses-offers-tw/130571838/ |access-date=August 24, 2023 |via=newspapers.com |archive-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824164001/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-moses-offers-tw/130571838/ |url-status=live }} The Board of Estimate approved the modified plan for the boardwalk in December;{{cite news|date=December 16, 1939|title=Coney Improvement|page=1|work=Brooklyn Citizen|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67059459/|access-date=January 6, 2021|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=May 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509135411/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67059459/coney-improvement/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |date=December 15, 1939 |title=Retirement of Geoghan Is Approved |pages=2 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-retirement-of-g/130571748/ |access-date=August 24, 2023 |via=newspapers.com |archive-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824164001/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-retirement-of-g/130571748/ |url-status=live }} the approval had been delayed by one week after a landowner objected.{{Cite news|date=December 7, 1939|title=Lone Protest Made Against Moses Plan|page=1|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34219940/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021253/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/34219940/lone-protest-made-against-moses-plan/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} The following month, the board provided an $850,000 appropriation for the work,{{Cite news |date=January 12, 1940 |title=Coney Island 'Streamlining' Starts Monday |page=2 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34220009/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021125/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/34220009/coney-island-streamlining-starts/ |archive-date=September 21, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=January 21, 1940 |title=Work on Big Coney Improvement Starts |pages=464 |work=New York Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-work-on-big-coney-improvement/130572718/ |access-date=August 24, 2023 |via=newspapers.com |archive-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824164001/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-work-on-big-coney-improvement/130572718/ |url-status=live }} and construction started on the boardwalk extension.{{Cite news |date=January 16, 1940 |title=$850,000 Job to Streamline Coney Begins |pages=2 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-850000-job-to/130572611/ |access-date=August 24, 2023 |via=newspapers.com |archive-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824164002/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-850000-job-to/130572611/ |url-status=live }} To provide easier access to the boardwalk, a new street near West 9th Street was built. As part of the renovations, a {{convert|2|ft|m|adj=on|spell=in}} covering of sand, from the Rockaways and New Jersey,{{Cite news|date=February 21, 1941|title=Coney Island To Get White Beach Sand; Whole Front to Be Covered – Boardwalk Will Be Extended|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1941/02/21/archives/coney-island-to-get-white-beach-sand-whole-front-to-be-covered.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725145632/https://www.nytimes.com/1941/02/21/archives/coney-island-to-get-white-beach-sand-whole-front-to-be-covered.html|archive-date=July 25, 2019|issn=0362-4331}} was placed along the entire beachfront. Some portions of the original boardwalk were preserved and moved using cranes.{{cite news |date=May 26, 1940 |title=Now Boardwalk Opens At Coney Island Today: Coney Island Boardwalk Opens to Public Today |page=25 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1243037801}}}} In addition, workers relocated lighting and emergency phone boxes; realigned Surf Avenue; and erected a lifeguard station with restrooms. The relocated boardwalk was completed by May 1940.{{Cite news|date=May 26, 1940|title=Revamped Boardwalk at Coney Is Opened|page=3|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34219965/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021150/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34219965/revamped-boardwalk-at-coney-is-opened/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} The same year, gray paving blocks were added at Brighton 2nd, West 2nd, West 15th, West 21st, West 27th, and West 33rd Streets, as well as at Stillwell Avenue, creating firebreaks in the boardwalk.

In early 1941, workers started extending the boardwalk {{convert|1500|ft|m|abbr=}} from Coney Island Avenue to Brighton 15th Street. The extension, {{convert|50|ft|m|abbr=}} wide, was narrower than the rest of the boardwalk. Upon completion of the extension, the boardwalk reached its current length of {{convert|2.7|mi|km|abbr=}}. In 1955, Moses proposed extending the boardwalk east to the Manhattan Beach Boardwalk. These plans were opposed by Manhattan Beach property owners, who contended that it would bring social degradation to their community.{{harvnb|ps=.|Postal|Baldwin|2018|p=25}}{{Cite news|date=September 10, 1955|title=Manhattan Beach Residents Fight Moses Over Acquisition of Its Esplanade Walk Area|page=1|work=Coney Island Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34220306/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021314/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34220306/manhattan-beach-residents-fight-moses/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} The Board of Estimate ultimately voted against Moses's plan.{{Cite news|date=September 23, 1955|title=Coney Extension Denied To Moses; Estimate Board Rejects His Plan to Join Boardwalk With Manhattan Beach|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/09/23/archives/coney-extension-denied-to-moses-estimate-board-rejects-his-plan-to.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725145634/https://www.nytimes.com/1955/09/23/archives/coney-extension-denied-to-moses-estimate-board-rejects-his-plan-to.html|archive-date=July 25, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}

= Late 20th century =

File:Coney Island Boardwalk 1 crop.jpg

Further work was undertaken on the boardwalk in the late 20th century. This included the replacement of the original street lights with replicas in the 1960s, and the replacement of benches, drinking fountains, pavilions, and comfort stations. Concrete and brick lifeguard towers were erected in the 1970s.{{harvnb|ps=.|Postal|Baldwin|2018|p=20}}

By the 1960s, Coney Island was in decline because of increased crime, insufficient parking facilities, bad weather, and the post-World War II automotive boom.{{Cite web|date=July 2, 1964|title=Coney Island Slump Grows Worse; Decline in Business Since the War Years Has Been Steady|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/07/02/archives/coney-island-slump-grows-worse-decline-in-business-since-the-war.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731031711/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/07/02/archives/coney-island-slump-grows-worse-decline-in-business-since-the-war.html|archive-date=July 31, 2018|website=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331}} This culminated in the closure and sale of Steeplechase Park, the area's last major amusement park, in 1965.{{Cite web|date=July 1, 1965|title=Steeplechase Park Planned as the Site Of Housing Project|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/07/01/archives/steeplechase-park-planned-as-the-site-of-housing-project.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731031636/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/07/01/archives/steeplechase-park-planned-as-the-site-of-housing-project.html|archive-date=July 31, 2018|website=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|date=July 2, 1965|title=Steeplechase Sold; Loses Race to the Sands of Time|page=6|work=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33933720/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021201/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33933720/steeplechase-sold-loses-race-to-the/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} A newspaper article noted in 1961 that between 5,000 and 10,000 people slept on the beach every night, and that the boardwalk was a common place for purse snatchings and muggings.{{Cite news|last=Stern|first=Freda|date=August 27, 1961|title=A Diamond in Rough, Says CC|page=222|work=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34225837/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021206/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34225837/a-diamond-in-rough-says-cc/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} Since the boardwalk contained a wide-open space underneath, it was a frequent location for such acts as looking up women's skirts, indecent exposure, and kissing.{{Cite news|last=Wilson|first=Michael|date=July 14, 2007|title=Keeping Peace on Coney Island's Salty Planks|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=registration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/14/nyregion/14summer.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726012317/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/14/nyregion/14summer.html|archive-date=July 26, 2019|issn=0362-4331}} The boardwalk's maintenance was in active decline by the 1970s, although repairs on two sections of boardwalk between Brighton 1st and Brighton 15th Streets were underway by 1975.{{Cite news|last=Liff|first=Mark|date=March 23, 1975|title=Repair Work to Start On Coney Boardwalk|page=181|work=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34226152/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021209/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34226152/repair-work-to-start-on-coney-boardwalk/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} Local officials, such as then-assemblyman Chuck Schumer, and residents of the surrounding communities petitioned for the Board of Estimate to release $650,000 in funding for repairs to the boardwalk.{{Cite news|last=Arena|first=Salvatore|date=February 17, 1976|title=Officials, Oldsters Hammer For Repairs to Boardwalk|page=426|work=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34226277/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021206/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34226277/officials-oldsters-hammer-for-repairs/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}}

By the 1980s, the boardwalk was in poor condition; several people had been injured after falling through rotted portions of the boardwalk, the restrooms and drinking fountains were not functioning, and the section between West 32nd and West 33rd Street had collapsed completely. In 1983, officials estimated that one-quarter of the planks were not in good shape.{{Cite news|last=Diamond|first=Randy|date=August 3, 1983|title=Local and city officials look to Coney's future|page=69|work=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34226414/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021217/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34226414/local-and-city-officials-look-to/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}}{{harvnb|Postal|Baldwin|2018|ps=.|p=21}} The same year, New York City Comptroller Harrison J. Goldin rated the boardwalk's quality as "poor" due to holes and nails within the deck, vacant lots adjacent to the boardwalk, broken water fountains, and filthy restrooms.{{Cite news|last=Flynn|first=Don|date=August 1, 1983|title=Orchard a peach, Coney: F|page=15|work=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36198544/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021207/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36198544/orchard-a-peach-coney-f/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} In 1985, a small part of the Coney Island Beach, as well as three other city beaches and Central Park's Sheep Meadow, were designated as "quiet zones" where loud radio playing was prohibited.{{Cite news|last1=Melia|first1=John|last2=Gentile|first2=Don|date=July 26, 1985|title=City Sounds Off; Sets new beach, park 'quiet zones'|pages=354|work=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31114250/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021209/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31114250/city-sounds-off-sets-new-beach-park/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|last=Purnick|first=Joyce|date=July 26, 1985|title=Radios Restricted at Sheep Meadow and 4 Beaches|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=registration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/26/nyregion/radios-restricted-at-sheep-meadow-and-4-beaches.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430221706/https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/26/nyregion/radios-restricted-at-sheep-meadow-and-4-beaches.html|archive-date=April 30, 2019|issn=0362-4331}} Subsequent repairs to the boardwalk were completed by 1987.{{Cite news|date=May 31, 1987|title=The sun is out, the beach is in|page=741|work=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34241155/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021306/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34241155/the-sun-is-out-the-beach-is-in/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}}

In the early 1990s, as part of a $27 million shoreline protection project, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) filled in the area under the boardwalk with sand. Afterward, the space underneath became occupied by persons who were homeless, so in 1996 the city cleared out the encampment and fenced off the space under the boardwalk.{{Cite news|date=September 23, 1996|title=Rudy lauds razing of homeless sites|page=20|work=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34241937/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021213/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34241937/rudy-lauds-razing-of-homeless-sites/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} Brooklyn borough president Howard Golden said in 1997 that he considered the boardwalk's condition to be "B-plus"; according to Golden, the largest problems were that some rails and signs needed to be fixed.{{Cite news|last=Fenner|first=Austin|date=May 13, 1997|title=Beep & bigs eye Coney Boardwalk and give it a B+|page=391|work=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34241054/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021211/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34241054/beep-bigs-eye-coney-boardwalk-and/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} On the other hand, residents had complained the previous year that the boardwalk had loose and cracked boards, holes in the wood, and uneven pilings. City vehicles frequently used the boardwalk despite exceeding the weight limit; furthermore, NYC Parks only had three employees to maintain the boardwalk year-round, as compared to eight in 1990. NYC Parks contended that it had spent $180,000 on a recent project to repair the boardwalk and that the Brooklyn borough president's office had budgeted $20 million since 1981 for repairs.{{Cite news|last=Cohen|first=Mark Francis|date=July 14, 1996|title=Coney Island's Worn Welcome Mat|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=registration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/14/nyregion/coney-islands-worn-welcome-mat.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726014610/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/14/nyregion/coney-islands-worn-welcome-mat.html|archive-date=July 26, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}

= 21st century =

File:NYC Brighton Beach 1.jpg

NYC Parks started re-planking the boardwalk with ipe wood in the late 1990s,{{Cite news|last=Kilgannon|first=Corey|date=August 30, 1998|title=Neighborhood Report: New York Up Close; To Save Rain Forests, a Call for Plastic in the Parks|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=registration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/30/nyregion/neighborhood-report-new-york-up-close-save-rain-forests-call-for-plastic-parks.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726014611/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/30/nyregion/neighborhood-report-new-york-up-close-save-rain-forests-call-for-plastic-parks.html|archive-date=July 26, 2019|issn=0362-4331}} though this was opposed by environmental groups who objected to the wood being logged from the Amazon rainforest.{{Cite news|last=Sucato|first=Kirsty|date=January 21, 2001|title=Down the Shore; Bringing the Rain Forest into a Boardwalk Battle|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=registration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/21/nyregion/down-the-shore-bringing-the-rain-forest-into-a-boardwalk-battle.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725175935/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/21/nyregion/down-the-shore-bringing-the-rain-forest-into-a-boardwalk-battle.html|archive-date=July 25, 2019|issn=0362-4331}} New comfort stations and shade pavilions were added around 2001. Though the boardwalk was well-known, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) had not received any requests to designate the boardwalk as an official landmark by the 2000s. LPC chairman Robert B. Tierney said in 2003 that the boardwalk was unlikely to be protected as a city landmark because it had been drastically modified over the years.{{Cite news|last=Boland|first=Ed Jr.|url-access=limited|date=March 16, 2003|title=F.Y.I.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/16/nyregion/fyi-789453.html|access-date=July 15, 2024|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 15, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240715163035/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/16/nyregion/fyi-789453.html|url-status=live}}

== Initial renovations and landmark status ==

By 2010, the city government was renovating the boardwalk: some sections were receiving new wood planking over concrete supports, while others were being replaced entirely with concrete.{{Cite news|last=Berger|first=Joseph|date=July 1, 2011|title=Fighting Over Rain Forest Ipe in Coney Island Boardwalk|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=registration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/nyregion/fighting-over-rain-forest-ipe-in-coney-island-boardwalk.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725175937/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/nyregion/fighting-over-rain-forest-ipe-in-coney-island-boardwalk.html|archive-date=July 25, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|last=Maniscalco|first=Joe|date=June 2, 2010|title=Boardwalk or sidewalk? Cement to replace Coney Island's renowned trademark|url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/boardwalk-or-sidewalk-cement-to-replace-coney-islands-renowned-trademark-2/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114231929/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/boardwalk-or-sidewalk-cement-to-replace-coney-islands-renowned-trademark-2/|archive-date=January 14, 2020|website=Brooklyn Paper}} The addition of the concrete sections was controversial. Though concrete was cheaper and did not require wood sourced from the Amazon rainforest, many local residents and officials felt that wood would be more authentic. There was no logistical difficulty in securing wood because the Rockaway Boardwalk was simultaneously being rebuilt in that material.{{Cite web|last=Bush|first=Daniel|date=May 25, 2012|title=City's use of wood in Rockaway boardwalk repair angers Coney's faithful|url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/35/21/all_rockawayswoodenboardwalk_2012_05_25_bk.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725175946/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/35/21/all_rockawayswoodenboardwalk_2012_05_25_bk.html|archive-date=July 25, 2019|website=Brooklyn Paper|language=en}} After installing two small concrete sections of the boardwalk, NYC Parks proposed using a type of plastic that resembled wood.{{Cite news|last=Robbins|first=Liz|date=February 19, 2012|title=Wood May Become Plastic on Coney Island Boardwalk|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=registration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/nyregion/on-coney-island-boardwalk-concrete-and-plastic-may-replace-wood.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725175934/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/nyregion/on-coney-island-boardwalk-concrete-and-plastic-may-replace-wood.html|archive-date=July 25, 2019|issn=0362-4331}} The rebuild with concrete and plastic was approved in March 2012, though wood advocates later filed a lawsuit to stop the use of concrete.{{cite web|title=Groups Sue to Save Wooden Coney Island Boardwalk|website=NBC New York|date=July 13, 2012|url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/coney-island-boardwalk-concrete-plastic-advocacy-group-lawsuit-wood/2123644/|access-date=December 16, 2020|archive-date=October 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023085842/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/coney-island-boardwalk-concrete-plastic-advocacy-group-lawsuit-wood/2123644/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Tracy|first=Thomas|title=Preservationists sue to stop Boardwalk's concrete makeover|website=Brooklyn Paper|date=July 13, 2012|url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/preservationists-sue-to-stop-boardwalks-concrete-makeover/|access-date=December 16, 2020|archive-date=October 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031192323/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/preservationists-sue-to-stop-boardwalks-concrete-makeover/|url-status=live}} The boardwalk was slightly damaged during Hurricane Sandy that October, and the adjacent amusement parks and aquarium suffered more severe damage,{{Cite web|last1=Katz|first1=Mathew|last2=Sharp|first2=Sonja|date=October 31, 2012|title=Coney Island Shell-Shocked Amid Sandy's Destruction|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121031/coney-island/coney-island-turned-into-third-world-country-by-sandy|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731043404/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121031/coney-island/coney-island-turned-into-third-world-country-by-sandy/|archive-date=July 31, 2018|website=DNAinfo New York}}{{Cite web|last=Pearson|first=Jake|date=March 1, 2013|title=Coney Island Hopes for Rebound After Sandy|url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Coney-Island-Luna-Park-Amusement-Ride-Sandy-Open-Schedule-200883891.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726012325/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Coney-Island-Luna-Park-Amusement-Ride-Sandy-Open-Schedule-200883891.html|archive-date=July 26, 2019|publisher=WNBC}} as did Steeplechase Pier. Further comfort stations were added in 2013, with four modular units being delivered to West 8th, West 2nd, Brighton 2nd, and New Brighton Streets.{{Cite web|last=Blau|first=Reuven|date=April 1, 2013|title=Bathroom break: Four sleek new Coney Island comfort stations on hold|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/bathroom-break-sleek-new-coney-island-comfort-stations-hold-article-1.1332606|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726014610/https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/bathroom-break-sleek-new-coney-island-comfort-stations-hold-article-1.1332606|archive-date=July 26, 2019|website=New York Daily News}}

In late 2014, NYC Parks started repairing the section between Coney Island Avenue and Brighton 15th Street with concrete.{{Cite news|last=Hansen|first=Matt|date=April 27, 2015|title=Concrete? Coney Island fans say only wood will do for their beloved boardwalk|work=Los Angeles Times|url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-coney-island-20150427-story.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429162151/http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-coney-island-20150427-story.html|archive-date=April 29, 2015}}{{Cite web|last=Blau|first=Reuven|date=December 28, 2014|title=Planks a lot! City moves to convert Coney Island boardwalk to concrete|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/city-moves-convert-coney-island-boardwalk-concrete-article-1.2058707|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726003635/https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/city-moves-convert-coney-island-boardwalk-concrete-article-1.2058707|archive-date=July 26, 2019|website=New York Daily News}} The decision to use concrete and plastic was again controversial, but according to NYC Parks, was necessary to repair decades of use and deterioration.{{Cite web|date=April 28, 2015|title=Residents Fight To Keep Coney Island's Boardwalk Wooden|url=https://www.npr.org/2015/04/28/402856046/residents-fight-to-keep-coney-islands-boardwalk-wooden|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726012314/https://www.npr.org/2015/04/28/402856046/residents-fight-to-keep-coney-islands-boardwalk-wooden|archive-date=July 26, 2019|publisher=NPR}} That December, after the repairs were announced, City Council members Mark Treyger and Chaim Deutsch suggested designating the boardwalk as a scenic landmark.{{cite web|last=Katinas|first=Paula|date=December 19, 2014|title=Councilmembers want city to landmark Coney Island Boardwalk|url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2014/12/19/councilmembers-want-city-to-landmark-coney-island-boardwalk/|access-date=January 6, 2021|website=Brooklyn Eagle|archive-date=April 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418085829/https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2014/12/19/councilmembers-want-city-to-landmark-coney-island-boardwalk/|url-status=live}} The LPC initially rejected the application, stating that the boardwalk had been too heavily altered. NYC Parks completed the repairs in May 2016.{{cite web | last=Warerkar | first=Tanay | title=Landmarking Coney Island's historic boardwalk may not protect its wooden boards, preservationists worry | website=Curbed NY | date=April 17, 2018 | url=https://ny.curbed.com/2018/4/17/17247338/coney-island-boardwalk-landmark-public-hearing | access-date=December 16, 2020 | archive-date=May 9, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509135443/https://ny.curbed.com/2018/4/17/17247338/coney-island-boardwalk-landmark-public-hearing | url-status=live }}{{Cite web|title=Coney Island Boardwalk Reconstruction, Brighton 15th Street to Coney Island Avenue|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/planning-and-building/capital-project-tracker/project/2055|access-date=December 16, 2020|publisher=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation|archive-date=October 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002000213/https://www.nycgovparks.org/planning-and-building/capital-project-tracker/project/2055|url-status=live}} Despite the rejection of landmark status, Treyger continued to advocate for the Riegelmann Boardwalk's preservation. In March 2018, the LPC voted to "calendar" a public hearing to determine whether the boardwalk should be designated.{{cite web|last=Plitt|first=Amy|date=March 20, 2018|title=Coney Island boardwalk is one step closer to becoming a NYC landmark|url=https://ny.curbed.com/2018/3/20/17141570/coney-island-brooklyn-boardwalk-nyc-landmark-process|access-date=January 6, 2021|website=Curbed NY|archive-date=June 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618122019/https://ny.curbed.com/2018/3/20/17141570/coney-island-brooklyn-boardwalk-nyc-landmark-process|url-status=live}} The commission designated the boardwalk as the city's eleventh scenic landmark two months later, on May 15, 2018.{{Cite web|last=Durkin|first=Erin|date=May 15, 2018|title=Coney Island Boardwalk dubbed official city landmark on 95th birthday|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/coney-island-boardwalk-dubbed-official-city-landmark-article-1.3991762|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517005735/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/coney-island-boardwalk-dubbed-official-city-landmark-article-1.3991762|archive-date=May 17, 2018|website=New York Daily News}}{{Cite web|date=May 15, 2018|title=NYC Designates Coney Island Boardwalk a Scenic Landmark|url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyc-designates-coney-island-boardwalk-a-scenic-landmark-new-york-city-ny/145355/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114231954/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyc-designates-coney-island-boardwalk-a-scenic-landmark-new-york-city-ny/145355/|archive-date=January 14, 2020|publisher=WNBC}}{{Cite web|date=May 15, 2018|title=City designates Coney Island boardwalk a Scenic Landmark|url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20180515/NEWS/180519923/new-york-city-landmarks-preservation-commission-designates-coney-island-boardwalk-a-scenic-landmark|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726003630/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20180515/NEWS/180519923/new-york-city-landmarks-preservation-commission-designates-coney-island-boardwalk-a-scenic-landmark|archive-date=July 26, 2019|website=Crain's New York Business|publisher=Associated Press|language=en}} The same month, two comfort stations opened at Brighton 15th Street.{{Cite web|last=McGoldrick|first=Meaghan|date=May 31, 2018|title=Brighton Beach end of Boardwalk gets two new comfort stations after years of delays|url=https://brooklynreporter.com/2018/05/brighton-beach-end-of-boardwalk-gets-two-new-comfort-stations-after-years-of-delays/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726014609/https://brooklynreporter.com/2018/05/brighton-beach-end-of-boardwalk-gets-two-new-comfort-stations-after-years-of-delays/|archive-date=July 26, 2019|website=The Brooklyn Home Reporter}} The city government announced in November 2019 that it would spend $3.2 million to place anti-terrorism bollards at entrances to the boardwalk, as part of a larger initiative to improve safety in public areas following a deadly 2017 truck attack in Manhattan.{{Cite web |date=November 6, 2019 |title=Planned security measures announced to keep Coney Island Boardwalk safe |url=http://www.news12.com/story/41284925/planned-security-measures-announced-to-keep-coney-island-boardwalk-safe |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107134641/http://www.news12.com/story/41284925/planned-security-measures-announced-to-keep-coney-island-boardwalk-safe |archive-date=November 7, 2019 |publisher=News 12 Brooklyn}}{{Cite web |last=Adams |first=Rose |date=November 6, 2019 |title=City unveils anti-terrorism barriers for Coney boardwalk |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/42/45/bn-boardwalk-security-2019-11-01-bk.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107134646/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/42/45/bn-boardwalk-security-2019-11-01-bk.html |archive-date=November 7, 2019 |website=Brooklyn Paper}}

== Capital renovation project ==

Starting in 2021, NYC Parks hired a team of carpenters to repair parts of the boardwalk between March and November of each year.{{cite web | last=Honan | first=Katie | title=Under the Boardwalk: The Unsung Heroes of Summer Saving You From Splinters | website=The City | date=May 22, 2024 | url=https://www.thecity.nyc/2024/05/22/coney-island-boardwalk-repair-workers/ | access-date=May 26, 2024 | archive-date=May 26, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526143452/https://www.thecity.nyc/2024/05/22/coney-island-boardwalk-repair-workers/ | url-status=live }} NYC Parks announced in November 2021 that it would renovate the entirety of the Riegelmann Boardwalk for $114.5 million. The renovation would be conducted in several phases, although only one phase was funded. The boardwalk would remain open during the project.{{cite web | title=Coney Island Boardwalk to receive massive reconstruction | website=Brooklyn Eagle | date=November 18, 2021 | last=DeJesus | first=Jaime | url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2021/11/18/coney-island-boardwalk-to-receive-massive-reconstruction/ | access-date=May 15, 2022 | archive-date=October 4, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004040210/https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2021/11/18/coney-island-boardwalk-to-receive-massive-reconstruction/ | url-status=live }}{{cite web | last=Weaver | first=Shaye | title=Coney Island's iconic boardwalk will undergo a major reconstruction | website=Time Out New York | date=November 18, 2021 | url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/coney-islands-boardwalk-will-undergo-major-reconstruction-111821 | access-date=May 15, 2022 | archive-date=May 15, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515224131/https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/coney-islands-boardwalk-will-undergo-major-reconstruction-111821 | url-status=live }} The plans include replacing the hardwood planks with recycled plastic, renovating furniture, and constructing concrete piers to replace deteriorated wooden supports.{{cite web | last=Offenhartz | first=Jake | title=NYC To Replace "Entirety" Of Coney Island's Wood Boardwalk With Recycled Plastic | website=Gothamist | date=November 24, 2021 | url=https://gothamist.com/news/nyc-replace-entirety-coney-islands-wood-boardwalk-recycled-plastic | access-date=May 15, 2022 | archive-date=May 15, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515224131/https://gothamist.com/news/nyc-replace-entirety-coney-islands-wood-boardwalk-recycled-plastic | url-status=live }}{{cite web | title=The Coney Island Boardwalk will be replaced by plastic and concrete | website=The Architect's Newspaper | date=November 30, 2021 | last=Hilburg | first=Jonathan | url=https://www.archpaper.com/2021/11/coney-island-boardwalk-will-be-replaced-by-plastic-and-concrete/ | access-date=May 15, 2022 | archive-date=May 16, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516183221/https://www.archpaper.com/2021/11/coney-island-boardwalk-will-be-replaced-by-plastic-and-concrete/ | url-status=live }} The plan had to be approved by mayor-elect Eric Adams, who, as borough president, had opposed the previous proposal to replace the wooden deck with plastic and concrete. In mid-2022, city councilman Ari Kagan expressed concerns that the city government did not include any additional funding for the boardwalk's renovation in its 2022 budget. The $114.5 million grant was only sufficient to fund repairs to a {{convert|3|mi|adj=on}} section of the boardwalk.

An investigation by news organization The City found that, from 2012 to 2022, the city government had spent several hundred thousand dollars to settle lawsuits by visitors who had been injured on the boardwalk.{{cite web | last=Joseph | first=George | title=Eric Adams Budget Leaves Coney Island Boardwalk With Loose Screws and Other Dangers | website=The City | date=May 2, 2022 | url=https://www.thecity.nyc/brooklyn/2022/5/2/23049183/eric-adams-budget-coney-island-boardwalk-dangers | access-date=July 18, 2022 | archive-date=June 2, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602031442/https://www.thecity.nyc/brooklyn/2022/5/2/23049183/eric-adams-budget-coney-island-boardwalk-dangers | url-status=live }} WCBS-TV also found that, between 2017 and 2022, thirty-one people claimed to have sustained injuries while on the boardwalk. Although NYC Parks had replaced over a thousand planks in mid-2022,{{cite web | title='Right now, it's nails and holes.' Brooklyn residents, elected officials call for changes to Coney Island Boardwalk | website=News 12 – The Bronx | date=October 7, 2022 | url=https://bronx.news12.com/right-now-it-s-nails-and-holes-brooklyn-residents-elected-officials-call-for-changes-to-coney-island-boardwalk | access-date=January 8, 2023 | archive-date=January 8, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108192757/https://bronx.news12.com/right-now-it-s-nails-and-holes-brooklyn-residents-elected-officials-call-for-changes-to-coney-island-boardwalk | url-status=live }} WCBS-TV reported in October 2022 that the renovation project had not started.{{cite web | last=Kliger | first=Hannah | title=Talks renewed over restoration of century-old Coney Island Boardwalk | website=CBS New York | date=October 7, 2022 | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/coney-island-boardwalk-restoration/ | access-date=January 8, 2023 | archive-date=January 8, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108192757/https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/coney-island-boardwalk-restoration/ | url-status=live }} At the time, USACE was considering raising the boardwalk to {{convert|18|ft}}. If this plan were implemented, the boardwalk-raising project would not be completed until 2030. Alec Brook-Krasny, who was reelected{{Efn|Brook-Krasny had previously represented Coney Island in the Assembly until 2015.}} to the New York State Assembly in 2022, proposed funding repairs to the boardwalk if a planned casino on Coney Island were approved.{{cite web |last=Stark-Miller |first=Ethan |date=November 23, 2022 |title=Local electeds mixed on proposal to bring a casino to the Coney Island Boardwalk |url=https://www.amny.com/politics/local-electeds-mixed-on-proposal-to-bring-a-casino-to-the-coney-island-boardwalk/ |access-date=January 8, 2023 |website=amNewYork |archive-date=January 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108192757/https://www.amny.com/politics/local-electeds-mixed-on-proposal-to-bring-a-casino-to-the-coney-island-boardwalk/ |url-status=live }}

By early 2023, NYC Parks was planning to rebuild the section from West 24th to West 27th Street for $11.5 million. Although that section was originally supposed to have been rebuilt by February 2022, work had not even started.{{cite web | last=Camille | first=Jada | title=Coney Islanders frustrated by delayed repairs to Riegelmann Boardwalk, lack of transparency by city | website=Brooklyn Paper | date=March 10, 2023 | url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/locals-frustrated-riegelmann-repair-delays/ | access-date=April 25, 2023 | archive-date=April 25, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425143201/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/locals-frustrated-riegelmann-repair-delays/ | url-status=live }} Designs for the renovation were supposed to have been completed by April 2023 but were delayed because the city needed to add wheelchair ramps.{{cite web | last=Camille | first=Jada | title=Forgotten fanfare: Coney Island calls on city to reinvest in Riegelmann Boardwalk after lack of centennial celebrations | website=Brooklyn Paper | date=May 19, 2023 | url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/coney-calls-reinvest-riegelmann-boardwalk/ | access-date=July 8, 2023 | archive-date=July 8, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230708060745/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/coney-calls-reinvest-riegelmann-boardwalk/ | url-status=live }} In February 2025, the city government announced plans to upgrade the western end of the Riegelmann Boardwalk as part of the Coney Island West project,{{cite web | last=Roche | first=Daniel Jonas | title=ONE shares Coney Island housing and coastal resiliency plan | website=The Architect’s Newspaper | date=February 28, 2025 | url=https://www.archpaper.com/2025/02/one-housing-housing-coastal-resiliency-coney-island/ | access-date=June 19, 2025}}{{cite web | last=Brendlen | first=Kirstyn | title=NYC Unveils Plan to Revitalize Coney Island | website=amNewYork | date=February 20, 2025 | url=https://www.amny.com/news/city-unveils-bold-vision-coney-island/ | access-date=June 19, 2025}} for which a developer was to be selected later that year.{{cite web | last=Durso | first=Isabelle | title=Adams Announces Partners to Build 1,100 New Homes on Coney Island | website=Commercial Observer | date=June 17, 2025 | url=https://commercialobserver.com/2025/06/eric-adams-housing-coney-island/ | access-date=June 19, 2025}}

Impact

= Cultural significance =

File:Променад в районе Нью-Йоркского аквариума.jpg]]

The boardwalk opened up the beach to the millions who visited Coney Island in its heyday, and it became known as the area's "Main Street", supplanting Surf Avenue in that role. A 1923 guidebook described the area as "the oldest, most densely crowded and most democratic" of all the amusement areas around New York City.{{Cite book|last1=Rider|first1=Fremont|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zcs3AQAAIAAJ|title=Rider's New York City: A Guide-book for Travelers, with 13 Maps and 20 Plans|last2=Cooper|first2=Frederic Taber|publisher=H. Holt|year=1923|page=616|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021303/https://books.google.com/books?id=Zcs3AQAAIAAJ|archive-date=September 21, 2020|url-status=live}} The boardwalk increased international visitation to Coney Island. One French observer wrote of the boardwalk, shortly after its opening, "Families which cannot go to the rich watering places come in hordes on Sunday to enjoy the municipal beach. It is like the Promenade des Anglais at Nice turned over to the proletariat."{{harvnb|ps=.|Immerso|2002|p=127}} A writer for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle cited the boardwalk's completion as "a contributing factor in the modernizing of the Coney Island section", saying that its construction had led to the development of apartment buildings on the Coney Island peninsula.

The boardwalk is the setting for two large annual events. The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest takes place every July 4 outside the original Nathan's Famous location at Surf and Stillwell Avenues near the boardwalk. Nathan's had been one of several hot dog vendors that formerly lined Coney Island.{{harvnb|ps=.|Postal|Baldwin|2018|p=19}} The Coney Island Mermaid Parade has taken place along the boardwalk since 1983. The parade typically occurs every June, and involves floats and costumes and a King Neptune and Queen Mermaid that are crowned at the end of each parade.

As an icon of Coney Island, the Riegelmann Boardwalk has been depicted in the visual arts, music, and film. Several artworks have shown the boardwalk as a focal point, including Harry Roseland's 1930s depictions of the boardwalk and beach, as well as the 1938 lithograph The People Play-Summer by Benton Murdoch Spruance. Films have used the boardwalk as a setting or as a plot narrative, such as Sinners' Holiday (1930), Little Fugitive (1953), Annie Hall (1977), The Warriors (1979), and Requiem for a Dream (2000).{{Cite book|last=Alleman|first=Richard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wDpSaPkSt-8C&pg=PA431|title=New York: The Movie Lover's Guide : the Ultimate Insider Tour of Movie New York|publisher=Broadway Books|year=2005|isbn=978-0-7679-1634-9|page=431|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021138/https://books.google.com/books?id=wDpSaPkSt-8C&pg=PA431|archive-date=September 21, 2020|url-status=live}} The boardwalk has appeared in TV shows, including children's shows such as Dora the Explorer and sitcoms such as Seinfeld. It is also a setting in music videos, such as those by Salt-N-Pepa (1993) and Beyoncé (2013), and albums such as Coney Island Baby (1975).

= Accolades and landmark designations =

File:Coney Island Brooklyn Sep 2019 11.jpg

At the time of its construction, the boardwalk was considered the most important public works project in Brooklyn since the Brooklyn Bridge, which had been completed in 1883.{{Cite news|date=June 25, 1922|title=Eyes of Country Focused on New Coney Boardwalk|page=34|work=Brooklyn Standard Union|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34163371/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021219/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34163371/eyes-of-country-focused-on-new-coney/|archive-date=September 21, 2020|via=newspapers.com}} One newspaper described the project thus: "New York scientists and engineers have succeeded where King Canute failed to halt the onward march of the tides." The boardwalk immediately became one of Coney Island's biggest draws after its opening. A columnist for the Brooklyn Times-Union wrote in 1932 that, so powerful was the boardwalk's effect, "the boardwalk and Coney Island are now synonymous".

In 1994, the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association recognized the boardwalk as an "infrastructure accomplishment" comparable to the Catskill Watershed and Central Park. In giving the award, the ASBPA stated that the boardwalk had served people who would otherwise "not have access to exclusive Long Island beaches". The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the boardwalk as one of the city's scenic landmarks in 2018, having previously rejected it for landmark status.

References

= Notes =

= Citations =

= Sources =

{{Cite book|last=Denson|first=Charles|title=Coney Island: lost and found|date=2002|publisher=Ten Speed Press|isbn=1580084559|oclc=50253166}}
{{Cite book|last=Devine|first=Edward Thomas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DbAyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA580|title=The Survey|publisher=Survey Associates|year=1904|volume=12}}
{{Cite book|last=Immerso|first=Michael|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i4POVzmwY9cC|title=Coney Island: the people's playground|publisher=Rutgers University Press|year=2002|isbn=978-0-8135-3138-0|edition=illustrated}}
{{Cite report|first1=Matthew A.|last1=Postal|first2=Jessica|last2=Baldwin|date=May 15, 2018|title=Coney Island (Riegelmann) Boardwalk|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2583.pdf|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission}}