Now, 11 months after the hurricane, New York is finally turning its attention to the Boardwalk itself.
Replacing it will be hugely expensive, with a tentative price tag of $ 200 million. It will involve 4.7 miles of new decking and about 50,000 linear feet of railing. And though work could start by the end of the year, the Boardwalk will take years to rebuild; just how many is unclear.
What is certain, however, is that it will not be made of wood. Soon after the hurricane, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said that the storm had laid to rest the debate over wood versus concrete as the preferred material for boardwalks. He pointed to the few concrete sections that had come through in relatively good shape.
“We think in terms of making a big investment for the long term, concrete is a much better choice,” said Liam Kavanagh, the parks department’s first deputy commissioner.
“It’s stronger than wood and lasts twice as long. For the most part, we didn’t see the wholesale destruction of the concrete that we saw with the wood.”
But the surface will not necessarily resemble the bland gray tones of the city’s sidewalks. The parks department has solicited a range of ideas for the future Boardwalk in a series of community meetings.
On Wednesday night, residents, like shoppers considering tile for a new kitchen, turned out to study a dozen samples of so-called concrete aggregate; some samples featured colorful bits of glass, while others were embedded with seashells.
Residents in one corner devised a wish list for amenities, both on and off the Boardwalk, like bike lanes, spray showers and dog runs, while in another corner, residents considered storm defenses, whether a sea wall, offshore breakwaters or rock jetties.
One resident, Pamela O’Grady, 68, favored the last solution.
“This historic storm proved that the places with rock jetties had 50 percent less damage to the beaches,” Ms. O’Grady said. “We know the jetties work.”
The Army Corps of Engineers, which pumped nearly 600,000 cubic yards of sand onto the beach this summer, will eventually build whatever storm protections are chosen, but that will not happen for years, given the Corps’ lengthy technical and economic reviews. The Corps plans to share draft alternatives for the Rockaways with the public early next year, said Chris Gardner, a spokesman for the agency.
In the meantime, parks officials and engineers reassured the residents that the Boardwalk would be rebuilt to withstand future monster storms.
Not only will it be raised along its entire length, but the decking will be securely fastened to concrete pilings. The old Boardwalk had simply rested on the pilings, making it vulnerable to the storm surge.
“Yes, we are going to attach the decks to the foundations so the decks won’t be floating into your living rooms,” said Jonathan Goldstick, vice president of the engineering firm CH2M Hill, which the city has hired to oversee the project.
Both the city and the Army Corps are working to build up the beaches. Throughout the spring and summer, the city created an artificial bulwark on the beach by laying so-called trap bags, giant bags of sand, from Beach 55th to Beach 149th Street. Starting this winter, the Army Corps will begin the second phase of work to widen and raise the beach, adding 2.9 million more cubic yards of sand.
“The idea is to build a beach berm roughly 100 to 200 feet wide, and the berm will be at least 10 feet above sea level,” Mr. Gardner said.
The city would like to make that berm even higher, Mr. Kavanagh said, and is in talks with the Army Corps to cover additional costs.
As a result of the higher beach elevation, the new Boardwalk may appear to be more flush with the beach than the old one did.
There was talk at the meeting on Wednesday night, which was held in a public school on Beach 135th Street, about how to “memorialize” the Boardwalk. Some suggested using the salvaged wood to create shade structures and benches on the new Boardwalk.
But the liveliest discussion centered on what type of concrete to use.
Participants were asked to put stickers on their favorite samples. The clear favorite was one flecked with blue and green glass, which sparkled under the fluorescent light.
Still, there were those who could not let go of wood; someone even slipped a black-and-white photograph of the old Boardwalk into the mix of concrete samples.
“Wood is less stressful on the human body,” lamented Nick Scorcia, 56, a road paver who lives in Rockaway Park.
“I don’t like any of the concrete alternatives. You can’t even call it a boardwalk. Now I have to call it a concrete walkway.”
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