Paul MartinkaConey Island boardwalk at Stillwell Avenue is being repaired, forcing beachgoers to squeez. The boarwalk is expected to be finished within few weeks.
June 15, 2010 ι By RICH CALDER
Some of the hottest spots in Brooklyn aren’t ready for the summer rush.
At Coney Island, business is booming following the opening of the new Luna Park on Memorial Day weekend. But critics say Coney Island now can’t handle the large crowds amusement operators and other boardwalk-based businesses desperately want — and that things should only get worse when major attractions like Brooklyn Cyclones baseball and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus return this month.
That’s because most of the prime boardwalk space is fenced off for renovations, crushing the summer throngs into one lane of pedestrian traffic in the sweltering heat. And it’s no better on nearby streets, as drivers are fuming over new city-enforced traffic patterns that have left parts of Neptune, Surf and Mermaid avenues routinely resembling a parking lot since the warm weather kicked in.
So, you should seriously consider mass transit if you are heading out to the annual Mermaid Day Parade Saturday. And expect the mermaids to be packed like sardines.
The news is no better on the other side of the borough’s waterfront — which is also drawing massive crowds to Brooklyn Bridge Park.
At Pier 1, the park’s main entrance on Old Fulton Street is fenced off because of ongoing construction — leaving patrons scratching their heads trying to figure out how to get in. Like the boardwalk work, which has been ongoing for months, officials hope to have this job done by the end of the June.
A few blocks away, Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park in DUMBO has been shut down since January and is expected to be closed another year — mostly so the state can clear out trees and install a restored 1920s carousel within what will eventually also be part of Brooklyn Bridge Park.
In Coney Island, some members of Community Board 13 said the boardwalk work — while necessary — was poorly planned and should have been done off-season.
"Police and emergency services have enough problems. How are they supposed to get through these crowds in an emergency?" said one board member, adding that a Memorial Day stabbing of a teen outside Luna Park "might have been avoided if the boardwalk wasn’t jam packed."
Domenic Recchia Jr., the local councilman, said construction crews hired to replace the boardwalk’s rickety wooden planks couldn’t complete the job before the summer season kicked off due to "a very bad winter."
Regarding the area’s gridlock problem, Recchia said he plans to meet with NYPD and city Transportation Dept. officials to resolve the tie-ups caused by the new traffic patterns, which included making W. 17th Street one-way southbound from Neptune to Surf Avenue.
The DOT says the changes are designed to enhance safety but is open to changes, if necessary.
At Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 1, visitors are now forced to enter through a out-of-the-way side entrance along Furman Street or cut through a tiny opening leading to Fulton Ferry Landing.
Doreen Gallo, executive director of the DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance, said she believes the state dropped the ball by "poorly planning" construction work at Pier 1 and Empire State-Fulton Ferry Park in the summer when people enjoy using parks most.
A state spokeswoman said "we are performing work as quickly as possible, construction permitting."
After decades of downward spiraling business, the locals may not be able to handle the crush.
At Coney Island, business is booming following the opening of the new Luna Park on Memorial Day weekend. But critics say Coney Island now can’t handle the large crowds amusement operators and other boardwalk-based businesses desperately want — and that things should only get worse when major attractions like Brooklyn Cyclones baseball and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus return this month.
That’s because most of the prime boardwalk space is fenced off for renovations, crushing the summer throngs into one lane of pedestrian traffic in the sweltering heat. And it’s no better on nearby streets, as drivers are fuming over new city-enforced traffic patterns that have left parts of Neptune, Surf and Mermaid avenues routinely resembling a parking lot since the warm weather kicked in.
So, you should seriously consider mass transit if you are heading out to the annual Mermaid Day Parade Saturday. And expect the mermaids to be packed like sardines.
The news is no better on the other side of the borough’s waterfront — which is also drawing massive crowds to Brooklyn Bridge Park.
At Pier 1, the park’s main entrance on Old Fulton Street is fenced off because of ongoing construction — leaving patrons scratching their heads trying to figure out how to get in. Like the boardwalk work, which has been ongoing for months, officials hope to have this job done by the end of the June.
A few blocks away, Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park in DUMBO has been shut down since January and is expected to be closed another year — mostly so the state can clear out trees and install a restored 1920s carousel within what will eventually also be part of Brooklyn Bridge Park.
In Coney Island, some members of Community Board 13 said the boardwalk work — while necessary — was poorly planned and should have been done off-season.
"Police and emergency services have enough problems. How are they supposed to get through these crowds in an emergency?" said one board member, adding that a Memorial Day stabbing of a teen outside Luna Park "might have been avoided if the boardwalk wasn’t jam packed."
Domenic Recchia Jr., the local councilman, said construction crews hired to replace the boardwalk’s rickety wooden planks couldn’t complete the job before the summer season kicked off due to "a very bad winter."
Regarding the area’s gridlock problem, Recchia said he plans to meet with NYPD and city Transportation Dept. officials to resolve the tie-ups caused by the new traffic patterns, which included making W. 17th Street one-way southbound from Neptune to Surf Avenue.
The DOT says the changes are designed to enhance safety but is open to changes, if necessary.
At Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 1, visitors are now forced to enter through a out-of-the-way side entrance along Furman Street or cut through a tiny opening leading to Fulton Ferry Landing.
Doreen Gallo, executive director of the DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance, said she believes the state dropped the ball by "poorly planning" construction work at Pier 1 and Empire State-Fulton Ferry Park in the summer when people enjoy using parks most.
A state spokeswoman said "we are performing work as quickly as possible, construction permitting."
After decades of downward spiraling business, the locals may not be able to handle the crush.
If any of them need help counting money; I am very good counting $20 bills.
Just in case...Mike
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