8/2/2019 Addendum 2 From Stuart Pertz

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/addendum-2-from-stuart-pertz 1/2

ADDENDUM #2

EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE, DATED FEBRUARY 21, 2012

FROM STUART K. PERTZ, FAIA, ARCHITECT/URBAN DESIGNER

My stand is complicated. I've worked with Parks and Adrian for a number of years helping to

devise and transition management change at the Design and Construction Department at Olmstedand developed an enormous affection for him and the team. And although I know some of their

foibles, they are one of the best agencies in the City.

But just in case, let me start at the beginning. (And my apologies if you know all this already.)

The boardwalk used to sit 10-14 feet above the beach with kiosks and public conveniences

beneath it. The Corps of Engineers "replenished" the sand on the beach after a storm in 1992

that flooded a good deal of Coney Island, raising the level of the beach almost to the level of the

Boardwalk. In so doing, the contractors inadvertently covered the facilities plumbing and

rendered them useless, leading Parks to cover them up with sand entirely. Then, in what became

unused caves under the Boardwalk, a significantly damaging fire resulted, perhaps caused by

vagrants, causing political pressure to be brought on Parks who without considering orunderstanding the consequences, filled in up to the Boardwalk with more sand.

The beach is now at the level of the Boardwalk. Before the filling, sand fell through the boards,

as did the rain. Now, sand blows constantly over and across it, often burying ten or twenty feet of 

the walkway. The wood structure, constantly wet and unable to dry, responded poorly to the

change.

Today, Parks is faced with dealing with what seem to be three mutually dependent decisions:

-to change or not to change the sand level

-how to detail the structure and walkway, and

-if to use wood or not

The sand level

A trench along the seaward edge of the Boardwalk and a minimally accessible few feet of leeway

beneath the boards might have been (and still be) helpful. Maintaining the trench may not be

more effort than constantly sweeping the Boardwalk. More importantly perhaps, the structure

could be open, allowing sand and rain to pass through.

The design details

Parks decided to use planking - at first with exposed aggregate as a surface. It was not thoughtout and as a surface is not a good idea.

Having reconsidered, Parks is now building, in another stretch, wood boards on sleepers on

concrete planking, with an exposed concrete runway down the middle. I assume this is still their

intent, but with simulated wood. (I know the wood has been retained along the amusement area,

I am not certain of how it relates to the new proposal.)

Given the present configuration, the sand fills between the sleepers and around the boards and

cannot fall through the planking or wash away, retaining the smell of beer and waste, retaining

8/2/2019 Addendum 2 From Stuart Pertz

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/addendum-2-from-stuart-pertz 2/2

February 28, 2012

Public Design Commission of the City of New York 

Page 2

water so that it will be icy in winter and subjecting it to expanding ice between the sleepers that

would push the boards up and down, loosening the screws and endangering pedestrians (vehicles

now safely on the runway) with the resulting maintenance headache.

Wood or not.

I am not an expert on wood, but I've been told that other communities use black locust and that

its availability is a matter of planning.

I do not have the numbers, but conversations with other communities suggest that the cost over

the project life is much the same, and worth it.

There are real financial advantages, in fact, for the City to preserve the character of the

Boardwalk - it is not just nostalgia. Maintaining the quality and character of its historic heritage

could (and in time most likely will) increase the taxable real estate values along one of the most

remarkable city beaches in the world. The new zoning for the area was designed for just that.

Perhaps the synthetic wood will look good and feel good. Perhaps the concrete runway will (likewood) not crack, chip, spall or discolor with tire tracks, garbage bin rust and gum. Perhaps

Parks will consider and solve the problems of the entrapped sand gone foul, and even the blown

sand from the beach. And hopefully, we will not be left with wood at the amusements, exposed

concrete, wood and synthetic wood inconsistently from place to place to place from Brighton to

Seagate.

At this point, my sense, as I said, is that the height of the sand, too speedy research and a single

option experiment built Parks into a corner that only the Commission's "No" could get them to

think their way out of.