Public Design Commission of the City of New York 253 Broadway 5 th Floor New York, NY 10007

Dear Commissioners, As both a resident of one of the Riegelmann Boardwalk communities, and a local Community Board member, I wish to commend you for your refusal last October to sign off on a proposal to lay concrete and plastic on a portion of the Coney Island Boardwalk from Brighton 15 th Street to Coney Island Avenue. Last year our Community Board voted overwhelmingly against the same proposal. Thus, the Parks Department has the mandate, both from our community, as well as your distinguished Commission, to go back to the drawing board and come up with a better plan. We urge the Parks Department to give serious consideration to non-concrete alternatives, especially sustainable domestic woods, that are both cost-effective and preserve the aesthetics that have made the Boardwalk a treasured part of our community's history and landscape. No amount in savings would have compensated for the tremendous loss in visual as well as tactile appeal, should the original plan have been allowed to proceed. The City needs to use this chance to transform the Boardwalk not into a hideous-but-structurally-sound slab of concrete, but a visually-pleasing and equally-sound structure that preserves the elements of what a boardwalk should, in fact, be. As the Design Commission agreed, concrete isn't high on anyone's list. We are hopeful that, as the result of your careful guardianship of this icon, and your refusal to countenance its demise, the Coney Island Boardwalk can remain our community's and the City's treasure, and be enjoyed for generations to come. We are deeply appreciative of your good work toward this goal. Very truly yours, The Following Members of Community Board 13: