The legendary boardwalk of Brighton Beach and Coney Island will be no more

At least that will be the case if the city Parks Department goes ahead with its plans – which Community Board 13 chairwoman Marion Cleaver confirmed are definitely slated to begin -- to replace all of the Brighton boardwalk and most of the Coney Island boardwalk with, to the shock of many residents and boardwalk visitors, concrete.

The project will create “a secondary concrete jungle,” said Michael Greco, 48, an electrician, construction designer, and inventor (who holds one patent with several more in the works).

In exclusive interviews with Bay Currents, Greco described the plan as a “boardwalk blunder” that will “not only take away from the legacy of an American icon, but also has several flaws in design.”

For one thing, textured concrete, “although appealing to the eye,” is too rough and hazardous for bicycles, baby carriages, or jogging, he said.

It’s no surprise that people of various nationalities travel from all over New York City – and beyond -- to Brighton Beach just to explore the delicacies its large food market has to offer.

Brighton is quite well known for its assortment of kiosks, supermarkets, cafes, and fancy restaurants right by the ocean. If the beach isn’t worth journeying to “Little Odessa”, Brighton residents will confirm that the food certainly is!

While most eateries serve mainly Russian food, several cafes, such as Café Kashkar, offer an array of other ethnic delights. . Café Kashkar is known by locals for its mouth-watering Uyghur menu. “I come to Brighton Beach mainly for the food,” said Artem Galperin, a 24-year-old Bensonhurst resident. “[Café] Kashkar has some of the best manti (dumplings) I have ever tried.”