The Parks Department’s plan to place traditional wooden planks over concrete on the portion of the boardwalk at the amusement area of Coney is also flawed, Greco said. Moisture and garbage would soon accumulate amid the spaces between the planks, rotting the wood, and the type of screws the Department plans to use -- “tapcon” screws with alternating threads -- will quickly become displaced and start sticking out of the planks, causing more of the injuries that have already occurred in the deteriorating existing boardwalk, for which the city has been hit with millions of dollars in lawsuits.
.Greco has suggested to Parks Department officials an alternate plan. He’s calling for a 12-foot-wide exercise path, made out of shock-absorbing material, installed on each of the two sides of the boardwalk, replacing the rest of the boardwalk either with wood or simulated wood planks These planks would be anchored onto a galvanized, rust-proof steel frame rather than concrete, secured with headless “through-bolts” which would be embedded into the planks and not become hazardously displaced.
This alternative would be cost-effective, Greco said, because the cost of the exercise paths would be relatively low, and there would be less square footage over which to apply the planks.
The Parks Department, he said, is about 80 percent responsible for causing the deterioration of the boardwalk, by regularly driving heavy vehicles along it. The other 20 percent? “Police Department SUVs and patrol cars,” he said.
Greco said he has discussed his ideas with the Parks Department, but officials have not taken his points or suggestions seriously.
Parks officials didn’t respond to Bay Currents by press time.
Kateryna Stupnevich contributed to this story.
