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CB13 appeals for boardwalk rehab

Community Board 13 is asking the city to fix the Riegelman Boardwalk – again.

The board, which represents Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Gravesend, Homecrest and Seagate, is preparing to send city officials a list of projects desperately needed in southern Brooklyn. As was the case last year, repairing Coney Island’s dilapidated boardwalk is at the top of the long list.

Coney Island’s residents and visitors have long complained about the shabby condition of the boardwalk. They say planks are broken, screws are loose, and the faulty woodwork is dangerous.

Local residents have called for a full replacement of all the boardwalk planks but that’s out of the question, according to officials. Such a project would cost millions of dollars which the city says it doesn’t have.

Instead, the city Parks Department has done spot repairs at the most dangerous areas.

This fall, the Parks Department will install synthetic planks on the boardwalk from West 12th to West 15th Streets, which residents say is one of the most unsafe sections of the boardwalk. During the 2009 summer season, Parks Department officials will determine if the planks were successful at handling pedestrian traffic.

Community Board 13 is also asking the city to continue its efforts to downzone Brighton Beach, which now boasts sky-high buildings next to one-family homes.

Reps for the Department of City Planning finally unveiled a rezoning plan for the neighborhood but the plan must go through a lengthy Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). It could take up to a year before Brighton Beach is officially downzoned.

Pat Singer, president of the Brighton Beach Neighborhood Association, said residents are “suffering” as they wait for downzoning.