Residents Give Input at Boardwalk Group Meetings
Two more meetings scheduled for Monday and Wednesday.
The demolition at the east end of the Long Beach boardwalk. (Credit: Joseph Kellard)
The second of three focus groups meetings on reconstruction of the Hurricane Sandy-battered Long Beach boardwalk will be held Monday, in an effort to gather community input on the project.
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At the inaugural meeting held at the Magnolia Community Center last week, some 100 residents who live in the center of town, from the east side of Grant Boulevard to the west side of Long Beach Boulevard, sat together in groups and answered prepared questions, including: “Three things you appreciated about the boardwalk?” and “What is the most important issue facing the future of the boardwalk?”
Residents said they appreciated everything from reading to riding bikes to watching the views on the oceanfront boardwalk, and others expressed hope that new shops and restaurants will line the new structure.
Some residents are more concerned about related safety issues as top priorities, rather than the rebuilding of the walkway. Among them was Ray Ellmer, a lifeguard and former Long Beach zoning board trustee, who told News 12: “We’re talking about a new boardwalk. That’s not important. What’s important is a seawall and a dune to protect life and property from natural disasters such as hurricanes.”
Amy Engel, executive director of Sustainable Long Island, a non-profit environmental organization that is helping the city to facilitate the focus groups, said during her opening remarks at last Wednesday’s meeting that the city is moving quickly on the project because the boardwalk is “an economic driver … It’s so critical to everybody.”
For this reason, some city officials have said the goal is to reconstruct a new boardwalk by the start of the summer season. Moreover, the cost to rebuild the structure is estimated at $25 million, and the city is seeking assistance from different governmental outlets to pay a significant portion of the bill, including as much as 90 percent through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
City officials and Engel have both said that they are gathering community input on the boardwalk and will consider residents' suggestions and insights when a construction firm is hired to rebuild it.
But resident Rob Catell fears the community’s input may fall on deaf ears: “These meetings are nice, but personally I’m concerned it might be more window dressing that actual input as far as what the ultimate decision will be,” Catell told News 12.
Monday’s group meeting will invite residents who live between Nevada Boulevard and the west side of Grand Boulevard, and Wednesday’s meeting will include people living between Maple Boulevard and the eastside of Long Beach Boulevard. The city is also gathering input from a newly created website, LongBeachListens.com, where residents and business owners can fill out surveys on the boardwalk.
City Council President Scott Mandel said the city will take the input from the focus group meetings and online surveys and share their findings at a citywide meeting at City Hall, from 6 to 8 p.m., Feb. 20.
“It’s really going to be an informational type of meeting,” Mandel told LongBeachNY.TV. “It’s going to be an event to let everybody hear the findings and to see what we’ve culled from all the different endeavors to get people’s input.”
He said the city will know more about the timeline of reconstruction once the work to demolish the boardwalk is complete and the integrity and safety of the concrete stanchions are assessed, after which the city can gauge the type of materials that can be used for the new boardwalk.
“It’s really going to depend on what we’re left with and what the finances will provide for,” Mandel said.
The Monday and Wednesday group meetings are from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Magnolia Community Center, at 650 Magnolia Blvd. in Long Beach.
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Diana Prince May 22, 2013 at 03:26 pm
Look at this page. WHY are they still asking to "help rebuild?" I thought the city already…Read More rebuilt it. WHY are they still using "Hurricane Devastation photos as though the place is still a mess?
http://rescueink.org/donate.html
Eddie May 22, 2013 at 05:15 pm
Building owners who don't pay their assessments must be foreclosed on, unless the Board makes other…Read More arrangements. The Board can choose other alternatives, like liens to be paid when the property is sold. It depends also on the by-laws that the owners signed when they purchased.
The place appears to be a woefully mismanaged mess, if past performance is any indication. Who manages this place? Others should know so they can avoid the mistake of buying a place managed by this bunch.
Tideline May 22, 2013 at 03:58 pm
Owners are looking at a huge $50-60K assessment per unit. Many owners do not have the money. The…Read More water made it onto the 2nd flr there. Many unit owners have stopped paying their Mtgs and RE Taxes. Blg. supposed to re open mid Summer. What happens to the unit owner's who do not have the money to pay the assessment ? The Blg. is structurally sound, financially is another matter.
Me May 22, 2013 at 10:46 am
Might actually be cheaper to buy a used RV. It doesn't need to really run or drive well. You can…Read More find them on craigslist for as little as $1,000 dollars. Even if you change aout all matresses, clean up etc you could be all in for only the cost of a month or two rent. Then you can re-sell, donate to charity or give it away free when done and no problem if construction runs long you own it.
Diana Prince May 22, 2013 at 05:55 pm
Sadly, the Rescue Ink shelter got to get back in their building in hardly any time. They had a good…Read More temporary shelter, all the animals were safe in a big warehouse.
The whole time they're raking in the donations and one of them even got arrested for Grand Larceny last week.
Go to Facebook and look up "Rescue Ink = The Facts" and see what I'm talking about.
Patrick Smith May 22, 2013 at 10:52 am
We are laughing stock of free world,Were supposed to be a roll model LOL
Eddie May 22, 2013 at 10:52 am
Your bill of sale on Craigslist says the door is Fiberglas, not "clear pine".
Eddie May 22, 2013 at 09:21 pm
Asbury Park = Democrats.
Freeport = Democrats
Rockaway = Democrats
Long Beach = Democrats.
Paul Carrella May 22, 2013 at 10:41 am
Taht's right Tony, takes a long time to figure out how to steal that kind of dough. Welcome to the…Read More new Asbury Park.
paul.d.spellman May 21, 2013 at 10:56 am
If you have an alarm system, you need to pay the city fee. They hired an outside company to manage…Read More the payments so now the fee is expected to be collected.
Leonard Bauman May 21, 2013 at 07:33 pm
I have heard 3 stories: the movie theatre owner had no flood insurance and will need to find $$ to…Read More rebuild, no $$ so far; the theatre will be razed and will become home to 4 stores, the movie theatre will be renovated into a world class theatre with surround sound and ticket prices of $2 for children and $4 for adults except after 4PM.
IRISH 4 May 21, 2013 at 10:41 am
I cant believe all the shore towns with boardwalks up and running & Lb hasnt even started .So…Read More much for we are different and are building a better one,Well the first one lasted many years so just upgrade and get finished.& months later and not even a board in & still making excuses AND 4XS THE COST ....WOW WHAT A BARGAIN .
Publius May 21, 2013 at 08:56 am
some observations: one, applicable regulations for safety provide you cannot have mixed swimming…Read More and surfing beaches, so if the idea is to have both, you need to allocate. two, different beaches, because of bottom conditions, have very different waves -- ergo, the selection of beaches for surfing. three, on any given summer day with decent waves, and barely decent on a weekend, the number of surfers is dangerous. truly. I will not let my younger children surf/learn on those days. I won't even surf those days. four, on any given summer day, the number of people in the water, let alone actually swimming, is incredibly small in comparison to our total available beach real estate. five, as a general rule under this schedule, no swimmer should have to walk more than a few seconds to 2 minutes to be on a swimming beach. it is an allocation issue and not everyone is going to like the allocation, but that's often a part of the give and take of living in a community where resources are shared. folks who live near the train station have commuters parking in front of the their houses, sometimes with cars left for 2-3 days. similar for folks who live near the beach and can't get parking for themselves or at least their guests on a weekend. there are unbelievable issues with allocation of sports fields for practice and games. west-enders put up with bar traffic and a lot of other things. in any event, my two cents.
john peri Jr May 19, 2013 at 09:02 am
Food is just one element of achieving health. There are probably thousands. For…Read More instance---exercise, clean water, sunshine, avoiding poisons, proper sleep, stress management, education, etc.
john peri Jr May 19, 2013 at 07:31 am
With my suggestion, the IRS could enforce compliance with bathroom inspection raids.
Patrick Smith May 18, 2013 at 08:59 am
After looking at strongerthanthestorm.com and well Jersey completed the work they did,we got to…Read More replace the clowns we have running all of Long Beach
Wobbly Jones May 19, 2013 at 02:01 pm
Biggert-Waters bill NEVER passed Senate:
watch Sen. Landrieu on YouTube.…Read More
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7LptibadAE
Leonard Bauman May 18, 2013 at 10:45 pm
For political reasons, nothing will be said or put in writing. Your request will meet deafness.…Read More Only people in Staten Island and in certain places in Rockaway will be bought out. Sorry, if you don't want to fix up your shack, Shokrian and other opportunistic developer sharks are circling you to buy your shack for 60 cents on the dollar. Sell! Sell! Sell to these sharks or fix it up, your choice!
Eddie May 17, 2013 at 10:19 am
Why can't Staples pay for an ad on Patch instead of posting this stuff here?
Eddie May 17, 2013 at 09:14 pm
Then think twice before you vote Democrat, Crystal. The blood will be on YOUR hands if you do.
Crystal G Piatnick May 17, 2013 at 12:18 pm
There is no question about it. Its not a matter of " right to choose" Its a matter of is…Read More abortion murder...I was so upset with the Orient and what they do to cats and dogs... Look what America does to our children...Cuomo will have their blood on his hands....I am not for abortion at all. But aborting the fetus in the third trimester has to be stopped.. Its murder.. These infants r about to be born..
Jonathan Kaplan May 17, 2013 at 10:19 am
I can get you a closet in the West End for only $2000 a month, let me know if you're interested
paul.d.spellman May 17, 2013 at 10:12 am
CMOS, The surfers from out of town come here all year long and add to the economy 12 months a year,…Read More what additional benefit do those people pushing shopping carts full of kid's toys add? Last summer the surfers were give only 1 in 3 beaches and that was base on increased demand, and this year more surfers are expected so it makes sense that more beach be set aside for them, or some kids are going to get hurt and then the city will need to pay for that.
Castles Made of Sand May 17, 2013 at 09:30 am
Paul, after you give us numbers on the "driving" economics of surfers, please tell us how…Read More many surfers come the beach in the summer. Do you know? Or are you just guessing? Your argument that surf shops continue to exist as a result of surfers shopping there is darn near brilliant. I heard a report that supermarkets in town are being solely supported by hungry people. I can't attest to that though. I do know that Empire Kayak is secretly kept in business by Whirling Dirvishes from Instanbul, and not kayakers. But I digress.
Crystal G Piatnick May 16, 2013 at 07:46 pm
I think u r right Joseph. Its really disappointing..:( What the hec r they doing...????? Well they…Read More have 100 days to complete the boardwalk in the middle section. contract started March 12..or the 15th...60 days already and they did nothing...They have 40 more days to complete it. I really hope the town holds them to the contract.. I really do.