The iconic Long Beach boardwalk holds memories for residents from throughout Long Island, not only those who live in the city on the South Shore.
That was evident on Saturday when a large crowd of people poured into a city-hosted ceremony to commemorate the century-old structure that Hurricane Sandy collapsed and crippled parts of its latest development, rendering it unsound. The ceremony, held at the beach parking lot at Grand Boulevard, left many of its attendees nostalgic as they said farewell.
“I came as a Long Islander,”
said Greg Packer of Huntington.
“If it affects one community, it affects every community.”
Mike Jerchower of Oceanside attended the commemoration with his two children, Maia and Matt, to say one last goodbye. As a family, they enjoyed bike riding and going to the arts and crafts fairs on the 2.2-mile structure.
“The boardwalk is the life of the surrounding communities, not just Long Beach,” Jerchower said. “People come from all over the South Shore and the country.”
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City officials said it will take about a month to demolish and remove the entire boardwalk, a project a Farmingdale construction company is performing to the tune of $1.4 million. But while some officials said the goal is to rebuild a new boardwalk by the summer, at a cost of $25 million, others, such as the city manger, haven’t placed a timetable on its redevelopment. The wooden walkway and its reconstruction, though, are most important to the people who reside in the beach town.
Karin Bailey, who has lived in Long Beach for 26 years, said the boardwalk has been a monumental part of her life.
“I was married in my backyard, which is only a block away from here,” she said at Saturday’s ceremony. “I taught my children how to ride their bicycles on the boardwalk.”
Marti Renoud-DiPaola, a self-described Long Beach “lifer,” said that almost all of her fondest memories in town involve the boardwalk.
“The boardwalk is just a constant in everything in Long Beach,” she said. “I trained for the marathon on the boardwalk, I strolled my children on the boardwalk, my family walked on the boardwalk on holidays. It was a tradition.”
Renoud-DiPaola noted that although the roof of her house was ripped up and she had some flooding during the hurricane, she felt she was lucky compared to some of her neighbors who lost everything in their homes.
Some of her fellow Long Beach residents, such as Noreen Duffy, automatically think of the large events that take place on the beach and boardwalk each year, from the Michelle O’Neill Foundation’s volleyball tournament in September that benefits children with cancer, to the Long Beach Polar Bear Club Splash, held every Super Bowl Sunday to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Both events attract many thousands of people.
“The boardwalk is the heart of the city and I hope it can be rebuilt,” Duffy said.
The city offered 2-by-4-inch pieces of the boardwalk as souvenirs to anyone who was interested in saving a “little piece of Long Beach’s heart” as memorabilia.
Other attendees, such as Zach Spilberg of Long Beach and Erin Goldfarb of Oceanside, remembered how their hearts were kindled on the boardwalk.
“We walked up to the boardwalk at the end of our first date to watch the sunset,” Goldfarb recalled. “It was the perfect, cheesy culmination to the start of our relationship, and I'll always remember how beautiful that sunset was.”
Memories of the Long Beach Boardwalk
The iconic Long Beach boardwalk holds memories for residents from throughout Long Island, not only those who live in the city on the South Shore.
After the ceremony this dog enjoyed an afternoon on the beach.
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BSM June 19, 2013 at 01:39 pm
While I agree there seem to be problems in the LB school district, I'm not sure this takes into…Read More account the financial reasons for opting for NCCC. For many families finances, not academic performance dictates the college. I think a more meaningful number would be the percentage of graduating seniors attending ANY college.
Fred Weintroub June 19, 2013 at 10:45 am
That STUPID Trapeze thing and the fence around it on the lot adjacent to the Boardwalk is going to…Read More cost us Volley Ball players and Beach goers about 30 to 40 parking spaces. Whoever thought this thing up should get their Heads
Charlie Cheswick June 19, 2013 at 12:06 pm
Jimmy Two-Times here, going to get the papers, get the papers...
js June 19, 2013 at 12:18 pm
I SAW A SUV WITH ADVERTISING ON IT FOR A TRAPEZE IN LB--I WAS WHERE IT WAS--
Penny Riordan June 19, 2013 at 10:51 am
Hi Nicholas. Thanks for using the boards. Your post may work better as a blog, where you can add…Read More photos and have a headline. From the homepage, click the 'start blogging' button in green about halfway down. Fill in the fields and then your blog will appear on the homepage. Let me know if you have any questions: penny.riordan@patch.com. Thanks!
AEA President June 18, 2013 at 04:46 pm
yes - by sheer coincidence, their employees work more overtime than ever before in their last 3…Read More years of employment before retirement (as it so happens, their pension is based in part on their last 3 years of employment).
Jack Kett June 18, 2013 at 07:41 pm
Bottom line re: LIRR is that people in suburbs who ride LIRR and Metro North are paying to subsidize…Read More the bankrupt NYC Subways and subsidize minority riders in the outer boros. Its the price we pay to not live in NYC. The subways charges a cheap fixed fare to subsidize low income NYC residents. Its a form of socialism.
Joe June 18, 2013 at 08:19 pm
Jack, racist much? Why don't you go have a tea party with the rest of the little Republican girls?
Eddie June 18, 2013 at 02:55 pm
Great photos, Richard. With joists like those, you could drive a firetruck up that thing!
Eugene Torres June 17, 2013 at 07:57 am
Heron St is like a bombed out war zone. Many of the residents
drive the wrong way to avoid the…Read More potholes at the beginning of the street.
Charlie Cheswick June 18, 2013 at 03:13 pm
"Working" storm drains like the one between Regent & Greenway on Lido Blvd?
Susie Pennachio June 15, 2013 at 09:13 am
yeeeepppp i always see people trying to get thru it or go around it to get onto the beach
Jaime Sumersille (Editor) June 15, 2013 at 12:44 pm
Thanks for the notice, Ally! I posted this on Facebook to make people aware! - Jaime Sumersille,…Read More Regional Editor, Nassau County
RackEmUp Gomez June 14, 2013 at 03:55 pm
Those murderers from Boston were students, right?
How about importing some kids from Brooklyn that…Read More need help?
Lets stop being patsys.
i was all alone.