Copyright 1996 The New York Times Company

July 14, 1996, Sunday, Late Edition - Final

SECTION: Section 13; Page 03; Column 1; The City Weekly Desk

LENGTH: 711 words

HEADLINE: MUNICIPAL BATTLEGROUND;
Coney Island's Worn Welcome Mat

BYLINE: By MARK FRANCIS COHEN

BODY:
STRIP away the age-old air conditioner known as the Atlantic Ocean, the concession stands offering buttery cobs of corn and sleek hot dogs, the iridescent Wonder Wheel and the riders screaming as the chattering Cyclone drops. Remove the old-timers playing handball, the sunbathers on white bed sheets and the promise of prizes inside the arcades.
What's left is a graying boardwalk, a welcome mat made of wood.

The Coney Island boardwalk has a storied history. It has connected visitors to the rides and the green-water ocean since 1923. For generations, it has been a seaside front porch for millions of bathers, players, strollers and lovers. At 80 feet wide and more than two and a half miles long, it stretches from the populace of Russian immigrants in Brighton Beach to the private community of two-story homes in Sea Gate.

But beyond the romantic vision of the boardwalk lies a piece of infrastructure that demands as much maintenance as any city sidewalk or roadway. Its version of potholes: cracked and loose boards, shifting pilings and gaps caused by fires. And its version of missing parking signs is missing bars from its beach-side aluminum railing, stolen by scavengers of scrap metal.

"For us to keep it mint condition, we'd have to take care of it all of the time," said Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern, whose department maintains the boardwalk. "What money we get to repair and take care of the boardwalk, we use."

While city officials say weather, age and vandalism are the greatest threats to the grandeur of the boardwalk, people in the neighborhood often say the city's indifference.
"The city isn't doing anything for Coney Island," said Gregory Bitetzakis, 60, who has been selling shish kebabs there since 1948. "It seems they want to do away with it."

During a recent visit to the boardwalk, Martin Levine, chairman of Community Board 13, said the Coney Island peninsula was treated as second-rate, noting that it took until July 4 for the Parks Department to open all of the area's beaches this year because of a shortage of lifeguards, while most city beaches opened Memorial Day weekend.

Parks Department officials dismiss the charge, citing a recent allocation of $180,000 for repairs to the boardwalk and $20 million from the Borough President's office over the last 15 years to maintain and improve the wooden esplanade. The department says it does not keep track of how much it spends on routine maintenance of the boardwalk.

Brooklyn has only three year-round Parks Department carpenters to do the kind of skilled maintenance the boardwalk requires almost weekly. There had been eight as recently as 1990, said Parke Spencer, a spokesman.

"This whole boardwalk is a mess," said Sam Kravitz, a resident of Bensonhurst, as he strolled by a section of the boardwalk that had not been fixed since a fire destroyed it last fall. "We used to walk on the boardwalk without shoes. Now, with all the nails popping out, you can't."

Visitors can no longer go under the boardwalk, a traditional place to cool off or find romance. Two winters ago, the beach level was raised to meet the boardwalk to curb crime and discourage the homeless from camping out.

But perhaps most frustrating for local leaders is the damage done by city vehicles. After a survey of the boardwalk last year, Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden branded city vehicles as a boardwalk scourge. Like a rash of noshing termites, the vehicles bend the wooden planks and force nails and screws to jut out. A fire truck fell through the boardwalk two years ago.

Last week, Mr. Levine said he spotted a Parks Department all-terrain vehicle cruising across the boardwalk. The driver, John J. Natoli, who is the chief engineer for construction, said he was inspecting recent repairs.

Still, cars and loose boards were not of much concern to many people on the boardwalk last week. Some defended it as glorious. Others pointed to the sparsely populated beach, tumbling litter and abandoned amusement sites like the charred Thunderbolt as more poignant examples of a languishing Coney Island.

"The beauty of Coney Island is gone," said Joe Perez, who grew up and lives in the neighborhood. "We walk and nobody's here. It's desolate."

GRAPHIC: Photo: A battered section of the Coney Island boardwalk has residents angry and the Parks Department scrambling to catch up on repairs. (Steve Hart for The New York Times)

Chart: "FACTS AND FIGURES: On the Boardwalk"
The Coney Island boardwalk, built in 1923, stretches from Sea Gate to Brighton Beach.

Estimated length -- 2.6 miles
Number of boards -- 1.3 million
Total length of boards -- 18.3 million linear feet
Screws or nails -- 15.6 million (12 per board)
Park benches -- 643
Drinking fountains -- 37
Street lights -- 165
Comfort stations -- 8
Pay phones -- 28

(Source: New York City Parks Department)