Metro

Bloomberg wants to rebuild Sandy-damaged boardwalks with concrete

It’s going to be a lot harder to lumber along a rebuilt Rockaways boardwalk if Mayor Bloomberg has his way.

With most of the 5.5-mile walkway reduced to rubble by Hurricane Sandy, the mayor says it’s time to end the fierce debate over whether to switch from wood to a more durable concrete at all city beaches.

“I guess this settles the issue of wooden boardwalks versus concrete boardwalks,” Bloomberg declared during a visit to the offices of The Wave, the 119-year-old local newspaper.

“There will be no more wooden boardwalks in Rockaway or anywhere else.”

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall was quickly on board.

“It makes a lot of sense after seeing first hand the damage Sandy did to the Rockaway boardwalk,” she said.

“I understand that the boardwalk represents tradition, nostalgia and happy memories, but concrete makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons. The concrete portion of our boardwalk withstood Sandy’s fury and held, sustaining some cracks.”

But John Cori, of the civic group Friends of Rockaway Beach, said the mayor has a tin ear when it comes to community input and called on the city to let residents decide.

Cori said the placement of protective jetties determined which sections of the beach survived, not the composition of the walkway.

“There’s no settlement of the argument that concrete is going to stand up better than wood,” Cori insisted.

“When there were no rock jetties, the boardwalk was 100 percent removed from its foundation. When there was, the small concrete section maintained itself in position.”

The Parks Department, which seemed to have been caught off guard by the mayor’s remarks, said it’s studying the situation.

“The exact plans for rebuilding the boardwalk are still being determined, butIt is undeniable that the concrete sections of the boardwalk held up extremely well,” said spokeswoman Vickie Karp.

The decision, ultimately, may be in the hands of a Brooklyn judge.

Activists in Coney Island are suing the city to block the replacement of the wooden slats on its boardwalk. A hearing was held before Supreme Court Judge Martin Solomon in late October, and a ruling is expected by the end of the year.

“People exercise on the boardwalk,” noted Todd Dobrin, of Friends of the Boardwalk. “There’s a big difference between jogging on a concrete surface and jogging on wood. When you walk along the boardwalk [on wood], you don’t have the sun glare that destroys your eyes.

Dobrin said only a full environmental study could determine how to proceed.