By Bill Parry
The entire 5-½-mile length of the Rockaway boardwalk opens to the public on Saturday to kick off Memorial Day weekend for the first time since it was obliterated by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012.
Mayor Bill de Blasio toured the final section at Beach 32nd Street last Friday and declared the completion of the $341 million boardwalk — coinciding with the launch of permanent, year-round NYC Ferry service to the peninsula earlier this month — would better connect residents to the rest of the city and strengthen Rockaway’s economy.
“This is going to be the summer of the Rockaways,” de Blasio said. “The millions who come to the boardwalk by bus, bike and ferry will see the Rockaways’ resilience and vibrancy in action. This boardwalk is proof of our commitment to building back stronger and better.”
The new boardwalk will not only draw millions more visitors each summer, its design will protect the waterfront communities with a multi-layered system of coastal protection that will resist future weather events.
The mayor said the project was completed on time and under budget by $120 million, money that will now be spent on additional resilience projects in the Rockaways.
The boardwalk is constructed with a steel-reinforced concrete deck, fixed to steel pipes that elevate it above the 100-year flood plain. Multiple layers of protection are also being integrated into the boardwalk design, including six miles of planted dunes.
A concrete retaining wall is being constructed underneath the boardwalk to keep the beach’s sand in place and prevent it from entering the community.
“This boardwalk is going to help protect everything you see around it,” de Blasio said. “This boardwalk is not just a boardwalk, it’s now a barrier wall to protect the communities of the Rockaways. It was built to be resilient. The last boardwalk was literally thrown by the waves into the streets of the Rockaways. This boardwalk’s not going anywhere. This boardwalk is planted firmly and it will withstand whatever Mother Nature throws at it.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
