Coney Island Struggles To Recover After Sandy

Coney Island Struggles To Recover After Sandy | ENR: Engineering News Record | McGraw-Hill Construction

(Excerpt)
The once-flooded homes they have been inspecting are now dry and stripped of damaged Sheetrock, says one crew member. "Things are a lot worse than what they appear to be in the news," he says. "Just about everybody needs a new boiler or water heater. ... We go into a lot of houses that have had nine feet of water in them." Even though the city is gaining ground, he says, repair work "is not something that will be done quickly."

A co-worker agrees, saying, "Most homeowners have already been in touch with FEMA and [a program called NYC] Rapid Repairs, so they at least have a game plan. But most houses have been abandoned." He estimates each house has at least $40,000 to $50,000 in damages

Robin Hood Foundation Grants for Hurricane Sandy in 2012: Millions Disbursed

Robin Hood Foundation Grants for Hurricane Sandy in 2012: Millions Disbursed (select this link to see a list of grantees)

The Robin Hood Foundation, founded in the 1990s as an antipoverty organization in New York City, made an immense commitment to Hurricane Sandy recovery in Brooklyn and throughout the city. Their name became almost a household word with the "12-12-12" blockbuster concert in December 2012 that sought to raise millions in recovery funds. But even before then, the foundation committed dozens of sizable grants from $25,000 up to $80,000 for dozens of nonprofit groups working in Brooklyn, based in Brooklyn, or who extended some services to storm victims and storm-battered communities in Brooklyn.

One concern with nonprofits and foundations is the question of how much money goes to overhead, and how much to actually helping the cause in question. One of the major features of the Robin Hood Foundation is that as a matter of policy, their deep-pocketed board of directors pays all administrative and fundraising costs. So, a hundred percent of all donations go directly to program, not overhead.

The list, provided by the Robin Hood Foundation, identifies the first "wave" of Hurricane Sandy relief and recovery funding in Brooklyn in 2012, during which $2,370,000 was granted to the organizations below for storm related work.

That period of time, during Thanksgiving and in the ramp-up to Christmas, was particularly poignant.(Read Thanksgiving 2012: Gratitude but Also Grief.

Robin Hood Foundation Grantees for Hurricane Sandy, Through Dec. 15, 2012

(The list does not include recipients of funds raised during the 12-12-12 concert.

Also, all descriptions of the projects listed below are based on information provided directly by the Robin Hood Foundation.)

Filmmaker debuts documentary about his family struggles on PBS

Filmmaker debuts documentary about his family struggles on PBS

(Excerpt)

Growing up in Coney Island, NY, William Caballero describes himself as being an artsy, quirky and nerdy kid who got on everyone’s nerves. Although he always loved his Puerto Rican-American family dearly, he says he always felt like an outsider looking in.

William Caballero with his parents
 on his graduation from
 New York University in 2008.
(Courtesy William Caballero)

He had to look no further than to his not-so-perfect family for inspiration for his first feature-length documentary.  On December 30, “American Dreams Deferred” will be premiering in 26 states on PBS World Channel.

Real Estate Market Along Coast Upended by Hurricane

Real Estate Market Along Coast Upended by Hurricane - NYTimes.com

(Excerpt)

John Vento knew exactly how much his home was worth. The retired New York City police officer put his two-family house in the New Dorp Beach area of Staten Island on the market for $580,000 in February. Soon after, he refused an offer of $510,000.

But that was before Mr. Vento and his wife watched from the top floor as 10 feet of water ruined the home in which they had raised their three children. Last week, he sold it for $279,000, less than half his original asking price, unable to wait for a better offer.

“I was fortunate to get what I got,” he said. “I’m 72 years old. What am I going to do? Wait until I’m 82? By that time I’d be living in a nursing home.”
The real estate market along the New York and New Jersey coastlines has been as upended by Hurricane Sandy as the houses tossed from their foundations. In places where waterfront views once commanded substantial premiums, housing prices have tumbled amid new uncertainty about the costs of rebuilding and the dangers of seaside living.

Homeowners have had to decide quickly whether to sell out or pour more money in to fix storm-damaged homes, as the real estate speculators who have descended on these areas make offers that would have been preposterous just two months ago.

Some owners have indignantly balked and even gone so far as to take houses that were already on the market off, waiting for values to rebound. But many others who lack the means or the desire to rebuild say they have no choice but to try to get out from under these properties for whatever they can.

Christmas Sanda

We've seen this before

On Christmas Day hundreds of parks department employees shoveled and swept the sand from the boardwalk.

Again.

Strong winds can easily blow sand onto boardwalk

There is more sand on the boardwalk than last week.  Much of the sand that was already swept off in earlier operations is back and the work to get if off is once again repeated.. 

This is sand that blew back across the boardwalk because

 a) the sand that was swept off the boardwalk was piled too close and too high on the beach near the boardwalk so strong winds easily redeposited the sand back to where it was taken from or/and
 b) no snow fencing to block and reduce the amount of sand blowing from the beach onto the boardwalk.  (existing snow fencing was destroyed by Sandy)

On Ravaged Coastline, It’s Rebuild Deliberately vs. Rebuild Now

AnnMarie Willis and her husband, Bob, have decided to rebuild in Breezy Point

On Ravaged Coastline, It’s Rebuild Deliberately vs. Rebuild Now - NYTimes.com

(Excerpt)

The big thinkers have emerged in force since Hurricane Sandy. Environmentalists and academics call for a retreat from rising tides and vulnerable seashores. FEMA pores over flood photos, redefining the areas of highest risk. And city engineers and lawyers revisit building and zoning codes. All hope to ensure that whatever rises from the debris can survive future assaults by extreme weather.

But for all the policy debates, the actual decisions that will shape these communities are already being made by individual homeowners across New York and New Jersey, providing reason to be skeptical that any cohesive, unified vision of a rebuilt coastline will eventually emerge. Unable to wait for updated guidelines, let alone far-reaching plans — or unable to afford the new costs they may entail — many families and business owners are already acting in ways that will determine whether those more ambitious goals can be met.

Their responses range from faithful reconstruction to fatalistic retreat — and embody the essential tension of post-disaster recovery: rebuilding quickly, or rebuilding right.

Coney Island landlord cuts merchants a break

Coney Island landlord cuts merchants a break | Crain's New York Business

A Brooklyn developer is giving back to his storm-tossed stomping grounds.
Thor Equities CEO Joe Sitt is offering to cut rents for four storefronts he owns on Coney Island by 40%. The idea is to lease the spaces to local Brooklyn merchants ahead of the 2013 beach season.
The spaces are small storefronts on the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues. Market rate rent would usually be between $50 per square foot and $125 per square foot.
A Thor Equities spokesman noted that Mr. Sitt is from the Coney Island area and that he wanted to make sure his part of Brooklyn didn't get overlooked in recovery efforts. Though the area has recently seen a major revitalization, those efforts were set back by Superstorm Sandy. But as Coney Island cleans up and rebuilds for next year Mr. Sitt wants to do his part.
"South Brooklyn doesn't have all the same amenities that North Brooklyn has now," said the spokesman. "So we want to see who we can get for a really exciting 2013 season."

For Hospitals In Flood Zones, Planning Of Infrastructure Now Vital » Sheepshead Bay News Blog

Sheepshead Bites » Blog Archive For Hospitals In Flood Zones, Planning Of Infrastructure Now Vital » Sheepshead Bay News Blog

For Minor Crimes, NYers Sentenced to Sandy Relief

For Minor Crimes, NYers Sentenced to Sandy Relief - ABC News

(Excerpt)
New Yorkers who got into minor trouble in Manhattan have been sentenced to Sandy.

Last week, 70 people who were given community service after pleading guilty to infractions like public drunkenness, open container violations or speeding were shuttled to Coney Island in Brooklyn to help with cleanup efforts after the devastating storm.

They raked leaves, shoveled mud and picked up garbage and debris. More than 1,000 bags of trash were collected in 732 hours of work. Swaths of Sandy-wrecked filthy streets and sidewalks were cleaned.

Sandy-Damaged Totonno's Pizza On Coney Island Still Struggling To Reopen

Sandy-Damaged Totonno's Pizza On Coney Island Still Struggling To Reopen: Gothamist


Among the many restaurants and businesses struggling to recover after Hurricane Sandy is @Totonno's, the legendary Coney Island pizzeria that has been slinging pies since 1947. The restaurant took in four feet of seawater on the night of the storm, heavily damaging the floors, walls, machinery and infrastructure. Slice took an in-depth look at the pizzeria's rebuilding efforts and revealed the extent of the damage and how construction efforts have been hampered by unreliable contractors and the expense of the project.

@Antoinette Balzano, 3rd-generation owner of Totonno's and granddaughter to original owner Antonio "Totonno" Pero, told Slice she waited five weeks before anyone even showed up to survey the damage and make an assessment. Before then, Antoinette had been working at the pizzeria daily without heat or electricity, "where particles in the air made her cough and chairs were stacked up after having been tossed around like toys from a Barbie tea party," as described by the Times. When a company finally did come to check for growing mold, they bailed after just taking down the walls, asking for $6,000 in the process. Mold removal is just one of the expenses facing Totonno's, which is still waiting on a $150,000 loan to cover the cleanup and rebuilding process. Additionally, they face replacing both the air conditioning and heating units ($8,000 each), each purchased after the 2009 fire; retiling the oven ($5,000); plumbing and electrical work; replacing the Hobart mixer ($20,000), range, walk-in, and all other kitchen equipment, and repairing damaged portions of the walls.

All told, Antoinette expects total repairs to cost more than $100,000, a seemingly insurmountable cost considering the restaurant is still working to pay off debt from the 2009 fire that ravaged the building and closed the pizzeria for almost a year. They also recently discovered that their insurance—which covers interruption of business but not flood—will not reimburse them for anything. "These days, people would probably tell me, 'Antoinette, give up.' But I can't," Antoinette confided to Serious Eats. "All I do is go home to do my work and prepare for tomorrow."

While time and money may be able to repair the restaurant's structure, nothing can replace the family memorabilia—including Christmas decorations that belonged to Antoinette's grandfather—that served as a visual timeline of the pizzeria's 88-year history. Luckily, loyal fans of the pizzeria have stepped up to offer their services, from contractors to electricians to a carpenter offering to fix a family heirloom, all at greatly reduced costs. "We can't compromise the sentimental value. We want to make sure everything seen by the public remains the same," explained Rocco Ranaudo, the current contractor.

Totonno's hopes to re-open by mid-January

Plastic planks approved for Coney Island boardwalk

Coney Island boardwalk needs a makeover (Photo by Allan Shweky)

Plastic planks approved for Coney Island boardwalk - NYPOST.com


Plastic is the new wood, a judge has decided — at least when it comes to Coney Island’s boardwalk.

Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Martin Solomon has green- lighted the city’s plan to replace five blocks of the historic — but rickety — structure with concrete and recycled-plastic planks, according to court documents made public yesterday.

Some Brooklynites were quick to slam the decision.

“The Coney Island boardwalk is nostalgic, and it’s famous world-round,” fumed Todd Dobrin, president of a group called Friends of the Boardwalk.

“I don’t think tourists are going to come to see the Coney Island driveway.”

The Coney-Brighton Boardwalk Alliance sued in June, asking the court to order the city to conduct an environmental review before replacing even one wooden plank.

Solomon sided with the Bloomberg administration, which insisted no review was necessary.

“We are pleased the judge found that the Parks Department complied with the law, thus allowing this project to proceed,” said Katie Kendall of the city Law Department.

The project would replace 50,000 square feet — about 5 percent — of the boardwalk on five blocks between Brighton 15th Street and Coney Island Avenue.

Solomon may have signaled his opinion at an October hearing when he hammered an attorney representing the alliance.

“I would say I know a little more about this than you do,” the judge, a former state senator from Bensonhurst, snapped.

More Young Americans Are Homeless

More Young Americans Are Homeless - NYTimes.com
(Excerpt)

Across the country, tens of thousands of underemployed and jobless young people, many with college credits or work histories, are struggling to house themselves in the wake of the recession, which has left workers between the ages of 18 and 24 with the highest unemployment rate of all adults.

Those who can move back home with their parents — the so-called boomerang set — are the lucky ones. But that is not an option for those whose families have been hit hard by the economy, including Mr. Taylor, whose mother is barely scraping by while working in a laundromat. Without a stable home address, they are an elusive group that mostly couch surfs or sleeps hidden away in cars or other private places, hoping to avoid the lasting stigma of public homelessness during what they hope will be a temporary predicament.

Concrete And Plastic Coney Island Boardwalk Gets Green Light From Judge

Sad day for old boardwalk screws

Concrete And Plastic Coney Island Boardwalk Gets Green Light From Judge: Gothamist


A Brooklyn judge ruled that the city Parks Department can replace a section of the Coney Island boardwalk with concrete and plastic without an environmental review. The plan to eventually replace most of the boardwalk with artificial materials has been bitterly contested by a small but dedicated group called The Coney-Brighton Boardwalk Alliance, which filed a lawsuit against the city to stop the plan to replace a five block section of boardwalk, from Brighton 15th Street to Coney Island Avenue.
Judge Martin Solomon ruled that the renovation "does not involve substantial changes to the existing structure. The footprint of the boardwalk will remain the same and the substructure will be replaced with artificial materials. Second, it is a replacement or repair of the structure in kind albeit with artificial materials in addition to natural wood." Solomon also decided that artificial materials do not "constitute an impairment of the character or quality of important historical, archeological, architectural, or aesthetic resources or of existing community or neighborhood character." In his ruling, he said the changes were similar to replacing an athletic field with artificial turf, which is not subject to environmental review.

The City's Lowest Household Median Income Neighborhood

A Glimpse Into the City's Lowest Household Median Income Neighborhood - WNYC
(Excerpt)
A Coney Island neighborhood that stretches along the waterfront is where the city's lowest median household income residents can be found. According to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, households here take in around $9,500 a year.

Long Branch Boardwalk Not Likely To Be Rebuilt As It Was Prior To Sandy

Long Branch Boardwalk Not Likely To Be Rebuilt As It Was Prior To Sandy - Long Branch-Eatontown Patch, NJ Patch

(Excerpt)

"Our concern is that if we build it back in the condition it was in prior to the storm, we're inviting a disaster," Long Branch Business Administrator Howard Woolley said. "We're inviting it to be destroyed if and when there is another storm of this magnitude."

"The intelligent thing to do is to build it possibly at a higher level with a more secure method of construction, but we don't have all those details now," Woolley continued.

Much of the city's boardwalk south of Pier Village was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. The Pier Village portion of the boardwalk and the Promenade, which is made of concrete, survived mostly intact.

Coney Island Boardwalk Facelift Exempt From Enviro Review

Coney Island Boardwalk Facelift Exempt From Enviro Review - Law360


Law360, New York (December 14, 2012, 7:50 PM ET) -- A New York state judge has ruled that the reconstruction of part of the iconic Coney Island boardwalk is exempt from an environmental review, despite its plans to swap tropical hardwoods for plastic lumber and concrete, according to an opinion filed Wednesday.

Siding with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, Judge Martin M. Solomon of the state Supreme Court ruled Dec. 10 that the project, which seeks to replace about 56,000 square feet of boardwalk, is not significant enough to require a review..

Coney Island History Project Tries To Restore Memorabilia After Sandy

Coney Island History Project Tries To Restore Memorabilia After Sandy - NY1.com

(Excerpt)
"The force of the water was so surprising," he said. "It came in through a locked metal gate, through closed doors, burst in, toppled everything into the water. So to come back and see all of this equipment and all of our files and our records floating in water, it was unimaginable."

Alliance for Coney Island raises megabucks for local Sandy victims

Alliance for Coney Island raises megabucks for local Sandy victims

(Excerpt)
Nearly 400 people attended the Coney Island Winter Celebration at the chic Italian eatery, raising $44,000 for Coney Recovers, a fundraising arm the Alliance set up days after Sandy hit the seaside neighborhood to help organize volunteer and relief efforts. Officials said the total raised by Coney Recovers is now at more than $214,000.

Cumaru Decking Section of Coney Island Boardwalk Escapes Unscathed

Cumaru Decking: Coney Island Boardwalk (full blog post)

(Excerpt from MonteverdeDecking.com blog)


Mataverde Cumaru Decking escapes Hurricane Sandy unscathed. It has been noted recently in newspaper reports that the devastating effects Hurricane Sandy had on large areas of the Northeast including the New York and New Jersey coasts particularly, did not affect the areas of the Coney Island boardwalk that had been rebuilt and repaired recently uising the FSC Certified Mataverde Cumaru decking. The Cumaru section of the boardwalk shown in the photo above was installed with recycled plastic sleepers and FSC Certified 100% Pure Cumaru Decking. The Cumaru decking boards were securely attached with stainless steel decking screws for additional fastening strength and durability. This strong installation method helped the Cumaru decking in this section of the boardwalk to escape the brutal wrath and battering of the vicious storm.

Harold Feinstein's Coney Island State of Mind – A Retrospective

Harold Feinstein's Coney Island State of Mind – Forward.com

(Excerpt)

At age 81, the photographer Harold Feinstein is developing cataracts. But he’s been wearing glasses since he was a boy, and he scoffs at the idea of surgery.
“Imagine someone telling me I’ll see better,” he said with an impish grin beneath his flowing white beard. Feinstein is not one for false modesty. Early in his career, he may have suggested that his favorite photographer was Henri Cartier-Bresson, or the British master Bill Brandt. Yet for most of his life, he says, his favorite photographer has been Harold Feinstein.

And with good reason. Feinstein’s decades-long obsession with Brooklyn’s Coney Island, where he began taking pictures as a teen novice in the late 1940s, produced several images coveted by the museum curator Edward Steichen for his landmark exhibition “The Family of Man.” (Feinstein declined.) Feinstein went on to a long career as a beloved teacher, and in the past decade he has published several monographs featuring dazzling color studies of tulips, seashells, butterflies and other natural wonders.



Now the photographer’s work has been collected in “Harold Feinstein: A Retrospective” (Nazraeli Press), a long-overdue collection of 80 of his finest black-and-white photos, ranging from the rich pageantry of Coney Island at midcentury to Feinstein’s candid shots while serving in Korea for the U.S. Army and to his later nudes and landscapes.
Feinstein’s uncanny ability to capture a wide range of human emotions — bliss, defiance, melancholia — in the fleeting facial expressions of strangers on the subway or on the boardwalk marked him from a young age as a gifted shutterbug. Later in life, when he began to explore the female form, as so many of his predecessors had done, his gaze was unfailing.

Good News! Tom's Coney Island stays open on Boardwalk

Good news!  Tom's Coney Island plans to remain open for the winter as long as there are customers.  After Sandy Tom's is the only eatery on the boardwalk that is open during the week.  Some of the gift shops are open on the weekend but Nathan's is closed till the spring
There seems to be enough workers from the FEMA  Disaster Recovery Center at MCU field and the enhanced parks department staff to keep Tom's going throughout the season.

A closer look at boardwalk damage

 The further west you walk on the boardwalk the worse it gets.  It is surprising that the Parks Dept has not closed off these areas because of the significant hazards that exist.  It seems that weakened and shifted boards can give way at any time.  Keep alert if you walk here especially past West 20 street.
It is bruised and battered but we are fortunate that it was not swept away.

The concrete base for the pilings shifted in the storm twisting the deck.

The even and seamless boardwalk deck is dangerously compromised.

Rare view inside Child's Restaurant on Boardwalk built in 1924

Here is a rare view of the inside of Child's Restaurant on the Coney Island Boardwalk.  A group of workers opened up the entrances but wouldn't give any information on the purpose of their visit.  Child's Restaurant is a NYC Landmark.
Read Gothamist article in August 2012 on the exciting possibilities.

Beach restoration proceeds carefully

Beach restoration has come a long way but broken and exposed boards create unsafe conditions.

 Many temporary workers have been hired by the Parks Department to clean the sand off the Boardwalk and remove debris that still littered the beach.  But equipment, such as bobcats, have not been visible on the Boardwalk to expedite the cleanup and I believe that more damage to the boardwalk may result if heavy equipment is sent onto an unstable deck.  All the labor is manual using shovels, brooms and wheelbarrows which is a slow process.

 I have been told that the boardwalk has structural weaknesses and it is easy to sense the uneven footing walking on many sections of the boardwalk.  Even areas on the beach itself hide pockets of instability in the sand that could affect heavier trucks.

City Housing Agency Was Overwhelmed After Storm

City Housing Agency Was Overwhelmed After Storm - NYTimes.com (full article)

(Excerpt)
An examination by The New York Times has found that while the agency moved aggressively before the storm to encourage residents to leave, particularly those who were disabled and the needy, both it and the city government at large were woefully unprepared to help its residents deal with Hurricane Sandy’s lingering aftermath.

#ConeyRecovers

#ConeyRecovers (select this link for more information on this item and other recovery efforts)

Immediate positions are available to support hurricane cleanup efforts and resident outreach in NYCHA developments. Recruitment event this Wednesday!
December 12, 2012
9:30am - 2:00pm
O’Dwyer Community Center
2945 West 33rd Street

Rough Ride for Arcades at Coney Island

Rough Ride for Arcades at Coney Island Park - WSJ.com

(Excerpt)
As Coney Island rebuilds after Sandy, the operators of its amusement parks face a specific challenge: to refurbish beloved but aniquated games. Park owners have to reach out to special tinkerers to repair fan favorites like Grandma"s Predictions.

Grandma now sits in a kind of intensive-care ward for century-old knickknacks in the Westchester County workshop of Bob Yorburg, 57, who specializes in carnival repair, and who recently revamped the carousel organ for the Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center

Coney Island residents criticize plan to light up iconic Parachute Jump ride

Coney Island residents criticize plan to light up iconic Parachute Jump ride • The Brooklyn Paper

(Excerpt)
The city wants to spend $2 million to illuminate Coney Island’s iconic Parachute Jump, but some residents say they would rather see the money used to keep the lights on in communities left powerless by Hurricane Sandy.

After Hurricane Sandy, Dunes Prove They Blunt Storms

After Hurricane Sandy, Dunes Prove They Blunt Storms - NYTimes.com (full story)

(Excerpt)
So, six years ago, after the Army Corps of Engineers proposed to erect dunes and elevate beaches along more than six miles of coast to protect this barrier island, the Long Beach City Council voted 5 to 0 against paying its $7 million initial share and taking part.

Many of Long Beach’s 33,000 residents would come to regret it.

The smaller neighboring communities on the barrier island — Point Lookout, Lido Beach and Atlantic Beach — approved construction of 15-foot-high dunes as storm insurance. Those dunes did their job, sparing them catastrophic damage while Long Beach suffered at least $200 million in property and infrastructure losses, according to preliminary estimates.

Joe Vietri, director of coastal and storm risk management for the corps, toured the damaged coastlines after the 12-to-14-foot storm surge of Hurricane Sandy and came to an inescapable conclusion. “The difference was dramatic for areas with vital and healthy dune systems, which did better than those that did not,” he said in a telephone interview. “You can see the evidence on Point Lookout and Lido Beach, which did much better than Long Beach.”

A Month After Sandy, Coney Island Eateries Look to Recover

A Month After Sandy, Coney Island Looks to Recover - Post-Sandy NYC - Eater NY


Longtime home to New York's zany carnival culture and a number of dining institutions, Coney Island was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. Much of the area was under four or five feet of floodwater and leaked sewage, and most businesses lost power for days or weeks. Now over a month on, the area and its restaurants are working hard to get back from the storm, a process that will last well into next year.


The biggest milestone in Coney Island's recovery to date came this weekend with the reopening of Gargiulo's. The West 15th Street restaurant, a local destination for special occasions, lost power and took on several feet of floodwater that destroyed two side rooms in the front of the restaurant, though the dining room was relatively unscathed. With a temporary lobby set up to hide those rooms as construction continues, the dining room's been decorated for Christmas and resumed service on Saturday. The restaurant was even able to host a fundraiser Saturday morning for close to 400 people.

Two other Coney Island landmarks—which garnered a decent amount of media attention last week—fared worse. The original Surf Avenue location of Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs will remain closed until early 2013, as the company attempts to repair "significant damage" caused by Hurricane Sandy. ("Significant damage" is the phrase used by company officials in a piece by the Brooklyn Paper last week.) Nathan's hopes to reopen in the spring, just in time for the busy season in the summer. The annual Fourth of July hot dog eating contest will return in 2013 as well.

Wooden boardwalk advocates get pounded by Sandy

Shifted wooden planks show the result of Sandy's power

Although the Coney Island Boardwalk didn't suffer the major devastation as the ones in New Jersey and Long Island it may have been seriously weakened. 
I walk on the boardwalk daily and I can sense the difference. Boards have been pushed up and the unbalanced feeling underfoot is definitely noticeable especially near the Aquarium.  Much of the sand still needs to be removed and then a true assessment can be made.  In fact, the only areas that seemed to have survived intact was the new concrete section near Ocean Parkway and the newest renovation of the composite wood over concrete near Stillwell Avenue. That will strengthen the argument of the validity of the new design and the improved longevity of the structure.
But one thing is fairly certain.  The fight to oppose the new concrete and composite rehab of the Coney Island boardwalk and retain the iconic "wooden"  reputation has been smashed to pieces by Sandy.

For other viewpoints read:
New York Post article on boardwalk controversy