72 REPORT OF THE 



The concourse lands at Coney Island originally contained 70 

 acres. They have a sea frontage of 2,750 feet and a uniform 

 deptli of one thousand feet. The shore front has materially 

 changed. The depth at the eastern end is not half what it 

 was. The beach and the end of the concourse drive are both 

 gone. The west end has gained 200 feet. While an area of 

 about eight acres has washed away at the east end, three acres 

 have been added to the west end. These lands are intersected 

 on the north side, near the centre by the renowned Ocean 

 Parkway. This triple drive, 210 feet wide and 5.^ miles long, 

 with the concourse lands and improvements, cost complete, 

 approximately, $1,000,000. A portion of this expense was 

 borne by the adjacent property owners. The concourse lands 

 alone, with these shore protections, are now worth this amount ; 

 and if rated from a sanitary point of value to those who live 

 within a half hours ride of them, many millions would not 

 compensate for their loss. 



This tract of land, before its improvement, had quite an un- 

 even surface. The northerly sides, especially the neighborhood 

 near Bader's Hotel, were low and swampy and covered with 

 swamp grass. Longitudinally near its centre and crossing 

 obliquely where the concourse drive extends, was a ridge 

 of sand hills or dunes, some of them ten feet above high 

 tide. These erratic sand formations are made entirely 

 by the wind on the dry sand, whose action is the same 

 as dust in the streets or sand in the desert. The 

 height to which the waves raised the sand is easily 

 determined by the strata of shells that are thrown up by the 

 sea after a storm. This detritus of white ocean sand, or sea 

 dust, is caused by the ceaseless action of the waves on the 

 coast, constantly rolling and grinding pel dues, rock and gravel, 

 together, the attrition wearing them to sand. This restless 

 moving, generated by centuries of motion, seems to remain in 

 it even long afterwards. If contained in the ocean it will travel 

 thousands of miles along the coast. If cast upon the shore, it 

 is constantly shifting by the action of the wind. 



