DEPARTMENT OE PARKS. 75 



surface of the concourse dvivc On this is placed two feet of 

 good earth, which is being hauled from Brooklyn by the 

 Brighton Beach Railroad for the contractors, Cranford & Val- 

 Lentine, at a cost of 47 cents per cubic yard, to the Park De- 

 partment. On tin's is to be placed one foot of rich loam earth, 

 which is to be sown in grass, and will leave the greensward 

 above the line of the concourse. The present appropriation 

 will finish about two-thirds of the area. The western section 

 will be finished first. Fifty thousand dollars more was asked 

 for and was allowed by the Board of Supervisors to finish the 

 filling and making of a lawn, put in a substantial sewer and 

 build a drive on the extreme western side, thus making a cir- 

 cuit drive as a terminus of the Ocean Parkway. The Board of 

 Estimate, however, did not see fit to grant it, and as a con- 

 sequence the concourse will continue to have the unfinished 

 and forlorn appearance it has always had. 



Having stated with some detail the condition and state of 

 affairs at Coney Island, we would recommend that a strong 

 and durable pier and breakwater be built on the eastern 

 boundary, from a secure point inland opposite Dixon's Hotel, 

 southerly out to sea to the original 1,000 feet shore line, turn- 

 ing the corner with an easy curve and running westward 

 parallel with the concourse about 400 feet. Such a pier should 

 be made of piles, cribbed and filled with rock. It should 

 be twelve feet high above mean high tide, well put to- 

 gether with piles driven deep. It should be backed on the 

 inside of its entire length to a width of a hundred feet 

 or more, with strong earth or clay. The eastern front 

 would act as a breakwater, shielding and protecting the 

 property against the strong eastern current which would 

 then flow around the curve to the southern face of the 

 barrrier. Thus the natural direction of the current would be 

 restored by the straight and non-retarding face of the seawall, 

 which would tend to guide it back into its old natural course. 

 The accretions at the west end would in time probably be 

 lost, and the coast straightened as before. The small bay 

 behind the coast defense would gradually fill with sand, owing 

 to its sheltered position. 



