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(Source: NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation

UPDATE (5/23/2013 @ 11:15 a.m.): Sorry beach goers, the new Coney Island and Brighton Beach modular comfort stations won’t be finished by Memorial Day. According to a report by the New York Daily News, the new stations won’t be ready for this weekend and temporary toilets will be put in place instead.

The futuristic Coney Island and Brighton Beach bathrooms are almost in place as workers from the New York City Parks Department finish their work this week.

The new stations, which cost $1.5 million each, have brought anger from residents of the Oceana luxury condominiums (50 Oceana Drive West) who are upset that the new bathrooms disrupt their ocean view.

Despite their protests, Parks Department officials insist that the bathrooms are necessary to handle the huge crowds of people who visit the beaches of Coney Island every year.

Anywho, does that ramp on the left, leading to that RV-in-the-sky, look a little steep? We’ll have to get over there and see what these things are like first-hand.

Source: NYC Dept Parks and Recreation NYC Dept Parks and Recreation

This summer, it looks like beach goers will be able to flush with impunity after all. Last week we reported that plans to install the $2 million state-of-the-art bathroom facilities along the shores of Brighton Beach had been delayed for unexplained reasons. According to a Parks Department press release, it looks like the bathrooms will indeed be put in place by Memorial Day, in spite of protests from local residents.

The protesters, who mainly consist of residents of the Oceana luxury condominiums (50 Oceana Drive West) were outraged at the installation of the bathrooms, which they consider to be unsightly. Residents were also concerned that the new bathrooms would attract an unwanted homeless presence and rowdy teenagers, making it unsafe for their children.

The delivery of the new bathrooms, as well as new lifeguard stations will take place starting tonight. Deliveries will be made each night this week, through the May 10. Deliveries will take place because the pieces being sent over are huge and the streets need to be relatively empty for the Parks Department to orchestrate the delivery.

The Parks Department wants residents to know that during the delivery and installation of the new facilities, they can expect to hear diesel truck engines, crane activity and beeping trucks. Safety horns may also be blown in case of emergency situations.

Once the delivery stage is finished, work on the facilities will continue until May 24, but this phase is expected to be much quieter than the pile-driving operations that plagued Brighton residents last month.

Parking will also be restricted during the delivery stage this week. Here is a list of the parking regulations set to be enforced this week.

To facilitate transport of the oversized structures, parking will be restricted at the following locations:

• Brigham Street South of Emmons Avenue from midnight Monday, May 6, to 6 a.m. Friday, May 10.
• Brighton 15th Street south of Brighton Beach Avenue from 10 p.m. on Tuesday, May 7, to 6 a.m. Wednesday, May 8, 10 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, to 6 a.m. Thursday, May 9, and from 10 p.m. Thursday, May 9 to 6 a.m. Friday, May 10.

Parking will be restricted on one additional night to accommodate deliveries to New Brighton. We will inform the community once the schedule for New Brighton has been finalized.

Please note that we will also suspend alternate-side parking rules in the affected area, from Monday, May 6 to Friday, May 10, to help ease any parking difficulties that may result from the deliveries.

The construction of the bathrooms were approved by the public and financed by FEMA after Superstorm Sandy destroyed the bathroom facilities previously in place on the beach. City officials say that moving the bathrooms now would cost an additional $2 million that they are not willing to spend.

Source: NYC Dept Parks and Recreation NYC Dept Parks and Recreation

The planned $2 million futuristic steel bathroom stations set for the beaches of Southern Brooklyn have been delayed. The New York Daily News is reporting that the new bathrooms, which faced a torrent of criticism from residents of the Oceana condominiums (50 Oceana Drive West) will be put on hold until further notice.

When asked about exactly when the new bathrooms will be arriving, Arthur Pincus, a spokesman for the Parks Department, told the Daily News that, “I do not have a tentative new date.”

This begs the question as to why the bathrooms, which feature modern amenities and were designed to handle extreme weather, are being delayed. Did the Parks Department bend to the will of the angry protests from Oceana residents who didn’t want their luxury ocean views spoiled by the 12 foot high facilities? Right now, no one knows for sure because the Parks Department refused to elaborate on the delay.

The Oceana. Source: Google Maps

Residents of the Oceana condominium complex (50 Oceana Drive West) took to the streets to protest the  city construction of a public bathroom that they claim obstructs their million dollar view of the ocean, according to a report by The New York Times.

Last week, we reported on how the city’s late night repairs to the boardwalk and beach had been driving residents crazy by keeping them up late at night. Oceana residents were less concerned with the noise and more annoyed at the planned public restrooms being installed right in front of their fancy condominium.

“People pay this much money because they want some luxury,” Irina Nesterenko, 43, told the Times. “What kind of luxury will we have if we have this monster-sized bathroom?”

Oceana residents want the bathroom station moved to a busier part of the boardwalk, fearing that the facility will bring the homeless and rambunctious teenagers to a spot where their children normally play. Other residents expressed fears of public nudity and people washing their unmentionables in plain sight of their normally stunning ocean view.

“I personally don’t want to see people washing themselves nude, washing their underwear,” Eileen Trotta told the Times.

Source: Igor Khodzinskiy via Daily News

As the city rushes to repair the beach and boardwalk after Superstorm Sandy in time for Memorial Day, Brighton Beach and Coney Island residents are getting fired up over late night construction, and now they’re planning a protest.

The city is making repairs to the boardwalk and beach, as well as improvements like three new public restrooms and lifeguard stations. But residents say that work, including thunderous pile driving, is being done as late as 3:00 a.m.

Daily News reports:

“It’s this constant banging deep into the ground. It’s like a boom sound,” said Marian Rosenfarb, 79, who lives a block away from the beach. “With this noise I don’t know if I’ll reach 80.”

Rosenfarb says the vibrations from the construction causes her building to shake. the noise is impossible to drown out, she added.

… Three new buildings are being constructed along the boardwalk, at West 2nd St, Brighton 2nd St. and New Brighton St.

The modern modular structures – which are also being added in Queens and Staten Island – will replace old lifeguard stations and public bathrooms that were destroyed during Hurricane Sandy.

All three stations will be wheel chair accessible, designed with green features like solar power and skylights, and constructed above flood levels.

Pile driving into the sand is expected to last until next week and the new structures should be completed by the start of beach season.

“Work is going on 24 hours a day in order to finish the project as quickly as possible,” said spokeswoman Meghan Lalor.

“While we acknowledge that this may present an inconvenience, we ask for the community’s patience while this important restoration work is being done.”

Residents, though, are not happy with mere acknowledgement. They want the city to cut out the late night work, and the noise it generates.

Neighbors in the Oceana condominium complex (50 Oceana Drive West) are organizing a rally this Sunday, April 7, at noon on the boardwalk at Coney Island Avenue. The rally isn’t just against the construction; the residents of the posh complex are hoping to kill plans to install a new public bathroom in what they claim is their yard.

“No one ever gave a thought that there is no need to build yet another filthy anti-sanitary condition in our front yards. In the past this bathroom attracted many strangers and caused much destruction to the neighborhood,” resident Ella Rabinovich wrote to Sheepshead Bites.

Residents have also organized a petition, which they’ve sent to the Parks Department. Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz also sent a letter to the Parks Department in opposition to placing the bathrooms by Oceana.

Source: Google Maps

Muss Development is close to finally completing the Oceana Condominium and Club, a string of luxury buildings between Brighton Beach Avenue and the Riegelmann Boardwalk. The completion of the final tower comes more than 25 years after the real estate firm announced their ambitious plan to build hundreds of condos on the site of the Brighton Beach Bath and Racquet Club, according to a report in Real Estate Weekly.

Construction of Oceana’s final structure, located at 50 Oceana Drive West, is set to be finished by 2014. According to the Wall Street Journal, the total cost of the building’s construction is $40 million. Demand for the new space is high as 50 of the 59 units have already been sold. If you’d like to grab one of the last spots, you’ll have to shell out some serious cash, as unit prices range from $700,000 to $1.7 million.