The New York Times reports that the city parks department is proposing to replace stretches of the aging, 2.7-mile boardwalk with a combination of concrete and a type of recycled plastic that looks like wood.
Rob Burstein, the chairman of the Coney-Brighton Boardwalk Alliance, says the plan would amount to "putting a piece of plastic into a diamond ring."
But Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe says the plastic composite can last 75 years and is cheaper to build with than wood.
The parks department says some natural woods last just eight years.
The plan to rebuild the boardwalk must be approved by the city's Public Design Commission before it can be carried out.
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