City is seeking plans to redevelop eight Sandy-ravaged beaches on the Staten Island shore

The Parks Dept. envisions food carts, restaurants, amusement rides and concert venues on South Beach, Midland Beach, New Dorp Beach and Cedar Grove, and Wolfe's Pond Park and Conference House Park

BY MATT CHABAN / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013,

PHOTO COURTESY NYC PARKS DEPT.

A boardwalk scene on South Beach, one of several Staten Island beaches the city Parks Dept. is seeking to revitalize and upgrade

Superstorm Sandy devastated the Staten Island shore, and now the city wants to put the beaches to work helping communities still recovering from the disaster.

From the foot of the Verrazano Bridge to Staten Island’s southern tip, the Bloomberg administration has identified eight beaches primed for investment that could draw crowds and business for hard-hit neighborhoods.

“You can’t even buy sunscreen or a pail on our beaches here,” said Adena Long, the Parks Department’s Staten Island Borough Commissioner. “These services will make our beaches more attractive while also bringing business to the surrounding communities.”

The Parks Dept. and the city’s Economic Development Corp. have set no specific guidelines for what they want built at the eight beaches, which include South Beach, Midland Beach, New Dorp Beach and Cedar Grove on the East Shore and Wolfe’s Pond Park and Conference House Park in the south.

“We want to cast a wide net and see what people are interested in here,” Long said. Proposals must be submitted by Jan. 21, and Long hopes at least some will be implemented by Memorial Day, when the beaches reopen.

Possibilities include food carts and full-fledged restaurants, concerts and amusement rides, as well as a kiddie park proposed for Midland Beach.

The city has also partnered with the National Parks Service to try turn empty airplane hangers at Miller Field into some kind of recreational facility.

PHOTO COURTESY NYC PARKS ARCHIVES

An historic photo of the boardwalk at South Beach, Staten Island.

Locals have long felt their beach was neglected compared to some of the city’s more celebrated shores, like Coney Island and the Rockaways.

Sandy may have damaged the South Shore, but a silver lining may be that now it will finally compete with its neighbors for crowds, said Borough President James Molinaro.

“Coney Island is good for Coney Island, but we’re gonna make something very nice and tasteful,” he said.

Some feel the city should focus more energy on rebuilding properties rather than beaches.

“We’re still trying to get people home,” said Dee Vandenburg of the New Dorp Beach Civic Association. “It’s kind of hard for people to still get their heads around anything else.”

Long said the city can do both, and expressed the hope that having new businesses in the area could bring a much-needed economic infusion.

“We’re just trying to help people get back to normal,” she said.