Coney Island boardwalk injuries spur calls for swift repairs with $1 billion overhaul years away

A walk along the Coney Island boardwalk was once part of Ellen Mandelbaum's daily routine.

That routine ended nearly six years ago, she said, when she tripped on a dislodged nail and fell.

"I dislocated this arm, fractured it six times and broke the ribs," Mandelbaum said.

Mandelbaum said the fall left her bedridden and completely changed her life. She said she suffered a head injury that caused a brain bleed, which led to a stroke and eventually left her paralyzed on her left side.

"Oh God, I miss cooking," she said, wiping away tears. "I don't have a life. That went down the toilet six years ago, and it'll never come back again."

Her son, Sam Mandelbaum, said the family missed the 90-day deadline required to file a notice of claim against New York City and they were unable to sue.

"I was too busy, again, in the middle of a pandemic, making life or death decisions for my mom. What is the best thing? What is the next step?" Sam Mandelbaum said.

Residents claim Boardwalk caused serious injuries

Ellen Mandelbaum is one of several people who claim they suffered serious injuries on the aging Brooklyn boardwalk.

In a CBS News New York interview translated from Russian, Brighton Beach resident Marina Nikiforova said she fell while jogging on the Coney Island boardwalk.

"I was recovering for a while, my shoulder hurt for about a year ... and my mother fell and fractured a bone," Nikiforova said in Russian.

Another Brighton Beach resident, Inna Soskina, said she required surgery after damaging her knee during a fall on the boardwalk.

"When you have a leak on your roof, you wait a couple of years to repair it?" Soskina said, highlighting the need for an urgent overhaul.

Former Mayor Adams announced $1 billion rebuild

At the end of his term, former Mayor Eric Adams announced a $1 billion investment to rebuild all 2.7 miles of the Coney Island boardwalk. 

The project is expected to remain in the research-and-design phase until at least 2027.

"It's about 400,000 people that live around here, and millions that come here in the summer," Coney Island resident Mike Iospa said during a recent visit to the landmark.

Iospa started a petition urging the city to make immediate repairs while the larger reconstruction project moves forward.

"It will take years. So if they start in 2028, I guarantee it will take five to 10 years to complete the whole thing. We can't wait this long," Iospa said.

A spokesperson for the New York City Parks Department said in a statement, in part, the landmark boardwalk "consists of over 1 million boards. Our carpentry crews perform repairs on the boardwalk five days a week from April to November." 

The department did not provide an estimated timeline for completion of the long-term reconstruction project.

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