The boardwalk at Jacob Riis Beach will get a facelift this fall.
The National Park Service, which runs the federally owned portion of Rockaway, announced the $2.7 million refurbishment of the dilapidated concrete path just east of the beach’s 92-year-old bathhouse on Wednesday. Officials said crews will resurface the boardwalk, build a new wheelchair-accessible ramp near the bathhouse and replace 20 benches.
The work is slated to be completed by December, and will be funded by parking fees and fishing permit applications collected at the park. This section of the boardwalk will be closed while the work is underway, but officials said they’ll leave at least one route open for the public to access the shoreline during construction.
The work comes as the Park Service undertakes a $50 million renovation of the bathhouse, which was damaged in 2012 during Hurricane Sandy. Officials plan to add a hotel and bar to the Art Deco building.
Last winter, crews dumped hundreds of tons of sand on the beach to offset erosion — however, nearly all of it had been washed away by the summer. Sections of the beach remained closed during this year’s swimming season because the erosion caused dangerous rip currents. Two teens from Brooklyn drowned in June near one of the closed sections of the beach.