Here on the private beach of Sea Gate, the gated community that occupies the western end of the Coney Island peninsula, the Army Corps of Engineers is at work on a $25.2 million shoreline protection project. Pictured above is the construction of one of four T-groins designed to prevent erosion of the beach, to which 125,000 cubic yards of sand will be added. The fact that federal funds are being used to build up a private beach has raised some eyebrows, but, according to the Army Corps,
the work is primarily benefitting the original Coney Island coastal storm risk reduction project that was first constructed in the 1990s. . . .
While the Sea Gate work will definitely provide some coastal storm risk benefits to the Sea Gate community, it will not be of the size and scope of the public beach originally constructed to the east of the W. 37th Street groin and the primary benefit of completing this important portion of the Coney Island project is reinforcing the integrity of the W. 37th Street groin which anchors the public beach.
