Marty: No More Play Time At Asser-Levy Park

Newly revealed details about the planned $64-million concert venue in Asser Levy Seaside Park are adding fuel to the controversy about its establishment. The amphitheater will take up nearly three-quarters of the park’s recreation area, leaving roughly the size of half a football field for neighborhood children.

A large portion of the new venue at Surf Avenue between Ocean Parkway and West 5th Street will be an elevated lawn reserved for a viewing area for outdoor concerts. But when not in use, Parks Department officials say there are no plans to allow sports.

“The elevated lawn isn’t being designed for sports,” Parks Department spokesperson Phil Abramson told Courier-Life. “It will likely be a passive open space for relaxing.”

According to Courier-Life, the closest field suitable for playing sports is Kaiser Park, about 1.5 miles away.

The city apparently is not expecting an insurmountable challenge from the public, despite outcry against Marty Markowitz’s potentially legacy-busting proposal. The borough president is already soliciting operators for the amphitheater ahead of a required environmental assessment study.

After much delay, Community Board 13’s Beaches, Parks and Recreation Committee will finally discuss the future of Asser-Levy Park next week in the committee’s first meeting in a year.

Make your voice heard by attending the meeting at Coney Island Hospital (2601 Ocean Pkwy between Avenue Z and Shore Parkway in Coney Island, (718) 266-3001) on April 21 at 7:30 pm.