Mr. Mayor, Tear Down This (Manhattan Beach) Fence!

As Memorial Day nears, the Parks Department is working to get Manhattan Beach Park back in shape for the summertime. Replacement picnic benches and tables for the ones destroyed by Superstorm Sandy were delivered months ago and are now in storage.

However, one of the partially destroyed fences, which separates the beach and picnic area, has also been removed. My question is why do need it and should it be replaced?

Its purpose was to keep visitors from entering the grassy area. Some people do not like the sand and would prefer to sprawl out on the grass, but this is not allowed. Many other city parks allow visitors onto the grass. You are even allowed to walk on the grass in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and lay down a blanket.

I would like to know what makes Manhattan Beach Park so different that the grass is so holy that it cannot be stepped upon? Why should you only be able to view the grassy areas and not be able to use them?

It seems to me that the money to replace the fences that have already been removed could be put to better use. We already have a large grassy area right in front of the park on Oriental Boulevard that is fenced off. Why should the smaller area near the sand also be fenced off? How much more maintenance would be required to keep it open? Wouldn’t the enjoyment that opening this area would bring far outweigh the additional maintenance, which would just involve some occasional cleanup?

Should we