EXCLUSIVE: Brighton Beach man speaks out, blames fall on dangerous boardwalk conditions
A Brighton Beach man spoke exclusively with News 12 after a beach day turned bloody. He says it's because of the boardwalk conditions.
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A Brighton Beach man was left with serious bruising on his face, cuts on his hands and gashes on his knee, after what was supposed to be a quick dip in the ocean waves on Saturday morning.
"It happened so fast, I didn't even protect my face," Vladimir Bron said.
It was on his way back home that he says he tripped on one of the planks. He says all he remembers is his face hitting the boardwalk.
"I was lying there for a second," Bron said. "I tried just to wipe the blood from my face."
Bron's wife, Alina Kruchinina, describes the moment he arrived at her doorstep after the fall.
"Blood," Kruchinina said. "Blood all over the head. I didn't see the hands, I saw the face first."
That fall happened near the boardwalk entrance at Brighton 4th Street. Thankfully, Bron did not break any bones. But the couple worries it could be worse for the next person.
"Nobody wants this experience," Bron said.
News 12 previously reached out to the Parks Department over boardwalk problems back in April. Some boards have since been fixed, but there are still many other damaged and raised planks on the boardwalk.
"This spring, no one's actually worked on it," Kruchinina said.
"Lately I haven't seen anybody doing it," Bron said.
The city announced $1 billion toward Coney Island in December. It includes a project to upgrade the entire boardwalk. But concerns remain over the boardwalk conditions in the meantime.
"Nobody knows when they going to start working on it," Kruchinina said. "And it doesn't mean that for a year or two, people should be in danger and risk their bones and risk their lives."
The Parks Department has not yet responded with any additional comment regarding Saturday's incident.
