ROCKAWAY BEACH — A collection of “tanning tables” which were set to be placed on the rebuilt Rockaway boardwalk will be replaced by planters following complaints from the community board, the city announced Tuesday.
The Parks Department and the Economic Development Corporation said they will no longer install a set of sloping tables, which were initially designed to help sunbathers catch rays, instead installing a series of planters.
The tanning table plan, presented to the board in August, prompted complaints from Community Board 14's members who were afraid the 6- to 10-foot high and 30-foot deep tables would promote unhealthy sunbathing, among other concerns.
"Have you prepared a response for the American Cancer Society when they come out against the Parks Department's encouragement to lay and tan?" Dolores Orr, chair of CB 14, asked at the Aug. 4 meeting.
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Others wondered if the roomy tables would encourage unwanted behavior from skateboarders to overnight guests.
The city is also going to replace the proposed chaise lounges, which board members also didn’t like, with benches.
The “tanning table” and chaise lounges were proposed after members of the city’s Public Design Commission told officials they didn’t like the concrete benches initially planned.
Instead, they wanted something more “beachy,” according to an official from the Parks Department.
