 Public beach accessibility was considered almost nonexistent; in 1904, it was estimated that there would be of public beachfront on Coney Island for each of the 3.7 million residents of New York City.In 1912, the West End Improvement League of Coney Island noted that only one street, West 23rd Street, had direct public access to the beach from Surf Avenue, the southernmost west–east artery on what was then an island.Interest in creating a public boardwalk increased in the 1890s, when the formerly separate boroughs of New York City were consolidated.