Boardwalk Businesses

* Re “Workers Race to Finish $8-Million Venice Boardwalk Project,” Aug. 12: The Venice boardwalk has become a shooting gallery and the public is the target. It is impossible to walk there without enduring a constant demand for your money. There is no break in the commercial frenzy, no place where Ruth Galanter, the city councilperson in charge, allows people to be themselves. On the boardwalk, people count only if they have money to spend. The crowds on the boardwalk are not a sign of good land use. At the beach--a park--business should never be allowed to consume the public like this.

STEVE SCHLEIN

Venice