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After years of discussion, the City Council voted 44-2-1 in favor of rezoning Coney Island per the Bloomberg administration's plan for the 27-acre area, which includes hotels, retail shops, and a new roller coaster. And it looks like the city is working out a deal with Thor Equites' Joe Sitt, the developer who bought much of the land at Coney Island in hopes of his own ambitious hotel-amusement park plans.
Mayor Bloomberg hailed the approval, "Every year, Coney Island has sunk further and further away from its previous glory. That sinking has stopped." And his official statement laid out his plans and hopes:
"Now we move forward with a plan that will return Coney Island to its former glory, ensure its future as a year-round destination for visitors and create a more livable, vibrant community for its residents. For one, Coney Island will grow to include a 27-acre amusement and entertainment district, paving the way for a revitalized seaside destination that will attract New Yorkers and millions of visitors each year. Outside the amusement district, it will create 4,500 new units of housing - 35 percent of which will be affordable to low- and moderate-income families. In all, the plan will create 6,000 new, permanent jobs and 25,000 construction jobs, and generate an economic impact of $14 billion over 30 years."
However, there were critics—City Council members Tony Avella (who accused the mayor of putting corporate interests first) and Charles Barron voted against the plan while Rosie Mendez abstained. And Save Coney Island's Juan Rivero issued a statement, "This rezoning plan will irreparably damage Coney Island. Now it’s up to the Bloomberg administration to mitigate that damage by working to increase the size of the outdoor amusement area and by preventing the construction of high-rises in the middle of the amusement district. It is our hope and expectation that it will do so."
Crain's reports other additions to the revised plan include "the replacement of the Abe Stark ice rink and a new community gymnasium at PS 188...land for a new school and $30 million for a new emergency room and renovations at Coney Island Hospital. It also forbids the development of big-box retailers." (Plus a new deluxe shark tank at the NY Aquarium, per The Brooklyn Paper.) The Observer says while there could be room for four hotels, City Councilman Dominic Recchia believes there will only be two.
As for Sitt's land, it looks like the city may buy six of the 10.5 acres Sitt controls. The Daily News' sources say "Sitt would hang on to property on Stillwell and Surf Aves. It wasn't clear how much the city would pay for the land. Sitt previously rejected an offer of $105 million." Sitt's spokesman said Thor is "hopeful that these negotiations will result in a timely resolution and a brighter day for Coney."
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The real question is, whoever thought building high-rise housing in the middle of a crappy amusement park was a good idea? Would anyone really be willing to pay up for that? Sure, living on the beach would be nice, but this is Coney Island - you don't want to live on that beach.
You know, it's not going to stop the water from being oily...
Seriously - who is going to buy a condo in Coney Island? Or go shopping there in the dead of winter? Have you ever been to the aquarium in February? Ghost town.
Where is all of the investment going to come from? I'm all for rejuvenating the area, but i think anything beyond improving the existing attractions, (or replacing the ones that were once there) and infrastructure may be overly ambitious.
This could be successful. There are many communities on the ocean side of Brooklyn and Queens. People have lived there for generations. Obviously it works as a residential community. Maybe if there was an actual incentive to live out there, people would. Right now, as everyone keeps saying, the place is a ghost town. No one wants to go there at any time of the year much anymore. However, just because it's far out from the center of New York doesn't mean that it couldn't be a self-sustained entity with a boost from people coming into the neighborhood for day trips and whatnot. It could very well be a viable neighborhood again.
Other cities make better use of their beaches. But transportation between Coney Island and the center of the city is pretty dire, there are subways and busses but they are all slow. The place really needs express bus or subway service to develop.
The other places with developed beachfront areas usually don't have train service, but tend to have faster busses.
Doesn't king bloomberg know we are in a recession? The city can't afford another project (atlantic yards, harlem, etc). did he really save money by buying homelessness one way ticket out of NYC?
Whoever thinks Coney Island in its current state is a "ghost town" is badly misreading the situation. The place is packed with people during the summer. The only thing ghostly about it are the vacant lots that have cropped up over the last few years as seasonal amusement operators have been forced out by property developers letting their land go to seed while waiting to put up hotels or condos. Even these underutilized blocks don't stop the crowds from coming though.
And I'm not sure better transportation is the key either. One can get from Times Square to Nathan's at Coney Island in just over 50 mins by subway. Take a car and one can shave less than 10 mins off the trip. Aside from an elevated maglev train hovering over Brooklyn, I don't see how the city could get people to the beach much faster. Coney Island is just physically far away.
ha! the last time I was in CI in the winter was either ice skating as a teen and a class trip to the aquarium.
it's too far out and when people are tied to the subway or bus and all it takes is a rain storm to make that hour commute to 4 hours.
and, it's pretty cold and windy during winter. if you can wait for a bus or subway more power to you.
Coney Island too far away to live? Tell that to the booming communities in Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach (2 subway stops from Coney), Sheepshead Bay (3 stops), and all the other communities out there that have been revitalized in recent years with influxes of immigrants and money. Brighton and Manhattan Beaches are basically the same stretch of beach as Coney. Yes, it's far if you demand the convenience of living in Manhattan or the close-in neighborhoods of Brooklyn, but many people are willing to trade that convenience for other qualities that they value - proximity to the beach, fewer crowds or whatever is important. What has kept Coney Island back from being developed is not its distance but its perception (largely true) of it being a dangerous place to live. Dominated by low-income housing projects, Coney is not seen as desirable like the more exclusive Manhattan Beach or the more middle-class Brighton Beach, but these are all in essentially the same area with the same commute. Coney Island has great potential, but the challenge will be to develop it in such a way that its attractive qualities are preserved and enhanced, new residents will want to move and live there, but long-time residents and businesses are not forced out.