A slick Coney Island? Gothamist cannot compute! The city showed off a new plan for the development of New York's own boardwalk retreat that, as the Daily News describes it, is "a cross between Las Vegas and Disneyland," turning the "the fading honky-tonk amusement area into a flashy year-round entertainment destination." City officials are behind the effort to bring more business (spas! restaurants! movie theatres! arcades!) to the area, but some worry that the worn-out, almost weary charm of Coney Island will be lost. The Daily News notes that officials are hoping for a Times Square-like revival, but Gothamist doubts there will be throngs of suburban high schoolers trying to find their way to Beefsteak Charlie's before their French Club's outing to see The Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic. A final plan will be presented in the summer. All Gothamist can say is go to Coney Island now to get your old Coney pictures.
The Coney Island Development Corp. is the city organization charged with the new plan. Here's a UCLA site about the old Coney Island. And our recent post on some current Coney tenants being quietly edged out.
