Today is the day the city council votes on what the future of Coney Island will look like. I am writing this because Coney is a national symbol.For 3 or more years Mayor Bloomberg's team has been preparing a renewal plan for Coney Island. This plan has included many public meetings as well as meetings with industry specialists. As with anything the mayor of any city would present, this plan has it's critics.
Currently Thor Equities owns most of the property under consideration. Deno's wonder wheel park is still owned by the original family. There are about 6 or 7 other owners who would play minor rolls in this process. The city wants to make most of the current amusement area City Park Land which would retain it forever for New Yorkers and not for developers. You can imagine what Thor (Joe Sitt) thinks about this. The city offered him a generous offer for his land, but he wants nearly double what he paid for it which is nearly triple what it is worth with the current zoning. (Joe and his sidekick Sam Sabin will not come onto the boardwalk without body guards. How funny.) In the power struggle against the city, Joe has rendered many once viable entertainment areas, empty or in one case he built a giant flee market. (The city got back at him for this and made him rebuild the structures because it did not meet severe hurricane regulations.).
Several weeks ago when a public meeting on this subject was held at the city council, the presentation from the Mayor's team was seemingly trashed by the city council members. Unions and Acorn also gave their opinions which became hard to imagine since the unions and the poor people would get tons of jobs. After that meeting (9am to 6pm with no breaks for anything) I was sure that Coney would be empty lots for about the next 10 years or more. The CIDC (the mayors team) pulled it together meeting most of the objections. The committee for this project from the City Council approved this plan with a few changes. Now today the plan will go before the entire city council.If the plan is approved the Grill House where I work will eventually come down. Empty lots and old structures will disappear and Coney Island will become a spectacular place. I can only imagine what that would mean to me being only 5 minutes from Coney by bicycle.
I remember when Lockport got it's urban renewal. That was the end of a wonderful small upstate town. It has never been the same place. I watched as corporations came to Lockport and exercised their better ideas. To that end, big stores and malls came and went leaving the town in dismal shape. Lately (from 1965 to 2009) Downtown is looking better. The Library is beautiful, old churches are renewed and there are some businesses starting to come back.Times Square changed dramatically and boosted the cities revenue. Coney Island renewal could be a welcomed addition to the city. Regardless of what they do, people still flock the beaches and amusements. Tourists have discovered this area and love it. More news when it becomes available.
Update: 7-30-09 The City Council voted for the CICD Renewal Program - Coney Here We Come!
Barre
