Coney Island: How Much Do You Give a Sitt?
As most readers are probably aware by now, developer Joseph Sitt’s company Thor Equities has spent in the neighborhood of $120 million amassing a large swath of property along the Coney Island waterfront, including the land upon which Astroland currently sits. In addition to a complete makeover of the amusement park, the company’s original plan…
As most readers are probably aware by now, developer Joseph Sitt’s company Thor Equities has spent in the neighborhood of $120 million amassing a large swath of property along the Coney Island waterfront, including the land upon which Astroland currently sits. In addition to a complete makeover of the amusement park, the company’s original plan called for a number of large, presumably pricey condos along the boardwalk. In the face of a broad pushback from community (and city residents in general), Sitt sent his designers back to the drawing board and unveiled a new proposal last week that substituted hotels and time-shares for condos and sought to reduce the density of the project. Thor’s Coney Plan 2.0 did not seem to appease the critics, though, including the city’s Economic Development Corporation. Community Board 13’s Chuck Reichenthal summed it up when he said that, The community and the Coney Island Development Corporation have all indicated that residential and amusements don’t go together.” On Tuesday night, Sitt showed up for a local community meeting to try to rally support for his plan, saying that he didn’t want to build it unless residents were in favor. (He also noted that he wanted the support of the press and the blogs.) When we wrote about the new plan last week, we wondered aloud, “If you’re already going to turn it into Disney World, what’s the big deal is about having some condos in the mix?” An editorial this week in The Brooklyn Paper titled “Let Joe Sitt Build” asked essentially the same question. Anyway, given Sitt’s interest in gauging public opinion, we thought we’d run one of our polls below.
Thor Backs Away from Coney Condo Plan [Brownstoner] GMAP
CI Plan Is Scaled Back, but Critics Are Skeptical [NY Times]
Sitt Speaks in Coney Island [Gowanus Lounge]
Let Joe Sitt Build [Brooklyn Paper]
You can’t be serious that you look no further than the last two decades for guidance in real estate development. That is exactly why so many people do not trust developers.
You really can’t be serious that you think if he builds condos that won’t sell and fall into disrepair and cause blight?
Where or where has that happened in last 2 decades in this city?
“If they don’t mix well as people say they don’t, then the condos won’t sell well and he alone stands to lose his time and money.”
No, everyone will pay for this.
Whoa Iceberg,
Who said anything about trusting the government? Or about eminent domain. Get that bee out of your bonnet. You asked why I care, and I was telling you. Because if he screws up, the consequences will be long term and large. I’m not saying that he is the wrong man for the job (I find him kind of interesting) but I think that anybody who could be impacted by this development has a right to express his concerns.
If someone cleaned up Coney Island I might actually enjoy going there. It’s a sh*t hole right now, really a total war zone. Chaos of wayyy too many people and filth, crummy everything.
I really don’t get what the objections to his plans are.
Sounds to me like real chance to redevelop and energize place that outlived its time.
Make it a destination again.
So what if some residential bldgs in the mix. If doesn’t appeal to you, nobody is asking you to live there.
As with so many projects/proposals in NYC, I think there exists small group of complainers that are able to get ear of media and some politicians, whereas most people are happy to see progress happen.
Anon @ 11:19 AM,
In fact I do, and he’s a close friend of my family. I can personally attest that he is a man of distinguished character, who I admire for his fine manners, tastes and competency when it comes to real estate related matters.
As for your complaint, its hilarious that you think that the government can assure a better development than a private, self-interested party, who stands to either profit or fail by his own hand. Obviously you disagree with my sentiment, but I still fail to understand how your laughable concern becomes a normative prescription to coercive intervention.
Curiously, do you advocate for or against other forms of eminent domain?
If you oppose ED, even for “blighted” nabes, what is your justification here for your postulate of potential “urban blight”?
Your poll is too sporadic, and jumps to conclusions that group individual and possibly contradictory concerns together in the same statement.
The proposal is massive, and dynamic, and will have lasting effects. The poll you set up only allows for one narrow opinion.
Do this over Brownstoner – if you’re really trying to gauge public opinion, you need to make this more veratile. Otherwise, it only gauges following for your own opinions.
The only way Coney Island gets off the ground is if NYCHA turns all that public housing into tenant owned limited equity co ops. Yes many folks will sell out or miss their nirtgage payments but this will (1) improve the neighborhood (2) truly empower PHA residents giving them the rights and responsibilities of all homeowners