Council Committee Signs Off on Coney Plan
The Zoning Subcommittee and Land Use Committee of the City Council voted to approve the city’s plan for the redevelopment of Coney Island. The committee agreed to important modifications regarding affordable housing, union labor and the preservation of the land around the Wonder Wheel but the tweaks fell short of what the group Save Coney…
The Zoning Subcommittee and Land Use Committee of the City Council voted to approve the city’s plan for the redevelopment of Coney Island. The committee agreed to important modifications regarding affordable housing, union labor and the preservation of the land around the Wonder Wheel but the tweaks fell short of what the group Save Coney Island wanted to see. The City Council’s Land Use Committee unfortunately failed to back the revisions needed to prevent the destruction of Coney Island as a world-class amusement destination, said Save Coney Island spokesman Juan Rivero. I know there are those who would like to see lower buildings on the south side of Surf Avenue. We just couldn’t make this work, said Council Member Domenic Recchia, who was involved in the negotiations and declared himself satisfied with the outcome. The critics were somewhat heartened by the possibility that changes may still be made by the City Planning Commission before it goes to a full vote at the City Council on July 29. Meanwhile, developer Joe Sitt, who owns much of the land in the footprint of the city’s plan, continued to play tough. “I’m the guy who controls this – it’s my sandbox,” he said.
Coney Island Plan Gets a Green Light [Crain’s]
Coney Plan Receives Green Light From Council Committees [Brooklyn Eagle]
Council: Bloomy Coney Rezoney is no Baloney [Brooklyn Paper]
Council Members Push for More Time on Coney Plan [Brownstoner]
Developer Threatens City’s Coney Plan [NY Post]
Recchia, by the way is a childhood friend and supporter of Sitt. Anyone want to say “conflict of Interest?”
A lot of places went down 40 years ago- the Bronx was burning, Manhattan was escape from NY, Queens was Peons….. what happened in Coney Island was happening all over the city and when things started to improve, Coney Island was still pretty much forgotten. But if the area is improved, I bet you’ll see huge crowds there again. there’s great potential- I hope the City and Sitt don’t f*ck it up for the rest of us but I am not optimistic based on past performance.
“prevent the destruction of Coney Island as a world-class amusement destination”
Didn’t that happen 40 years ago?
EXACTLY!
People are complaining that the city plan doesn’t set aside enough land for open air amusements, but based on what’s been happening there for generations, there’s not enough demand to fill up even a fraction of this area. Setting aside even more land for a use that has had ample time to demonstrate that it’s not viable just means more vacant land.
“prevent the destruction of Coney Island as a world-class amusement destination”
Didn’t that happen 40 years ago?