Local Officials Propose Big Changes to City's Coney Plan
A local politician with sympathies for Thor Equities and a poor grasp of English grammar is trying to throw a wrench into the City’s plan for the revamp of Coney Island. Community Board 13 is supporting a recent plan proposed by City Councilman Domenic Recchia to increase the size of retail stores that would be…
A local politician with sympathies for Thor Equities and a poor grasp of English grammar is trying to throw a wrench into the City’s plan for the revamp of Coney Island. Community Board 13 is supporting a recent plan proposed by City Councilman Domenic Recchia to increase the size of retail stores that would be allowed along Surf Avenue from 2,500 square feet to 10,000 square feet. Responding to critics’ fears that the amusment area will end up looking like a suburban strip mall, Recchia said, “We don’t want no Walmarts in Coney Island.” Ouch! The retail boost is only one of about 20 changes that Recchia has put on the table; others include opposing the city’s plan to reserve 12 acres of land for amusements, increasing parking at KeySpan Park and banning any new construction that would block the Parachute Jump. A Thor Equities spokesman called the proposals “the beginning of an attempt to make a bad plan better” and a Bloomberg flak described some of the changes, including the retail suggestion, “problematic.” What a mess.
Local Officials Call for Major Revamp of Coney Island Plan [NY Daily News]
Photo by dietrich
i feel that way all the time bxgirl, but im like who cares i dont care if the city wants me. it’s stuck with me. it’s gonna have to deal.
*r*
I haven’t been since Ghouliani knocked down that creepy old scooby-doo rollercoaster which had the house underneath it.
bxgrl–I think what you have articulated is a far more nuanced and thoughtful variation on the anti-gentrification rants of some of our more volatile posters. I appreciate the fact that you are able to discuss this kind of thing without turning it into an exercise in finger-pointing and class warfare.
I wish I had your attitude, ENY. I love NYC- and you’re right- it will always be my city. Just sometimes I feel my city doesn’t want me, not the other way around.
“Ever get the feellig that unless you are new, shiny, expensive, and under 35 this isn’t a city for you anymore?”
No. For me, this will always be my city, no matter how much it changes. We’re inexorably bonded. But it does take time and patience deal with some of the changes.
Ever get the feellig that unless you are new, shiny, expensive, and under 35 this isn’t a city for you anymore? Oh- and you have to be rich too.
“but it had a shabby yet romantic charm that I always enjoyed (as did hundreds of thousands of others)”
Indeed we did, Wasder. It’s died away year after year, piece by piece and now it’s almost gone. Pretty sad.
yeah i dont take advantage of the city as much as i should but i went out there the end of last summer and had a blast and saw nothing wrong it. it just felt right and looked right and so what it’s not all shiney and new looking with chain stores. who the hell takes a 1-2 hour trip by train to get out there anyway to shop for big items? maybe it might be good for the locals who live there, i dont know, but it was such a nice unpretentious part of the city to spend a day in the sun.
*r*
Whatever the solution they better do something fast. I was out there last week and shocked by the condition of the place. Say what you will about the physical condition of the amusement park over the last few years but it had a shabby yet romantic charm that I always enjoyed (as did hundreds of thousands of others) but what is there now is literally a wasteland. It borders on criminal.