Coney Island "Renaissance"

[Dynamicdezzy]

really? I didn't know that. THanks.

[krulltime]

Coney Island to get $1 billion makeover



Pedestrians move about Coney Island's
boardwalk in Brooklyn, New York,
Thursday.


Saturday, May 27, 2006

NEW YORK (AP) -- It's springtime in Coney Island, with all the familiar signs of the coming tourist season: The beer flows at Ruby's on the boardwalk, a help-wanted sign rests outside Nathan's Famous, stuffed animals appear in the cramped arcades.

A soft ocean breeze rolls off the Atlantic -- but by next summer, the winds of change will blow hard through the venerable Brooklyn beachfront where millions of Americans have frolicked and where both the hot dog and the roller coaster debuted.

After a half-century of neglect, Coney Island is targeted for a $1 billion renovation aimed at creating a year-round attraction to compete against the theme parks that nearly obliterated the neighborhood. The work is at least a year off, but it's already the buzz of the beach.

"Coney Island seemed like it was in a time warp, and would never change," said Dick Zigun, operator of the local Sideshows By the Seashore attraction. "Why not have a bigger, better, more exciting Coney Island?"

Other local merchants agree -- although some wonder if the unique local flavor will disappear once Thor Equities starts developing its $100 million in recently purchased properties.

"People are worried about losing the certain character that Coney Island has always had," said Carol Albert, whose family runs the legendary Cyclone roller coaster and the Astroland Amusement Park. "It's a fine line. You don't want to lose the character, but ..."

The "but" rests with Thor, developer of a three-block-long, one-block-deep section off the boardwalk, along with some other properties. Its CEO and founder, Joe Sitt, has a personal interest in the Coney Island project: he's a Brooklyn native and still jogs along the boardwalk.

Sitt's local roots were a boon in avoiding the pitfalls that often plague major development, said Chuck Reichenthal, head of Community Board 13 in Coney Island.

"He really does understand what Coney Island was, what it is and what it can be," Reichenthal said.

The developer hopes for a final plan by July 1, with a variety of projects including a high-end hotel (perhaps shaped like a roller coaster), a water park, retail outlets and residential property.


'Start of a new era'


Today, the area along the boardwalk is a mix of vacant lots and vintage storefronts.

Some things will remain untouched. The Cyclone, the Wonder Wheel and what's left of the Parachute Jump are all designated landmarks.

But other sections demand attention: The rotting home of the old Playland arcade, or the once-grand Child's Restaurant, now splashed with spray paint and sealed with metal grates.

Once finished, the plan will need city approval. Then, if everything goes right, construction could start by July 2007. Sitt has guaranteed all businesses on Thor property a location in his development, said Lee Silberstein, a spokesman for Thor.

"Those lots may be boarded up next summer," said Silberstein. "But at the end of the process, you're going to have something very special in Coney Island."

Coney Island once was something special, the most popular resort destination in the country. But "America's Playground" suffered though a long post-World War II decline.

When the Cyclone opened in 1927, Coney Island was already the apex of American entertainment. Charles Lindbergh came to ride the great roller coaster. Sigmund Freud stopped by the Dreamland amusement park.

However, a 1944 fire destroyed one of the great amusement areas, Luna Park. Developer Robert Moses, no fan of Coney Island, designed highways that made it easy to bypass the city beach -- or just abandon it for the suburbs.

City housing sprang up in the '60s and '70s -- towering "vertical slums," as the locals called them. Crack arrived in the '80s.

City officials also are betting on a revamped Coney Island. A new $240 million subway station was opened at Stillwell Avenue, once one of the dingiest stops in the entire transit system.

And $83 million -- including $73 million from the city -- has been pledged to create better parking, new streets and open space. A new cultural center is expected to open by 2009.

"It's a long process," said Reichenthal. "But people should come down this year and imagine what all those empty lots are going to look like in a couple of years. It's the start of a new era."


Copyright 2006 Reuters.

[antinimby]

Very exciting, can't wait to see the rebirth. Will definitely be one of the first in line in 2009 to see it all, for myself.

[Eugenious]

Very exciting, can't wait to see the rebirth. Will definitely be one of the first in line in 2009 to see it all, for myself.

Lol, good luck! It'll take much more then a billion dollars to change that area, the ghetto projects will still be there.

What they need is to open club's, cabarets, and pubs all along coney island. Make it like Miami Beach, now that I would applaud.

[SuddenImpact]

America's Playground redevelopment plan unveiled for Coney Island

NEW YORK (AP) — An $83 million Coney Island redevelopment plan with a goal of restoring the fading beachfront attraction to its former status as America's Playground was announced Wednesday. (Photo gallery: Top boardwalks)

The Coney Island Strategic Plan, two years in the making, aims to transform Stillwell Avenue into a public open space, possibly add a hotel and spa on Surf Avenue, create a multicultural community center and make improvements to the famed boardwalk.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the city will pledge $73 million to the plan, while Brooklyn will kick in $7 million and the federal government another $3.2 million.

"Coney Island holds a special place in New York City's history, and the redevelopment plan will celebrate its unique character while ensuring a spectacular future," Bloomberg said.

The plan will create about 2,000 permanent jobs, 10,000 construction jobs and more than $1 billion in private investment over the next two decades, the mayor's office said.

Work on some aspects of the plan will begin immediately, with boardwalk improvements expected to finish by the end of 2007 and the redesigned Stillwell Midway and new cultural center anticipated to open by 2009.

The world-renowned beach is home to the Cyclone roller coaster and the Astroland amusement park with the famous Wonder Wheel. Coney Island hosts more than 5 million visitors every summer ; its more famous visitors from its halcyon days included Charles Lindbergh and Sigmund Freud.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

This AP article appeared in USA Today last fall and I was wondering about the part which I've highlighted. Does Coney really draw 5 million each summer? I've heard 2 million, but 5???

[SuddenImpact]

One more question. I'll ask it again on the Child's thread. Does anyone know what that building is behind the old restaurant? Has that been Land Marked as well? (Thanks in advance!)

[Eugenious]

June 18, 2006

nytimes.com
In Coney Island, Marbury Has Message but No News

By HOWARD BECK

At the opening of his annual basketball tournament in Coney Island, KnicksStephon Marbury pledged yesterday to build "a new movement" to help children move out of poverty — and out of Coney Island.
Marbury, surrounded by a couple of dozen children, spoke of self-reliance and job creation and invoked the names of Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z and Sean Combs. Point guard Marbury grew up in the neighborhood's Surfside Gardens projects. His tournament, now in its 11th year, is held in honor of Jason Sowell, a high school teammate known as Juice who was shot and killed nearby in 1995.

"My message to the kids of Coney Island is: 'Don't want to live here. Don't want to be in Coney Island all your life,' " Marbury said. "And if somebody tells you different, don't deal with them people, because they want you to stay here. So what I'm doing is trying to give kids hope, and allow them to understand that with hard work and dedication, preparation, all of those different things, they'll be able to succeed."
Marbury spoke of creating jobs and other avenues out of poverty. He said he would pay barbers in his former neighborhood to give residents free haircuts.

He also said he would sponsor a line of low-cost sports apparel, to be marketed and sold by the Steve and Barry's chain, which has a location in Manhattan.

"The sneaker's going to be $14.98, the same exact shoe that you can go and spend $220 for," Marbury said. "What we're trying to do is allow kids to understand that we can still have the fly stuff, and we don't got to pay a whole bunch of money. The way how this world is right now, we need more people like me."

Marbury declined to talk about the Knicks — he chastised a reporter who asked about the team — but did mention Coach Larry Brown, who is expected to be fired soon. Brown and Marbury openly clashed throughout the season.

Marbury called the past year "the best year of my life," explaining that "my mind was trapped, and now my mind is free." When asked what opened him up, Marbury said, "Larry Brown."

"I love Larry Brown, period," he said. "I was tested. But that's all it was, was a test. I passed the test. I'm moving on to the next phase."
Marbury told reporters he would answer questions about the Knicks during a conference call today. A team spokesman later said that no call was planned.

[Scruffy88]

it would be fantastic to lose the coney island houses but that would never happen. it would cost too much to relocate a couple thousand people

[TREPYE]

This ought to be really nice to see at Coney Island.

From today's Daily News:

Bright idea in Coney

Coney Islands's long-defunct Parachute Jump is set to become the beacon of the Boardwalk.
With the flick of a switch, the Brooklyn landmark will be bathed in lights come July 7.
The amusement mecca’s tallest structure will be lit by 17 flood lamps, 150 light fixtures and 450 LED lights in a display that will be seen from as far away as Long Island.
"Once a symbol of Coney Island’s bygone era, lighting the Parachute Jump signals its return as a luminous landmark of the Brooklyn of today and generations to come," said Borough President Marty Markowitz.
Manhattan artist Leni Schwendinger designed six lighting schemes for the 277-foot landmark, including a red, pink and amber sequence that will last through the summer. On weekends, pulsing white flood lights and a red LED strobe will dance along the Boardwalk.
"It’s incredibly exciting," Schwendinger, 53, told the Daily News. "It’s just a spectacular structure, and a total challenge to light."
The Parachute Jump will be illuminated from dusk until midnight May through October. The remainder of the year it will be lit from dusk until 11 p.m.

[Kris]

July 4, 2006
Down by the Boardwalk, a $1 Billion Revival Plan
By CHARLES V. BAGLI

Joey Coney Island is making a stand at the corner of Stillwell and Surf Avenues, amid the fortune tellers, the freak shows, the bumper cars and the Boardwalk.

It is here that Joey, better known in the business world as Joseph J. Sitt, chairman of Thor Equities, unfurls his grand $1 billion plan to revive what is left of Coney Island's historic amusement district.

There are drawings of high-tech arcades, a glass-enclosed water park, hotels, restaurants and waterfront condominiums. He describes an entertainment complex that features the most far out, "over the top" attractions, from an indoor ski hill and a giant Ferris wheel to a dirigible and helicopter landing station atop a tower.

"I view Coney Island as a national and international treasure," said Mr. Sitt, 41, who lives only blocks away. "The trick is to create a venue that will entertain families and young adults. My mission is to create a one-stop amusement complex that would have great rides and interesting retail."

Like any carny barker's patter, Mr. Sitt's dreams for Coney Island can sound far-fetched. He is at least 18 months away from construction and needs city approval for some elements of his plan, including a proposal to build luxury apartments in the amusement district.

But unlike previous promoters, Mr. Sitt has spent more than $100 million buying property here. He has the deep pockets to develop the project, and at least for now, some support from city officials, local politicians, the community board and old-timers on the Boardwalk.

"There'll be a lot of debates, no doubt," said Chuck Reichenthal, the longtime district manager of Community Board 13, which covers Coney Island. "But everybody is looking forward to things happening that can help the community and the amusement district."

Mr. Sitt, whose company buys and develops commercial, residential and retail properties nationwide, grew up nearby, frequently ducking out of school to hang out at the amusement parks, earning him the nickname Joey Coney Island.

Despite the beaches that still draw millions of visitors on summer weekends and a minor league ballpark that attracts sell-out crowds, Coney Island does not look like a treasure. It can be ghostly quiet in the winter. The amusement district has shrunk. There are many empty storefronts along Surf Avenue, which parallels the waterfront, and vacant lots covered in weeds.

The heyday of Coney Island dates back to the first half of the last century, when it was the most popular resort in the country. The subways brought visitors by the millions to Steeplechase and Luna Parks, as well as the beaches, restaurants and hotels. The area fell into decline after World War II. Since then, developers have periodically presented plans for a revival, or a gambling hub, that have quickly disappeared.

The Bloomberg administration, however, has focused on Coney Island, completing a $240 million renovation of the Stillwell Avenue subway terminal and committing $83.2 million for neighborhood improvements, including new parking, a community center and a facelift for Surf and Mermaid Avenues. Residential developers have moved in, driving up land prices.

And the Coney Island Development Corporation has spent several years devising a zoning plan to preserve and expand the amusement district, while encouraging new apartments houses and stores nearby. The corporation expects to put the plan through the city's approval process this fall.

With a residential building boom on the city's waterfront, Mr. Sitt began buying property in Coney Island three years ago, much of it, he said, from the descendants of Nathan Handwerker, who founded the Nathan's Famous hot dog stand, and George C. Tilyou, whose Steeplechase Park was a prime Coney Island attraction from 1897 to 1964.

Mr. Sitt is now focused on more than four blocks south of Surf Avenue, from 12th to 15th Streets. After complaints from residents and city officials, he scrapped earlier plans for an indoor mall with warehouse-style stores and a theater for Cirque du Soleil in favor of designs that are more open to the neighborhood and in line with Coney Island.

"Too Bellagio," Mr. Reichenthal said, referring to the Las Vegas resort.

Nathan's would remain in place. But Mr. Sitt plans to replace the bumper boats and go-cart track with a year-round water park on the east side of Stillwell Avenue that would be connected to a family-oriented, S-shaped hotel, which would include apartments and time-share units.

On the west side of Stillwell, there would be a second, more luxurious, 500-room hotel and a condominium tower on the Boardwalk. Plans call for a dramatic entrance to the complex. The towers, ranging from more than 20 stories to more than 30 stories, would sit atop a shopping center, a modern game arcade and a multiplex theater.

"Our approach to regenerating Coney Island amusements is to make them an integral part of an authentic urban district," said Mr. Sitt's architect, Stanton Eckstut, who was the master planner for Battery Park City and for the MGM Mirage project in Las Vegas. "It will be year-round, mixed-use, with real streets."

Mr. Sitt says he is talking to Nickelodeon about a family-oriented hotel and to the race car driver Mario Andretti about a racing attraction. But his proposals for high-rise towers and housing in the amusement district are not what the Coney Island Development Corporation had in mind when it devised its plans.

Joshua J. Sirefman, chairman of the Coney Island Development Corporation and interim president of the city's Economic Development Corporation, said the administration was willing to consider Mr. Sitt's proposal "if it makes the project more viable and we can ensure the amusement and entertainment uses are protected."

The project has won an endorsement from Anthony Berlingieri and Carlo Muraco, co-owners of Shoot the Freak, a shooting gallery on the Boardwalk where patrons fire paint balls at a heavily padded "freak" who sprints around a courtyard wedged between a food stand and a souvenir stand. Although they say Mr. Sitt is a fan, they are also worried that Coney Island's traditional attractions may be squeezed out.

"We're for anything good for Coney Island," Mr. Muraco said. "We just want to be part of it. I question, will we be able to afford the rent? Nobody's getting rich here."

Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

[TREPYE]

Flower of a Tower Is Relighted in Coney Island

By ANDY NEWMAN
Published: July 8, 2006
For 41 years, darkness was upon the face of the Parachute Jump in Coney Island.
Skip to next paragraph Enlarge this Image
Richard Perry/The New York Times
After 41 years of darkness, the lights on the Parachute Jump on Coney Island were turned on.



The 277-foot tower, shaped like a giant blossom at the end of a tapering stalk, dropped its last screaming rider in 1965 and fell silent. For years it rotted, a skeletal symbol of Coney Island's long decline, narrowly escaping demolition.
Last night, the city turned the lights back on. As an eager crowd jammed the boardwalk, a switch was thrown and the Parachute Jump was bathed in red and purple light, as shivering patterns chased each other across its girders.
There are still no riders, and no parachutes, but the jump is back in the night sky above the boardwalk.
"Not exactly how it was when I was a kid," said Brooklyn's borough president, Marty Markowitz, "but it will be a beacon of light for this and future generations, harking and heralding Coney Island as a place where dreams come true."
The reviews from those assembled were muted. Phyllis Carbo, 70, who rode on the Parachute Jump as a girl, hesitated when asked for her opinion. "I'm running for Assembly on the Republican line, so I have to be very careful," she said. "I'm impressed."
Even the evening's master of ceremonies, Dick Zigun, one of Coney Island's leading boosters, pronounced the light show "very subtle."
Others were less restrained.
"Did they light it already? Is this it?" asked Joe Joya, 63.
His wife, Jane, 61, said, "I thought it was going to be a lot brighter. I thought that the lights were going to be more of a Vegas type of thing."
Her husband added: "You're not going to see that from Staten Island."
A few feet away, Marsha Lightman, 50, disagreed: "I think it's awesome. This isn't Vegas, it's Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York."
Her friend Joy Harvey, 55, stood transfixed next to her, taking a video of the lights with her digital camera. "It's amazing," Ms. Harvey said. "This is Coney Island."
"This is what it was," Ms. Lightman said.
"Is," her friend corrected.

[ablarc]

The reviews from those assembled were muted. Phyllis Carbo, 70, who rode on the Parachute Jump as a girl, hesitated when asked for her opinion. "I'm running for Assembly on the Republican line, so I have to be very careful," she said. "I'm impressed."

What does that mean?

[Eugenious]

What does that mean?

I think she either forgot to take her alzheimers medication today or republicans dont want no parachute jumps in coney island.

[Anarchy77]

I haven't read each page of this thread and this may have come up, but are the gangs running the streets of coney island like they were back in the 80's?

[lofter1]

From http://www.gothamist.com/ :