[NYguy]

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...TATE/130309879

Coney Island eyes record comeback post-Sandy
Local business owners say that after being scoured by sand and surf, repainted and refurbished, the area will look better than it has in years.





By Matt Chaban
March 8, 2013

...this could be the best season in memory for Coney Island, partly because of the storm.

"There are a lot of words that people have used to describe Coney, and one of them is 'gritty,'" said Nicole Purmal, marketing manager for Luna Park. "There was a lot of water that literally washed away a lot of undesirable elements, and now paint is going onto a clean surface."

The story is the same for long-timers like the disco-era El Dorado bumper cars and Totonno's pizza and little guys like the Lola Staar boutique on the boardwalk and the Coney Island History Project nestled under it.

In part, optimism for the coming season is also based simply on momentum. Since a contentious redevelopment in 2009, attendance at the amusement park has set new records each summer, peaking at more than 1 million visitors last year, a 50% increase over the 2011 season.

Unlike harder hit areas, much of the most critical infrastructure, most notably the boardwalk, emerged from the storm virtually unscathed. Ironically, it was the businesses closest to the ocean that fared the best. Following a storm in 1989, the Army Corps raised the beach by 10 feet. That protected businesses along the boardwalk from the surge that ravaged so many other coastal areas, including Sea Gate, the neighboring community to the west.

At Tom's Restaurant on the boardwalk, Jimmy Kokotas is eagerly awaiting his first summer there. So are many new shops and eateries drawn to Coney by the new Luna Park, which opened in May 2010. Meanwhile, an Applebee's and Johnny Rockets are on their way to Surf Avenue.

Tom's, which was virtually unscathed, became an impromptu headquarters throughout the recovery, hosting meetings for city officials and business leaders, National Guardsmen and volunteers. Even Mayor Michael Bloomberg came through three weeks after the storm.

City Hall, too, has been busy at Coney. One of the marquee features of a 2009 rezoning was Steeplechase Plaza, a grand new piazza at the foot of the old Parachute Jump that is slated to be home to a restored B&B Carousell, the last of Coney's vintage carousels. While the city's Economic Development Corp. had to extend working hours on the project to allow for clean-up and repairs to damaged equipment, the plaza will still open as planned on Memorial Day.

The Parks Department, meanwhile, has been scouring the boardwalk to secure any loose boards and benches and repairing damaged bathrooms. On the beach, the sand is piled in great mounds after workers spent weeks sifting it for debris. Just like the amusement rides, the beaches themselves will be cleaner than they probably have been in a century.