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City moving ahead with plans to seize Coney Island property

The city is moving ahead with plans to seize 75,000 square feet of Coney Island beachfront property after a public review found it would help spur stalled economic development there.

The land that would be grabbed through eminent domain includes a long-neglected 60,000-square-foot tract that once housed the original Thunderbolt roller coaster immortalized in Woody Allen’s 1977 film “Annie Hall.”

Besides bringing the fabled beachfront new attractions – including a long-promised grand walkway connecting the landmarked Cyclone roller coaster, Wonder Wheel and Parachute Jump – control of the added land would finally give the city ability to make infrastructure improvements needed so that thousands of units of affordable and market-rate housing approved through a 2009 area rezoning can move forward.

Using eminent domain would help “reestablish Coney Island as a year-round, open and accessible amusement and entertainment destination, and … create housing, jobs, and opportunities for local residents,” the Parks Department said in a legal notice Tuesday detailing the findings of the public review.

The city could obtain the properties within a year if there are no legal challenges. Opponents have 30 days to file their objections.

Despite the controversial nature of eminent domain, there has been little opposition to the plan first reported by The Post because most of the property is owned by absentee landlords who allowed their sites to become weed-strewn eyesores.

The lone exception is a 9,000-square-foot lot near the boardwalk that has long been home to a small, family-owned amusement business.

Carol Murray, the business owner, could not be reached for comment but called the city’s plan an “abuse of power” during an October public hearing.

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http://nypost.com/2016/01/14/city-mo...land-property/