[NYguy]

http://beta.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-n...financial-411/

Coney Island's Redevelopment Rollercoaster
A Year After Rezoning, More Changes Coming to Coney Island

September 06, 2010

It's been a year since the city approved an ambitious rezoning plan for Coney Island. In that time, a new amusement park has opened, a developer is poised to tear down at least four well-known buildings -- and nearly a dozen long-established boardwalk stores are being required to submit business plans or close up shop. WNYC's Kathleen Horan covers Coney Island and joined us to give us an update on the "People's Playground."


Kathleen, when the city first began pursuing the rezoning plan for Coney Island, we were in a very different economy. Do city officials still feel confident that developers still will want to come and build hotels and housing way out there?

Well, they're moving forward with the plan. They say that it will take some time -- not only for the economy to rebound but also to assess and potentially fix the infrastructure there that will make new buildings possible.

Lynn Kelly with the Coney Island Development Corporation says right now they're in the process of creating an Amended Drainage Plan or ADP. That's basically an x-ray of everything that occurs under the street -- all sewer lines, electrical lines, etc. Once they have the ADP, they'll know all the improvements that need to be done and any major development will follow. Kelly says the first phase of the infrastructure design and construction will cost the city about $137 million.

"We're encouraging development to come to Coney Island, and if a developer wants to start a project prior to the infrastructure being complete, we'll walk them through the steps that they need, but this is all being done so that we can complete the framework for full build out," Kelly says.

The results of the ADP will be complete sometime this month and Kelly says the infrastructure re-design will then commence. Next year, a shovel will hit the ground to begin the actual fixes that need to happen.

What's the status of the buildings on Surf Avenue that might be torn down?

They're owned by developer Joe Sitt of Thor Equities. He's bought a lot of the key parcels in Coney Island as well as other parts of the city. Last year he sold a major chunk of land on Coney Island to the city for more than $91 million.

Now he's seeking to tear down at least four buildings on the remaining land he owns. This has many people in the area angry because most of these buildings are over 100 years old. Opponents say they can be repurposed and kept for their historical significance. The Henderson building, for instance, is said to be the place where the Marx brothers launched their careers.

Why is Sitt seeking to tear these down?

Critics say it’s that he wants to deliver the land clean and empty of tenants. But a Thor Equites spokesman says that most opponents are anti-development and that the buildings have absolutely no historic value and that they're just ramshackle structures. Next year, Thor plans to build a one-story complex in place of some of the buildings, offering games, souvenirs and snacks -- much of what was there before.

What about Luna Park?

In just 100 days, 19 new rides were built for this summer season. Alberto Zamperla, the owner of the park, says it's been a great season, though he doesn't have numbers yet. Businesses around Luna Park have also reported an increase in business of about 25 percent.

Next year, Zamperla says the second phase of the amusement park will be called "the Scream Zone" with four new roller coasters: "Next year we want to invest more on the teenagers -- crazy wild, so we are going to have rides that are very extreme,” he says.

And roller coasters bring in more money because there are more people per ride and they’re quite popular.

I understand that Zamperla is requiring that about a dozen long-time businesses along the boardwalk submit plans for how they will spruce up their boardwalk stalls or lose their short-term leases?

Eleven businesses along the boardwalk, including Ruby's Bar, the "Shoot the Freak" attraction and many of the small eateries, called “grab joints,” have to submit a plan for how they'll update and possibly modernize their operations. Their contracts expire by October.

Writer and resident historian, Charles Denson who runs the Coney Island History Project says he hopes this isn't an attempt to sanitize these funky old spots.

"What makes Coney Island unique are these old-time businesses," Denson says, "and as far as the food, if people didn't like this food they would have been out of business overnight, they wouldn't have lasted a season. The reason they’ve been in business for decades is that people like that kind of food. It would be a shame to see the businesses go that make Coney Island unique."

Looks like there could be a lot of changes coming to Coney Island, and perhaps even a bit of a battle for the soul of the place. Thank you, Kathleen.