NEW YORK | Coney Island Redevelopment

[NYguy]

http://www.coaster-net.com/newsandre...em&newsid=1204

New Coney Island Huge Success
Addition of Luna Park brings most success since 1964

09/25/10
By: Brandon Bushman

After decades upon decades of seeing iconic old attractions, such as the Thunderbolt roller coaster, being demolished, the Coney Island area is finally being reborn to its former glory days. After the opening of Luna Park this past summer, the new park drew more than 400,000 visitors, the most since 1964 when Steeplechase Park was closed.

It was back in May when Central Amusement International (CAI) won the bit to build a small park in the Coney Island area as part of the city’s Coney Island Revitalization Plan. The park had only 100 days, roughly 15 weeks, to build the new park and get it operational. The park features 19 different types of attractions, all from Zamperla, and ranging from the traditional to the cutting-edge state-of-the-art rides. The park is named after the original Luna Park that operated in Coney Island, and features an LED re-creation of the parks original pinwheel façade at the entrance.

The park didn’t just see its highest attendance since 1964 either, but also helped draw in many of the 14 million visitors who came to the upgraded Coney Island beach and boardwalk area. That number is nearly four times what the area saw last year for 2009. The park has seen such a massive success, that the city and CAI have decided to extend the parks operating schedule by three weeks this year, keeping the park open through October. Along with the extended season, the park will be featuring a Halloween event, called Nights of Horror at Luna Park, including costumed characters, creepy lighting and sound effects, and eerie scenery.

The future is finally looking bright for the Coney Island area now that the Cyclone and Wonder Wheel have some company, and with new additions already planned for 2010, the future is only looking better!

[NYguy]

In honor of Coney Island's rebirth as a playground by the shore and future success, some pics from last summer, best in decades.
Pics are from jimvid who has a large collection of photos...





































(not allowed BTW)































Annual Mermaid Parade

[NYguy]

http://brooklyn.ny1.com/content/top_...o-coney-island

NY1 Exclusive: Extreme Coaster Coming To Coney Island

• Video Link



By: NY1 News

The landscape in Coney Island is about to change dramatically.

NY1 has obtained exclusive video of some rides coming to a brand new amusement park called "Scream Zone."

A new, cutting-edge roller coaster will be one of four large-scale rides that make up Scream Zone.

The coaster, manufactured by the Italian company Zamperla, soars to 65 feet in the air.

It's quite different from the landmark Cyclone wooden-track coaster Coney Island goers are used to.

Another ride known as "The Turbo Force" will catapult riders up 132 feet in the air while it spins in full circles.

It's not quite as tall as the Parachute Jump or Wonder Wheel, but it is another notable addition to the Coney Island skyline.

Scream Zone will be located on the east side of Stillwell Avenue in a vacant lot near the boardwalk.

Zamperla will develop and operate the property. It's the same company behind Luna Park, which opened Memorial Day weekend.

It's the first amusement park to open in Coney Island in more than 50 years.

Scream Zone is scheduled to be up and running for next season.

[NYguy]

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories..._10_29_bk.html

Coney dream! While Sitt tears down, hopefuls push a preservation plan


Here is the Coney Island Bank building before demolition began. It was in a sorry state.


Save Coney Island, a preservation group, proposed turning the Coney Island Bank building into a ballroom of sorts.
Apparently, it was not meant to be, as demolition of the building is underway.

By Stephen Brown
October 21, 2010

The “new Coney Island” is about to claim two of the last remnants of the old Coney.

Developer Joe Sitt has begun demolishing the dilapidated Coney Island Bank building at W. 12th Street and Surf Avenue, and is set to begin tearing down the former Henderson’s Music Hall at Stillwell and Surf avenues, much to the dismay of preservationists who had hoped to save the historic structures by turning them into attractions in their own right.

“Instead of trying to build up the market and signal a revival of Coney Island, they’re demolishing and are going to put up temporary buildings of marginal interest,” said Juan Rivero, a spokesman for Save Coney Island, a preservation group. “He is going to sit on the property and have nothing happen there.”

The notion that Sitt’s Thor Equities development company would simply sit on the soon-to-be-cleared property is a common fear among the Coney faithful, but the company has said it has big plans for next summer that required the destruction of the buildings that are some of the last vestiges of the amusement area’s glory days.

“Thor has launched its program to revitalize Coney Island by replacing these two ramshackle structures with interim structures that will house new selections of games, shopping and food beginning next summer,” said Stefan Friedman, a spokesman.

Friedman added that the destruction of Henderson’s would soon commence, “assuming all permits are in place.”

The demolition is yet another sign that Coney Island is undergoing a significant transformation — one that comes at a cost.

“It’s inevitable news, but it’s not good,” said Dick Zigun, the “mayor” of Coney Island and the founder of Coney Island USA. “I remember banking [at the Bank of Coney Island] as recently as 1992. It was a beautiful building with a marble lobby and an amazing atrium. It could have been a nice hotel, but it wasn’t meant to be, unfortunately.”

Henderson’s is even more historic: it is the place where Harpo Marx made his debut, and first opened in 1899.

In its place, Sitt plans to erect a temporary structure with fast-food joints and games.

But the developer reiterated that he’s ready to build more appropriate attractions on his 5-1/2-acre swath of properties — provided the city chips in, of course.

“We eagerly anticipate the city’s fulfilling its commitment to improve the area’s long-inadequate infrastructure, so we can get to work on building the kind of permanent showpieces that will anchor a 21st-century, year-round Coney Island,” said Friedman.

Save Coney Island had made several last-ditch efforts to save the buildings, producing renderings of a restored bank building as a ballroom and Henderson’s as vibrant music venue.

The preservationists also managed to get an endorsement from New York State declaring that Coney Island qualified for entry in the National Registers of Historic Places, a designation that would encourage the restoration of buildings through tax credits. Unfortunately, the National Register required the support of property owners, so it went nowhere.

Still, Rivero held out hope that the bank building, which is currently surrounded by scaffolding, could be saved before it is nothing but dirt in the ground.

“We’re trying to arrange for some sort of acquisition [of the property],” said Rivero. “There are ways of restoring the buildings and preserving them to be part of the future of Coney Island that would be beneficial to the public and to [Sitt], if he’s willing to entertain the thought,” Rivero said.

[NYguy]

Looks like the City is leaning towards concrete for the entire Coney "boardwalk"...

http://www.observer.com/2010/real-es...g-coney-island

Concretewalk Coming to Coney Island?



By Matt Chaban
October 28, 2010

Coney Island's boardwalk was first built in 1923 as an effort to improve public access to what had largely been private beachfront property. The city laid down hundreds of thousands of wooden planks to create the Reigelman Boardwalk (named for the borough president at the time), and it has been one of the city's most popular attractions ever since.

Now, the Parks Department may pave over decades of history and tradition as it is strongly considering replacing the iconic wooden planks for the three-mile promenade with concrete.

At a community board meeting last night, locals expressed dismay over the decision. "This is an absolute disgrace. Having the boardwalk is a plus for this community—it's historic," Ruby Schultz told The Brooklyn Paper. "And you're going to turn it into a sidewalk?"

The city is considering the move because it is cheaper, easier to maintain and repair (no more rot), and less slippery than a faux-wood alternative considered earlier this year. It will probably also be scalding to the touch, so keep those sandals on.

Still, locals insist the city's neglect of the boardwalk is the real problem, and not only the decades of deferred maintenance but also abuse by city workers.

"The trucks, the police, the heavy vans, they all cause damage" driving on the boardwalk, Bruni Figueroa said at last night's meeting. "And 95 percent of the time, they're just cruising looking at the girls, not even doing their jobs!"

[NYguy]

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...over_plan.html

Coney Island folk rage over plan to put concrete in place of historic boardwalk


Stroller walks from traditional wood to prototype concrete on Boardwalk.

BY Erin Durkin
October 29th 2010

That's no boardwalk. That's a sidewalk.

The iconic 42-block Riegelmann Boardwalk at Coney Island may be headed for a makeover as a concrete-slabbed walkway, city officials said.

Outraged residents hissed and shouted at Parks Department officials who presented a $7.4 million project to rebuild a five-block chunk of the fabled stretch with concrete.

City officials indicated at a local meeting they were thinking about redoing most of the rest of the stretch the same way.

"It is a boardwalk! It is not a sidewalk!" shouted Brighton Beach resident Ida Sanoff at the Community Board 13 meeting Wednesday night. "It looks like crap. ... You're looking for the cheap way out and the easy way out. Not acceptable!"

City officials hope to eventually rehab the whole beatup walkway and are leaning toward using concrete everywhere except the Coney Island amusement area, which already got a wood makeover.

"Certainly if we use it and it's successful, as we expect it would be, we would be proposing it for future projects," Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Kevin Jeffrey told the Daily News after the meeting.

Locals, fiercely protective of the Boardwalk, weren't having it.

"This is a historic, hundred-year-old, world-famous Boardwalk ... and we're going to turn it into a sidewalk which is harmful to people's feet, their joints, their bones?" railed Ruby Schultz, 76, who walks the Boardwalk every day. "This is an absolute disgrace."

For the past year, the city has been testing the concrete slabs against real wood and plastic lumber to see which holds up better by laying the three materials down on different parts of the Boardwalk.

The uproar at the meeting started when a Parks Department official announced the tan-colored textured concrete has won out.

"One, it's certainly more economical. Two, it does not break or rot. Three, it is not slippery. Four, it is easy to repair," Jeffrey said.

The concrete costs $90 a square foot, compared to $114 for plastic lumber and $138 for wood. The project, which would stretch from Brighton 15th St. to Coney Island Ave., would kick off late next year and take at least a year.

Some sided with the city.

"It looks good," said Mark Yanklevich, 73. "People are used to seeing boards on a boardwalk, but from a practical point of view I think this makes sense."

[NYC4Life]

They might as well build a road there too. While Coney Island has been coming back to life over the last few years, this is in no way progress.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by NYC4Life

They might as well build a road there too. While Coney Island has been coming back to life over the last few years, this is in no way progress.

Next thing you know, if they do go through with the concrete walk, Bloomberg will convert half of it to bike lanes.

[NYguy]

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...le__marty.html

Call Boardwalk plan a concrete bungle - MartyBrooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz

BY Ben Chapman
October 30th 2010

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz Friday blasted the city's plan to transform vast sections of the Coney Island Boardwalk into a concrete walkway.

Markowitz also didn't buy a Parks Department argument that the concrete makeover is ecologically friendly.

"We should not hastily turn our legendary Coney Island Boardwalk into just another concrete sidewalk," Markowitz wrote in a letter to Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe. "The last thing we want to do is take away one of the main reasons people come to Coney Island!"

Parks officials unveiled their $7.4 million plan to rebuild a five-block stretch of the Boardwalk in concrete at a Community Board 13 meeting this week - and indicated they were leaning toward redoing most of the the stretch the same way.

The project was met with angry shouts and hisses from residents in attendance.

Parks Department spokeswoman Vickie Karp said that the plan would benefit the environment by complying with the city's policy of reducing the use of tropical hardwoods.

"Coney Island Boardwalk will use wood in historic areas such as the front of the amusement park, and some of the most beautiful designs in concrete in other sections," said Karp.

Markowitz wasn't buying the argument.

"You can find other sustainable hardwoods out there besides tropical hardwoods," he said. "Cement doesn't do it."

___________________________________________________



http://www.yournabe.com/articles/201...10_11_4_bk.txt
Coney does need beachfront dining

By Lou Powsner
October 30, 2010

Coney took a bad turn as overdoses of urban renewal set in on Coney’s streets. It was precipitated by the demolitions of slum areas in eastern Coney, across Ocean Parkway from Brighton Beach, then also suffering a downturn, with many emptied homes. Coney Island took on the brunt of the helpless, who were deemed homeless as their units were demolishedto make way for both Trump Village and Warbasse Houses.

The Trump team found relocations in almost uninhabited Coney bungalows or piled families into once two-family homes now overloaded with Trump area evictees. That is when the Boardwalk took its turn to decay as Coney’s crime increased. The streets took to violence with discontent and disorder created as a result of the death of Martin Luther King — violence Coney shared wuth city’s like Los Angeles and Detroit.

In the cooling period, with many hot towns still smoldering, stimulus was vital to offer hope. Here in Coney, Borough President Abe Stark offered to build a novel ice-skating building at distant West 23rd Street and Surf Avenue, five blocks from the amusement zone, adding additional demolition costs to the city.

We tried to persuade Stark at a sit down to consider a different plan, but he was steadfast in his ways. Driving home, one of our foursome said, “You can’t fight him, he’s the Boro Prez.” But when we got back to our Coney stores, it was my turn to try to put a plan together, relocating this proposed center where it was properly zoned — and replacing the decayed fire-hulk of scorched Ravenhall.

We were able to piece together so many selling points of lower land prices, a location closer to rapid transit, less land-owners to negotiate with and better resort zoning, but we then had to combat the resort spokesperson who defended Stark’s proposal at the hearing.

Eventually the revisions were accepted by the members of the site selection board unanimously and the final vote came in our favor. Stark congenially said, “Aye, I will make it unanimous for our city’s Site Selection board. Very rewarded we later suggested to name it the Abe Stark Arena and Convention Center — Fight when you’re right!

However, the very people who opposed the site, somehow gained political control of its operation and instead of a Boardwalk facing arena, they folded up all the chairs and piled up all the tables that had never been used.

The last time we visited that large dark, ocean fronting massive room, all the tables and chairs were stacked in disuse and the vast arena in the basement served as an infrequently active ice rink. In an area where basketball is a major neighborhood activity, where Coney kids going on to national fame, the center remained dark and unused. The only other activities, since the completion circa 1969, was a Brooklyn Democratic convention and a tribute to the widow Coretta King, where she was honored during her visit to New York. Coney Island gave her a mammoth welcome with a standing-room-only full house.

Yes, oceanfront dinning could be great and the city of New York should make its Park’s Department fill the prescription it prescribed, putting its costly assets to work; finally, after too many years, too many city dollars, and sea gulls and pigeons landing on the isolated roof, perching over that unused large dining room.

[Zerton]

Wow! Aside from the modern clothes and color those look like pictures from the 1930s! Keep going NY, this is going to be among the best amusement parks in the world again.

[NYguy]

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/1...n_the_boot.php

Freak Show Over as Coney Island Businesses Given the Boot



Monday, November 1, 2010, by Joey Arak

The owners of some of the Coney Island boardwalk's seediest and therefore most fantastic businesses have been living in fear ever since they were told to submit new business plans in order to have their leases renewed. Today the decision was handed down by landlord Central Amusement International, and it's a massacre. Among the vendors not being renewed: Shoot The Freak, Ruby's Bar and many more. There's been talk that Central Amusement (a subsidiary of Luna Park operator Zamperla, which won the master lease from the city) wants to bring upscale businesses to the boardwalk. According to City Room, the Beer Island beer garden will be replaced by...a beer garden. Unique!

___________________________________


http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/20.../?ref=nyregion
9 Coney Island Boardwalk Businesses Lose Leases






By CHARLES V. BAGLI
November 1, 2010

Sometimes it seems as if some of Coney Island must die so that the historic amusement district can be saved — even if it means the death of Shoot the Freak.

Early on Monday, the owners of Shoot the Freak, Ruby’s bar, Coney Island Souvenirs, Gyro Corner, Beer Garden and four other boardwalk operators were informed that their leases would not be renewed. And the operator of the Cyclone roller coaster is also leaving Coney Island.

Carol Albert, whose family has run the historic roller coaster since 1975, said she was bowing out of the amusement scene. She said it was likely that Central Amusement International, the company that recently opened Luna Park amusement park next door, would wind up as the new operator.

Central Amusement, a subsidiary of the Italian company Zamperla, won a 10-year lease from the city to open the 3.1-acre amusement park, which had a very successful inaugural season this year.

Ms. Albert, who was forced to sell the adjacent Astroland amusement park to a developer two years ago, said that she could no longer afford to operate the Cyclone under a lease with the city’s parks department. Her fixed costs jumped 600 percent over the past four years, she said, “and something had to be done.”

The boardwalk businesses occupied mostly dilapidated structures on the boardwalk near Stillwell Avenue. Central Amusement plans to spend several million dollars renovating the buildings and addressing building code violations. The company also plans to open a new Scream Zone adjacent to Luna Park with dramatic roller coasters and other thrill rides.

Anthony Berlingeri, who owns Shoot the Freak and Beer Island, is angry that longtime business owners are being expelled. Central Amusement had asked 11 boardwalk business owners, whose leases expired Sunday, to submit proposals for new nine-year leases. Mr. Berlingeri said the company told him it would replace his three-year-old Beer Island, a popular sandy beer garden, with “something similar.”

“This is all coming at the expense of the people who kept the place going through the good and bad times,” Mr. Berlingeri said on Monday. “I made the investment when I started Beer Island. Now they’re throwing me out to take my business over.”

Central Amusement is negotiating with Brooklyn Brewery to open a beer hall on the boardwalk, according to two executives involved in the Coney Island amusement district. A spokesman for Central Amusement declined to confirm the report, saying that no new leases had been signed.

Nathan’s, the hot-dog stand, will be allowed to continue operating in the amusement district, as will Lola Star’s gift shop.

“They might be killing one aspect of Coney that will certainly be missed,” said Dennis Vourderis, whose family runs the landmark Wonder Wheel and a kiddie park. “But I hope they keep some of the flavor of the boardwalk vendors. I’m shocked by the news.”

This month, the parks department plans to solicit bids for a new lease for a Cyclone operator.

“My heart goes out to people who have worked here all their lives,” said Dick Zigun, executive director of Coney Island USA, which runs a sideshow, the annual Mermaid parade and the Coney Island Museum. “But let’s not separate Coney Island from the cruel world of New York real estate politics and the way real estate leases work under capitalism.”

From behind the bar at Ruby’s on Monday morning, Michael Sorrell was commiserating with customers and other business owners. Ruby’s has been a fixture on the boardwalk since 1934 and the pathway nearby is named after the founder, Ruby Jacob. Mr. Sorrell has until Nov. 15 to shut down.

“It’s been in the family a long time,” said Mr. Sorrell, who married into the family. “I understand the developer wants to move ahead with new things. In New York City, there should be room for new things and old things. Apparently, not in Coney Island.”

Central Amusement issued a statement Monday promising to extend its “vision of a resurgent Coney Island” to the boardwalk. The company said it had invested $15 million already in Luna Park, where 19 rides drew 450,000 visitors this summer, and planned to spend millions more on the boardwalk. “We look forward to creating an incredible new experience on the Boardwalk, while continuing to honor Coney Island’s magnificent past,” the company said.

[NYguy]

http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-ne...rching-papers/
Businesses on the Coney Island Boardwalk Receive Their Marching Papers


Proposed image of a future Coney Island.

November 01, 2010
By Kathleen Horan

Many longtime shops, eateries and concessions on the Coney Island Boardwalk will close next season.

They were denied lease renewals by Central Amusement International, the company that controls the boardwalk and operates the new Luna Park amusement area.

Spokesman for CAI, Tom Corsillo, says it plans to invest millions of dollars in a resurgent boardwalk featuring world class entertainment, dining and retail stores.

Specific plans haven’t been released except that CAI is looking to invite tenants who will open a sit down restaurant and a sports bar, which will both operate throughout the year.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/b...Zk68tlnsbgyOAM
Axed Coney faves are 'Freaking' out

By RICH CALDER
November 2, 2010

While they knew their tenure was hanging by a thread, news of the lease rejections yesterday hit many boardwalk business owners hard.

Some accused the city -- which owns the property and leased it out long term -- and Zamperla of forcing gentrification on the amusement district at the expense of giving up Coney Island's famously freaky character.

"I'm devastated," said Melody Sarrel, owner of Ruby's, which opened in 1934. "[Zamperla] wants everything new, but that's not what Coney Island's about -- it's about nostalgia.

"People in the summer love to come in for a drink in their bikinis and bathing suits. It won't be the same when they're told to dress up because it's a 'high-class place.' "

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categor...id=27&id=39181
Coney Vendors Told To Get Out of Town

by Associated Press
11-01-2010

A press release from CAI stated, “The multimillion-dollar program will include some long-time Coney Island favorites as well as the operators of retail facilities at another world-renown beach resort.”

However, those businesses that stay will definitely be in the minority. And those who have to leave will be given only 15 days of pack up, according to news reports.

[NYguy]

http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/brookl...Kpmkb7DthHenXP

Luna Park Operator defends booting Coney boardwalk businesses

By RICH CALDER
November 3, 2010

In the end, the recent decision by the operators of Luna Park to give nine longtime Coney Island boardwalk businesses their walking papers was all about “vision.”

“They didn’t have the vision that we have for the boardwalk,” Valerio Ferrari, president for the park’s operator, Zamperla USA, told the blog Amusing the Zillion. “It’s a business decision.”

Still, much of Coney Island and the rest of the city are still freaking out over the news that Zamperla told the businesses to get out by Nov. 15 -- clearing the way for their new vision of a cleaner, more sanitized amusement district.

Out are beachfront bastions like Ruby's Bar and Grill, Shoot the Freak, Cha Cha's Bar, Gregory & Paul's, Grill House, Coney Island Souvenirs and Gyro Corner, as well as newer concessions like Beer Island and the Pio Pio Riko Peruvian food stand. They were told their leases were not being renewed.

The surviving businesses are a boardwalk satellite of Nathan's Famous, The Beach Shop and the Lola Staar Souvenir Boutique.

Some accused the city -- which owns the property and leased it out long term -- and Zamperla of forcing gentrification on the amusement district at the expense of giving up Coney Island's famously freaky character.

The city referred comment to Zamperla.

Ferrari told Amusing the Zillion that Zamperla’s vision is to revitalize the boardwalk by making it a lively place open 365 days a year.

“But it’s also a matter of investment dollars,” the blog reported. “Luna Park is investing $1.4 million in a new restaurant at the corner of Surf and 10th Street, formerly occupied by Gregory & Paul’s. A boardwalk restaurant/bar hoping to get a lease renewal would have had to make a million dollar investment as well, Ferrari said.

“Where Cha Cha’s is located, there will be a year-round restaurant, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, with upscale food. Ruby’s and the Souvenir Shop will be replaced by a huge sports bar. Ferrari says they have letters of intent from the companies that will bring in the bar and restaurant.”

[Tom In Chicago]

^Wow. . . they're really trying to sanitize this place. . . sad to see some of these places getting the boot. . .

. . .

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Tom In Chicago

^Wow. . . they're really trying to sanitize this place. . . sad to see some of these places getting the boot. . .
. . .

Yeah, it is sad to see these businesses that have been around for so long get the boot. But at the same time, I could see this coming, and I think they probably did too, but just didn't think it would come as soon. As it is now, they have all of two weeks to get out, which in itself is probably a lot to take in, and I hope they can find somewhere in the area to reopen.

I think now the scope of what the city actually intends for Coney Island is starting to sink in, and even this is only the beginning. It's not just dumping in a few rides here and there, then calling it a day. The fact is that Coney Island never should have been allowed to rot away. The improvements of last summer were just a hint of what it can become again. Unfortunately, saying hello to the future sometimes means saying goodbye to the past, and having all of these businesses leave all at once is a lot to take in for some people.


I think this editorial from the Brooklyn Eagle makes these points...

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categor...id=10&id=39214
Vendors: Not the Real Coney Story

by Dennis Holt
11-03-2010

I have lost track of the number of “decisions” that have been made about creating a new Coney Island. There have been dozens of them with the most important yet to come. On Monday 11 more decisions were made public: the keel hauling of 9 of the vendors along the boardwalk. (If plans go through, will we have to call it the cementwalk?)

The coverage in Tuesday’s New York Times was reflective of the emotions that have been vented in the last couple of years about all that has gone on down there.

Most of the coverage about building things in Brooklyn has concerned all the new residential structures, Brooklyn Bridge Park and Atlantic Yards. But probably the most significant building project of all is the almost complete re-making of Coney Island that is on the drawing boards.

All the attention so far is on the amusement park area, which is what most visitors know about — not the surrounding areas. And that focus is proper because that’s what has actually been happening. And the news so far has been largely positive, except for the rude change involving eviction.

New rides and new events in the amusement area drew a lot of attention this summer, and the Coney Island planners must have been heaving sighs of relief. Failure with this element could have been fatal to other plans.

Other than the nine vendors who have been told they are no longer wanted, those upset by the evictions are the longtime residents. Departure of these stores is to them like old friends passing away.

But the photographs that appeared in the New York Times Tuesday do tell a story — graffiti-smeared, aging buildings that don’t look permanent cannot be part of the new Coney Island. These shops always represented what Coney Island had become, not what it should be.

(The 15-day get-out order to those merchants, however, was not called for; there is no reason to kick people when they are down.)

After next summer, with more amusement changes in the works, the second and most ambitious effort will probably begin — the construction of apartment buildings and hotels that will change Coney Island more than all the changes in the amusement area.

If this new plan is actually consummated, it is almost impossible to predict what the impacts will be on this peninsula. All those new people surrounding Surf Avenue will make it most challenging for people living in Sea Gate to get home.

In fact, of all the plans promoted by City Hall, the new Coney Island is the most ambitious and the most problematical.

Some of the buinesses leaving...

esqdan



Tim Schreier



stevesobczuk



Gary Burke




Meanwhile, some of the last remaining old buildings begin to come down on Surf Ave...

Structures:NYC








mat_berlin




There is though, one thing that has and will stay constant in Coney...

Shane Bill

[NYguy]

Fallout continues on the boardwalk...


http://amusingthezillion.com/2010/11...walk-veterans/
Exclusive: Surrender the Premises Letter Sent to Coney Island Boardwalk Veterans

November 4, 2010 by Tricia

On Wednesday afternoon, several owners of mom-and-pop businesses on Coney Island’s Boardwalk met to discuss taking legal action against eviction by Central Amusement International/Luna Park. ATZ obtained a copy of the two-page vacate the premises notice sent to the business owners. We’re told all nine of the booted businesses received the same form letter, down to the generic salutation “Dear Sir or Madam…”

When the business owners received the Fedex envelopes containing the long-awaited letter on Monday morning, they expected to read CAI’s specific response to the business plans which they had prepared and submitted. But the letter doesn’t contain so much as a “We regret to inform you that your business plan was not selected.”

[NYC4Life]

Feel bad for those business owners, but those last photos only proves just how much Coney Island has deteriorated over the years. I'm glad though at the pace of which things are moving foward. A once great amusement area turned into a dumping ground and giant graffiti canvas. Business cannot thrive under those conditions and that is why the change is desperately needed which we have now been seeing for the last year. CI'S glory days have long passed, but a new resurgent CI will once again rise.

[photoLith]

Whenever I think of Coney Island I just cant help thinking about poverty and that movie Requiem for a Dream, it just seems like such a depressing place, but Ive never been there so I wouldnt really know.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by photolitherland

Whenever I think of Coney Island I just cant help thinking about poverty and that movie Requiem for a Dream, it just seems like such a depressing place, but Ive never been there so I wouldnt really know.

I don't know about depressing, but there have been a lot of movies with Coney settings. The thing to know about Coney Island is that it has been downhill as far as an amusement district goes since the last large amusement park closed in the 60's. The area has been economically depressed, but even still it managed to continue on, refusing to die. Sometimes it is all about location, as it probably would have died completely were it no located where it is. One by one, the great roller coasters and amusements either died, burned, or were outright demolished, with the city itself sometimes playing vandal. Visit Coney on a summer day however, and even the barren and empty lots are surrounded by people who stream the boardwalk and take in the ocean.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by NYC4Life

Feel bad for those business owners, but those last photos only proves just how much Coney Island has deteriorated over the years. I'm glad though at the pace of which things are moving foward.

Eventually, there will be a place for boardwalk vendors at the opposite end of the amusement district (west of the parachute drop), but whether or not any of these businesses will survive until then is questionable.




And ironically, in the generic rendering, there is a new Rubys there...