Coney Island "Renaissance"

[muscle1313]

Big Plans For Coney Island?
*
May 26, 2003
By Jesse Serwer

A major announcement about Coney Island is just weeks away, Councilman Domenic Recchia revealed last week.

“In the weeks to come there will be a major announcement of how [the mayor], along with the City Council, plans to bring back Coney Island in such a way never seen before,” Recchia said at the annual Coney Island Beach opening on Wednesday.

The councilman did not elaborate, and repeated calls to his office were not returned. Recchia and Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff are currently in the process of creating a local development corporation for Coney Island.

Recchia’s “announcement” comes on the heels of a plan unveiled earlier this year by the Coney Island-based Astella Development Corporation. After gathering input from community groups, elected *and city officials, local residents and property owners and the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce over several years, the corporation released a plan on its website that includes an indoor sportsplex next to KeySpan Park and a water park and hotel to the east of the amusement park area.

“We wanted to give the city some type of incentive to build these things,” Astella Executive Director Judy Orlando said of the “Coney Island: A Vision Plan.”

Speaking on the Brooklyn cable access show “That’s Brooklyn” earlier this month, Recchia said a Coney Island sportsplex could make New York City more attractive to the Olympic selection committee. The councilman said he would also like to see an indoor pool built.

The sportsplex, as envisioned in the plan, would be an all-purpose arena that could host professional basketball games, amateur and school sports events. The arena would likely be constructed on a platform above the Abe Stark ice rink’s parking lot.

“That makes good sense,” said Orlando. “You could have the arena without taking away from needed parking.”

“This is what we hope to see — now we have to work with the property owners, the city and developers to see what could be implemented and go from there,” Orlando said.

The sportsplex could be the start of a Times Square-like renaissance for Coney Island. Developer Bruce Ratner, who was influential in the revitalization of both downtown Brooklyn and Times Square and whose plan to bring a sportsplex to Coney Island was nixed in the late ’90s in favor of KeySpan Park, still owns property nearby.

An unnamed source said Ratner, who helped bring Disney to Times Square, could be looking once again to attract Disney to Brooklyn’s shores.

The same source said the groundwork for re-development of the entire area is currently being laid down by the city — just look at the renovation of Stillwell Avenue and other area subway stations, the new sand brought in by Army engineers, and even the new, clean bathrooms at Nathan’s.

Astella is currently printing up copies of its plan and hopes to hold a formal announcement and celebration in the near future, saying it wants to market the area and work with the city to implement this.

Coney Island Assemblywoman Adele Cohen said she liked what she saw in the Astella plans but was unsure whether they were feasible amidst the current climate of economic hardship and budget cuts.

“It is hard to say what would be a reality — if anything will come to fruition. There is no money for anything right now,” she said. “But I am delighted to hear about anything that would revitalize Coney Island.”

“A hotel and water park would be just fine - they go along with Coney Island’s mission as a fun place,” Cohen said. “I support anything that would enhance the amusement area, and provide jobs for local residents but the most important thing is to make sure schools have roofs, our people have jobs, and public transportation is affordable.”

http://www.brooklynskyline.com/news_article.asp?c=ne&na=385

[billyblancoNYC]

One can only hope this actually means something.

A huge, modern amusement park addition to the classics, some indoor rides and an indoor/outdoor waterpark, the sportsplex - maybe bring the Nets and Devils over, then they'll actually sell out, some nice new condos. *

CI should be as great as it once was, it's a major asset NYC needs to exploit.

Anyone have any concrete details?

[dbhstockton]

I hope it's not a casino.

[billyblancoNYC]

Why not a casino? *I've been wishing for years that NYC develops casinos. *Here, though, should be amusement and residnetial based. *Now, the Rockways on the other hand.

Or maybe they can build a new island and have a little casino village. More money for NYC, people don't go to Jersey, CT, and Vegas. *It's a win-win all around.

[NYatKNIGHT]

A casino could be on a boat at South Street Seaport.

A water park would be fun at Coney Island, they could use more exhilerating rides.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Back to its roots. Seaside amusement and recreation.
Can't you just picture it?

http://www.pbase.com/image/17451110.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/image/17451034.jpg

[Kris]

I sure can. Moving Beauty.

(Edited by Christian Wieland at 4:19 pm on June 9, 2003)

[billyblancoNYC]

Damn those projects. *Can they not raze them and move the people out. *You could fit a huge amusement/water/sports facility there, maybe with some theaters, stores, bars, etc. *Also, some condos and hotels. *Kinda like a better, more fun Miami!

[Edward]

Coney Island - not quite Disney yet.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/brooklyn/coney_island/images/coney_island_panoramic_24march02.jpg

[Gulcrapek]

^That's where the proposed waterpark would be. It's the only major parcel of undeveloped land within the amusement area.

[billyblancoNYC]

I thought they were planning a wterpark for Randall's Island, though.

[muscle1313]

Join my Coney Island group here and read about the big news that came out today about the Parachute Jump Plans!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coneyisland2/

[TLOZ Link5]

Daily News:

Coney biz catching the wave

By Denis Hamill

Coney Island. ...

No matter how much sand passes through its hourglass, Coney Island never dies. If anything, in the past few years, since KeySpan Cyclones stadium stole the heart of the Poor Man's Paradise, it has been going through a rebirth.

"The Cyclones have been a home run for Coney," says Dennis Vourderis, owner of Deno's WonderWheel Park, adjusting his shades on a rare sunny spring day last week. "A rising tide lifts all boats, so I think business has improved at least a good 10% for everyone since the stadium opened."

During the winter, Vourderis and his partner-brother, Steve, invested a sizable chunk of that profit in the business. In February, 12 cement trucks sloshed into the amusement park through 6 inches of snow and poured a 12,000-square-foot deck. The brothers added metal railings and wooden platforms for the 25 rides, hand-painted the 83-year-old WonderWheel with 150 gallons of paint and installed 400-watt spotlights to ignite the Coney Island night.

"My father always put the money back into the business," Vourderis says, walking out onto the Boardwalk. "He came from Greece, opened a hot dog stand and parlayed that into an American dream by buying this place. So we believe in Coney." He stops on the corner of W. 12th St. to buy a soda from Corner Gyros, next door to Playland. "If I didn't believe in Coney's future, we wouldn't have bought the land for these two places," Vourderis says.

We enter Ruby's saloon - now run by the late Ruby Jacobs' daughter Cindy - a salt-preserved time warp, the last of the great bawdy Boardwalk saloons where faded photos celebrate Coney's storied history.

Cruising the Boardwalk

Afew doors away, Cha Cha's Café, a branch of the terrific Italian coffee and dessert oasis on Mulberry St., is doing brisk business. We stroll farther down the Boardwalk, passing a Nathan's outlet, a clam bar and the $30 million new bathrooms and pavilions that look out onto a pristine beach and the twinkling sea.

New information kiosks announce upcoming events: the Mermaid Parade, Siren Music Festival, free karaoke outside Deno's every Friday night, fireworks every Friday night starting June 27, at 9:30, and, for the first time in 25 years, a July 4 fireworks spectacle.

"Business is hurting right now because we've had a bad spring weatherwise," Vourderis says. "And they're working on the subway station, but we can't complain. We've asked for a new station for 20 years, so when they close it to rebuild, you just can't moan. When it's finished in two years, it'll be a beautiful portal to Coney that'll boost business.

"Meanwhile, people will take the shuttle buses from the subway," he says.

But like the rest of the city, Vourderis says the Coney businesses are paying 25% more in taxes, 12% additional insurance. Add that to a cold, rainy spring, and it's been a tough season.

"But we're optimistic," Vourderis says. "My father always said, 'All you need is a sunny day.'"
We pass the miniature golf, batting cage and go-cart attractions. Steeplechase Pier pulsates with fishermen and strollers.

Then Vourderis points up at two workers toiling in the steel web of the reassembled 250-foot Parachute Jump, Brooklyn's Eiffel Tower, gleaming red against a baby blue sky, the bottom half still sheathed in a white skirt inside of which workers remove the toxic lead paint of old.

This city landmark, which was moved to the Boardwalk after the 1939 World's Fair and closed in the '60s soon after Steeplechase Park, is the buzz of Coney.

"Borough President Marty Markowitz asked me last year if it could be functional again," Vourderis says. "I said, 'Marty, we've sent men to the moon. Of course it can be reopened.' So they're refurbishing. It'll cost up to $5million to make operational again. The Parks Department will own it, and the bids to run it will be open to anyone. I'm definitely going to bid."

Planning ahead

Vourderis looks down on the empty acreage surrounding the towering structure and says that to make it work, the land would have to be raised to Boardwalk level. Then he'd open an old-fashioned beer garden and restaurant, with a raw bar, put in some arcades, souvenir stands and other moneymaking attractions. Plus the ride would probably cost $20 a head.

"We're going to offer a realistic bid, and a plan," Vourderis says. "Bring back the Parachute, add that to the Aquarium, Astroland, WonderWheel Park and Cyclones stadium and a new subway station, and Coney Island will last forever."

Originally published on June 10, 2003

© Copyright New York Daily News

[Kris]

Fortunately, the projects are probably there to stay. They aren't all ugly, but as a backround certainly aren't compatible with Disney's image. So maybe they're precious. Coney Island is a huge opportunity; it doesn't need a providential corporate "benefactor" to revive it in exchange for selling its soul.

[muscle1313]

Mayor to make Coney Island Announcement!!!!

The suspense is killing me.

Brooklyn Skyline - last paragraph

City Councilman Domenic Recchia was glad funding was restored for the
New York Aquarium, which lies in his district. He added that there
will be a announcement made in the next few weeks by the council
speaker and mayor about a major project in Coney Island.

http://www.brooklynskyline.com/news_article.asp?na=446

[billyblancoNYC]

CI development + Olympics + Nets/Devils not selling out in jersey = CI Sportsplx and a BIG boost for CI and NYC. *I can't wait.

[TLOZ Link5]

I was particularly interested in this:

"City Councilman Lew Fidler, leader of the council’s Brooklyn delegation, said the idea that garbage only need to be picked up one day a week or that Brooklyn’s three East River Bridges could be tolled was lunacy.

"Fidler said, of all the advances that have been accomplished in economic development, he is particularly proud that the first Caribbean Trade Center in the United States will be opening in downtown Brooklyn.

"The center will promote and sustain trade and investment between New York, the United States, the Caribbean and the international community."

[Kris]

New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com

Mike: Make Coney a thriller all year

By MICHAEL SAUL
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU
Friday, September 26th, 2003

A plastic bubble over the Wonder Wheel? Heated cars on the Cyclone? A retractable dome for KeySpan Park?

Mayor Bloomberg wants to make Coney Island a year-round attraction - so yesterday, he announced the creation of a 13-member board that will spearhead comprehensive plan and draft an economic development strategy.

"Coney Island's economy really has to be a year-round one to be sustainable," he said as he stood on the famed Boardwalk. "It can't be just tied to the baseball season or to warm weather."

The new Coney Island Development Corp. includes city officials, Brooklyn business and community leaders and real estate executives.

Borough President Marty Markowitz said he envisions a seaside amphitheater for concerts; a world-class paddleball, volleyball and handball complex, and a water adventure park with heated water for the colder months. He also suggested a ferry to transport people from midtown Manhattan to Coney Island.

"Imagine a Boardwalk lined with even more restaurants, clubs and cafes with music, great food and dancing," Markowitz said. "Imagine that it's Saturday night and the only place everyone wants to be is in Coney Island."

An estimated 5.1 million people visit Coney Island by public transportation each year, mostly in the summer. But the rains kept the crowds away this year.

Bloomberg said he hopes the new board is the first step in a widespread revitalization.

"Coney Island holds a special place in New York's identity and history," he said.

[normaldude]

A plastic bubble over the Wonder Wheel? Heated cars on the Cyclone? A retractable dome for KeySpan Park?

Mayor Bloomberg wants to make Coney Island a year-round attraction - so yesterday, he announced the creation of a 13-member board that will spearhead comprehensive plan and draft an economic development strategy.

"Coney Island's economy really has to be a year-round one to be sustainable," he said as he stood on the famed Boardwalk. "It can't be just tied to the baseball season or to warm weather."


Sounds great, but seems aggressive given NYC's current fiscal problems.

Adding a year round amusement park on Coney Island, and casinos in Rockaway, NYC would really become a great one-stop place for tourism. It'll never match Orlando/Disney for amusement parks, and it'll never match Las Vegas for casinos. But it would probably make NYC one of the few cities in the world with everything in one city.. top tier restaurants, shopping, museums, performing arts, nightlife & clubs, a few beaches.. and add year round amusement park and casinos.

[TLOZ Link5]

You have to think several years ahead, dude. New York will be a better place when this fiscal crisis is completely over.

[billyblancoNYC]

Thank you! Major, year-round amusements and casinos (in Rockaway) would make NYC THE place to visit... bar none, for almost everything. Think about the revenues, jobs, etc. that would come as well.

Hey, NYC could at least trump AC for #2!

[Kris]

Gambling In Gotham? Bloomberg In Favor Of Casinos In City

SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2003

Are New Yorkers ready for Blackjack in Brooklyn or Craps in Queens?

On his weekly radio show Saturday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he is in favor of casinos in the city. In response to a caller's question, the mayor said gambling should be legalized throughout the state.

“The state Legislature has not been willing to allow gambling in any place other than on Indian reservations,” Bloomberg said. “That has always quite honestly annoyed me. I don't understand why, if we're going to have gambling, it should be where it helps everybody and not just some small communities.”

The plan faces serious hurdles though. The mayor said he has concerns a casino would take money from the people who could least afford it.

State legislators haven't indicated whether or not they would support the idea.


Copyright © 2003 NY1 News

[billyblancoNYC]

Wouldn't that be amazing...

[muscle1313]

You guys probably know about this stuff a lot more than I do. How long does it usually take between an LDC being announced and actual development being done? Just wondering how long its going to take to get Coney rockin again.

[Kris]

Proposals sought for Coney Island plan

The city’s Economic Development Corp. has issued a request for proposals to complete a strategic development plan for Coney Island.

The EDC is seeking a consultant, or a team of consultants, to come up with a plan to strengthen the existing commercial base, market the area for year-round use and develop vacant property for a variety of uses, including housing.

Joshua Sirefman, chief operating officer of the EDC, says that Mayor Bloomberg is committed to re-establishing Coney Island as a recreational and tourist destination. Proposals are due on Jan. 29.

Copyright 2004, Crain Communications, Inc

[muscle1313]

Next stop: Coney

City picks developer

NOT JUST NETS THE NEW BROOKLYN

By Jotham Sederstrom
The Brooklyn Papers

Lately it's as if Brooklyn
is the "straight guy" to
the city and state's "queer
eye."

Skyscrapers are planned for downtown. A
basketball arena may soon host the Nets in
Prospect Heights. And the city this week took a
major step in restoring Coney Island to its former
seaside glory.
Davis Brody & Bond, a Manhattan-based architectural
firm responsible for sweeping expansion
plans in Bedford-Stuyvesant and at Polytechnic
University, was tapped Tuesday to
submit a large-scale plan to redevelop the home
of the world famous Cyclone roller-coaster, the
Brooklyn Cyclones minor league baseball team,
and the recently renovated Parachute Jump.
The design team also includes the accounting
firm of Ernst & Young.
The recommendation by the Coney Island
Development Corporation capped a breezy selection
process in which 21 prospective design
teams were whittled to one in less than a month.
The selection now moves to the Economic Development
Corporation, which will negotiate a
contractual agreement with the design team, according
to a spokeswoman for the EDC, who
said a master plan could be ready by August.
When completed, the plan will extend to the
area —bounded by Neptune Avenue to the
north, the Atlantic Ocean to the south, Ocean
Parkway to the east, and West 37th Street — the
redevelopment bug that's already infected much
of northern Brooklyn since last year.
The EDC created the 13-member Coney Island
Development Corporation last September
to shepherd a financial plan and design.
"It definitely has to be a public-private endeavor,"
said EDC spokeswoman Janel Patterson,
who said the initial 100-page proposals submitted
by each group didn't outline specific plans.
"The plan will build on existing business space
and look to develop private property. The city, of
course, can't pay for the whole thing, that's the reason
for putting together the whole plan."
It would also be a continuation of new construction
that already includes the $39 million,

publicly financed Keyspan Park, where the
Brooklyn Cyclones play, and the soon-to-be
completed, $240 million Stillwell Avenue train
station, the major subway link from Coney Island
to the rest of the city.
Community Board 13 District Manager
Chuck Reichenthal, a member of the group,
said that nearly all of the 21 proposals included
mention of a boardwalk-side ferry service, likely
at the old Iron Pier behind Keyspan Park
near Stillwell Avenue.
"The dream is thus, to perhaps develop a
ferry plan from Lower Manhattan to Coney Island,"
said Reichenthal. "To me, it's an interesting
concept because very often you have to
take a boat to just about every world-class city.
Think about Venice."
But Brooklyn's "Venice" has 27-story public
housing buildings and more than 27 acres
of vacant property.
Drawing from an existing plan by the
Coney Island-based Astella Development Corporation,
which focuses primarily on entertainment,
Davis Brody & Bond is expected to reveal
a master plan that would swing widely
from residential and commercial development
to amusement and transportation.
Despite Borough President Marty
Markowitz's public enthusiasm over a possible
resurrection of the Parachute Jump as an
amusement park ride, no specifics have surfaced
as to how that 262-foot structure would
be used in the plan. Standing dormant since
1968, Markowitz sparked a $5 million restoration
project for the city landmark, still Coney
Island's tallest structure.
"My dream is to get that Parachute Jump up
and working again," Markowitz said at a press
luncheon at Borough Hall on Wednesday.
Sadly, for many years Coney Island had deteriorated,
but what's happening now gives
every indication that it's coming back."
See CONEY on page 4

CONEY ISLAND
continued from page 1

Davis Brody & Young is
the architectural firm behind
both the glass-sheathed addition
two years ago to the
110-year-old Harvard Club,
on West 44th Street at Fifth
Avenue in Manhattan, and
Medgar Evers College High
School in Crown Heights.
Their vision for Polytechnic
University included the addition
of 20- and eight-story
buildings in Downtown
Brooklyn, one a residential
hall and the other an administrative
building housing a
multipurpose gym.
Max Bond, a lead architect
on the plans, referred press inquiries
to Charles Shorter, an
advisor with Ernst & Young.
At press time, Shorter had not
returned calls seeking comment.
"We were looking for the
best balance between two
kinds of fundamental qualities,"
said Kenneth Adams,
president of the Brooklyn
Chamber of Commerce and a
member of the Coney Island
Development Corporation.
We were looking for a real-

ly strong economic and real
estate plan. But we also
wanted a group that could
bring a world-class, imaginative
design to Coney Island."
Over the next several
months, said Patterson, the 13-
member CIDC will begin
holding public meetings, mostly

in and around Coney Island,
to give residents and business
people a chance to weigh in.
Among the criteria included
in the request for proposals
issued in January was that
the plan spur job growth and
turn the summer destination
into a year-round attraction.

[Kris]

March 7, 2004

CONEY ISLAND

A Bedraggled Flea Market Makes Way for Progress

By ALEX MINDLIN

The trouble all started with Shorty's toilet.

Shorty - his nickname, and the only name by which he is willing to be identified - used to own the largest remaining and least respectable flea market on Surf Avenue, the decaying amusement strip that parallels the Coney Island shoreline.

That market, at Surf Avenue and Eighth Street, has always stood out, even in a neighborhood rich in makeshift architecture. It is a labyrinth of shipping containers, stacked two deep, and rented out to individual tenants. Some of the containers are single-length, and some double; still others, like mine shafts, bend abruptly at right angles and snake into the unlit space in the back of the building. A soft tin roof gives the whole thing a rough cohesion.

On some days, most of the containers have their rolling steel gates half-closed, like heavy-lidded eyes; on others, startlingly, one or two disgorge their contents all over the sidewalk: broken dolls, lamps, pots and pans. Shorty has his own container on the end, with, in token of his status, the only bathroom.

Then, in September, Shorty sold the property. According to the flea market's dozen or so tenants, the buyer, New York-based Seasurf Realty, promptly padlocked Shorty's toilet, shut off the flea market's electricity and served the vendors with eviction notices. The whole thing is now in Brooklyn Civil Court, but Michael Cheatham, the tenants' lawyer, says the best he can do is postpone eviction for a few months.

Even so, Shorty still hangs around the flea market, is friendly with the vendors and seems unrepentant about having sealed their fate. "You can't sell this stuff no more," he said recently, sweeping an arm at the line of containers and the sidewalk trash. "Look at them. This nice area. This touristy. Look at this."

With this, the flea market at 825 Surf Avenue becomes another casualty of Coney Island improvement. The neighborhood finds itself in the middle of one last push for greatness, a surge of political and corporate energy that began in 2000 with the construction of KeySpan Park for the minor-league Brooklyn Cyclones. The movement has gathered force with the rebuilding of the Stillwell Avenue subway station and Key- Span's reclaiming of the gas-soaked brownfields along Coney Island Creek.

Property values are rising; city inspectors are showing up in numbers unseen for decades; something is in the air. "The rehabilitation of the entire amusement district is something that everyone is working for and planning towards," said Chuck Reichenthal, district manager of Community Board 13. "If you've been here a long time, great. But now you've got to go by the book."

Back on Surf Avenue and Eighth, a man named David, who describes himself as a collector, leaned against a car and explained the process by which goods reach vendors. "The homeless find the stuff," he said. "People die, people give it away."

At that moment, one of the homeless scavengers who regularly stop by the market had just dragged in a shopping cart. He was a tall, jumpy guy with a couple of nail clippers on a chain around his neck. Vendors mobbed the cart with the urgency of carrion birds, carrying away a computer monitor, four shoes, some boxes of L'eggs pantyhose and several cans of Slim-Fast.

David eyed the cart. "Everybody benefits," he said. "The homeless pick it up, we buy it, they make a little money. It's recycling, like life and death."

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

[BigMac]

New York Daily News

March 10, 2004

Year-round Coney plan

2 firms tapped to aid strategic development

By BILL FARRELL

Even in its most dire days, Coney Island held its place as a summertime destination. Now that the community has a new minor league ballpark, new housing and new hope, efforts are underway to make Coney a year-round destination.

Last week, that goal moved a step closer to reality when the Coney Island Development Corp. selected the accounting firm of Ernst & Young and the architectural firm of Davis Brody Bond to produce a strategic development plan for the community.

Development corporation President Joshua Sirefman says that with so many positive initiatives underway at Coney Island, the timing is right.

According to Sirefman, the Transit Authority's $235 million reconstruction of the Stillwell Ave. station, the soon-to-be-released $45 million master plan development for the future of the Coney Island Aquarium and the success of the Cyclones baseball team are all providing momentum for development.

Unlike past plans and ideas for Coney Island, Sirefman and others insist that this time there is a real commitment to Coney's future.

Ernst & Young and the Davis group are no strangers to development. Charles Shorter, who heads the Ernst & Young team, played a major role in the redevelopment of Penn Station, the Apollo Theatre and waterfront development along the Hudson River in New York and New Jersey.

Davis Brody Bond's recent projects include the Fulton St. Redevelopment Plan in downtown Brooklyn, as well as the expansion of Lincoln Center.

The goal now is for the team to provide a plan that will result in jobs, housing, commercial growth and the revitalization of the amusement district.

"The plan is going to have to be holistic in its approach to any development. The priorities must be the creation of jobs by making this a year-round destination," said Judy Orlando, executive director of Coney Island-based Astella Development Corp. and a member of the Coney Island Development Corp.

During the past decade Astella has helped create more than 1,000 new units of affordable housing in Coney Island. Last June, Astella released a study outlining a vision for its future, with a focus on the amusement area.

"Obviously the work of Ernst & Young and DB&B would take in a much wider scope," Orlando said.

Community Board 13 district manager Chuck Reichenthal, another member of the Coney Island Development Corp., said the Astella study can be a very helpful tool to the new planning team.

"The Astella report will make for an excellent jump-off point. But there is a lot of work to be done," Reichenthal said.

Everyone is eager to get started.

The development corporation will meet tomorrow at Coney Island Hospital starting at 6 p.m. The first portion of the session is open to the public.

Copyright 2004 Daily News, L.P.

[Clarknt67]

Ferry service would be a good idea. Transportation is a major roadblock to NYCers going to CI for entertainment. I live in Brooklyn Heights and I might as well be in Hawaii for as likely as I am to lure a Manhattanite to my hood. And the 2/3 can get me to 7th & 14th in 20 minutes.

And CI takes an HOUR by subway from my place!

Of course now some of the orange/yellow trains run express to CI, so I'll see this summer if commute times are better. I take the cyclone every summer, but am always amazed how long it takes to get there.

[Kris]

Reviving Coney Island? (http://www.gothamgazette.com/community/47/majorissues/94)

[BigMac]

New York Newsday
April 12, 2004

Looking to a new seaside attraction

Consultants have been hired to bring music and laughter back to the oceanfront destination that has seen its full share of revitalization plans

BY ROSE FRENCH

Slide Show: Coney Island (http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/brooklyn/nyc-coneygal0412,0,7277046.photogallery?coll=nyc-swapbox-homepage)

On a recent chilly afternoon, the silence on the Coney Island boardwalk was punctuated by the calls of a few scattered seagulls and the hushed conversations of strolling couples.

Beyond the silence is a memory of the sounds of a Coney Island summer, a time when it was hard to hear the birds over carnival music, children's laughter and roller coaster-induced shrieks.

New York City wants that music, noise and laughter to continue all year round.

City economic development officials recently hired consultants to devise a plan to inject new verve into Coney Island.

The plan won't be completed for another six months, but suggestions being discussed include building a covered water park, creating a marine-themed spa, opening a convention center, or even reviving the idea of the Elephant Hotel, an actual hotel shaped like an elephant that existed on Coney Island more than 100 years ago.

The city hopes to turn the trash-strewn lots, souvenir shops and greasy-spoon eateries that dot the iconic waterfront into a destination that attracts visitors throughout the year. It hopes to keep alive the neighborhood that was the birthplace of both the hot dog on a bun and the 77-year-old Cyclone roller coaster.

The Coney Island Development Corp. has selected Ernst & Young and the architectural design firm Davis Brody Bond. They've been given a $200,000 budget and asked to come up with a plan, including a real estate development analysis, for the area bordered by 18th Street on the east, 37th Street on the west, Neptune Avenue on the north and the water on the south.

"A lot of businesses out here are not making it," said Maria Gonzalez, manager of the 10-year-old Maria's Cuchifrito restaurant on Mermaid Avenue, who worries about businesses dying off. Two of her restaurant's neighbors, a Chinese eatery and a clothing shop, recently closed, she said.

"We don't have a lot of customers" in the winter, she said. "If we were year-round, business would do better, I think. What we make in the winter, we make double in the summer."

Officials say they plan to have the proposals completed in six months.

"The plan is not something I see collecting dust on a shelf," said Josh Sirefman, president of the Coney Island Development Corp., a 13-member board of city officials, Brooklyn business leaders and real estate executives. "We're going to try to build on what's there, the aquarium, a number of amusement business and destinations now, KeySpan Park." The new proposals follow a July 2003 plan commissioned by the nonprofit Coney Island-based Astella Development Corp., which included a ferry terminal to Manhattan, a water park and a hotel.

But Coney Island has been the subject of many plans since it first became a seaside destination in the early 1800s. Even the Astella plan said that a history of failed proposals "provide[s] little optimism that successful cooperation among the owners will occur to produce a viable large-scale amusement project." The Astella plan urges the city to buy much of the property.

Private sector interest?

"I think we have to wait to see what the [new] study brings," said Judi Orlando, executive director of the Astella agency and a board member of the Coney Island Development Corp. "If there are enough incentives, I think the private sector will be interested in this."

Getting property owners, however, to either sell or develop their property likely will prove to be the city's biggest challenge to rejuvenating the 30 or so trash-filled vacant lots.

Orlando said she believed property owners would work with the city if it offered attractive tax and other incentives. The city owns some of the vacant lots, while the majority are privately held.

Charles Denson, 50, a Coney Island native and author of "Coney Island: Lost and Found," said that in the past, New York City has used the power of eminent domain for "public use" to acquire land there - to rather devastating effect - and could do that again.

In fact, private investment in Coney Island collapsed after World War II when city Parks Commissioner Robert Moses declared the area a candidate for urban renewal. He built public housing high-rises which stand in sharp contrast to the bright oranges, blues and reds of the Wonder Wheel and other amusement rides.

"The housing projects have kept a lot of developers away," Denson said.

"Nobody was going to invest when they thought he [Moses] was going to take the land for eminent domain," he said. "Moses broke the cycle of private investment."

Sirefman said he believes landowners will work with the city. "There's a number of landowners and developers who have reached out to us and expressed enthusiasm for the planning process," he said.

Peter Agrapides, owner of Williams Candy, next to Nathan's Famous hot dogs, the original, off Surf Avenue, said he has seen an upswing in business since the 2001 arrival of the minor-league Brooklyn Cyclones and the team's $39-million KeySpan Park on the eastern border of the redevelopment zone.

Baseball a big help

Heralded by public officials as an economic boost, the stadium has helped some businesses, but not everyone, said Agrapides, whose business near the stadium is one of the few that stays open year-round.

During the slower winter months, he says he survives on his wholesale accounts and some sales from individual customers, who spill over from Nathan's.

"Before the baseball field, we were struggling," Agrapides said. "Now retail sales have improved 20 percent."

Besides the stadium, public officials point to other economic improvements, such as the $240-million reconstruction of the New York City Transit Stillwell Avenue subway station, projected to reopen around Memorial Day. The New York Aquarium is also planning $45million in improvements. Officials also say that if New York City is selected for the 2012 Olympic Games, Coney Island would benefit economically as the primary spectator location for sailing contests.

Chuck Reichenthal, district manager for Community Board 13, said despite heavy rains last summer, Coney Island had a record-breaking 1.5 million visitors for July 4.

"That's a beautiful number, and we only had one transit terminal running," Reichenthal said. "At least this summer we'll have three lines running in. So Coney Island has not been forgotten."

But to re-establish Coney Island as New York's pre-eminent oceanfront playground and make it a year-round draw, planners need to think big and dramatic, Denson said.

"I think you need to put something really fantastic there," Denson said. "I think if they did something like the famous elephant hotel, which was shaped like an elephant, something unique, hearkening back to the past. I think that would do a lot to bring it back. The elephant hotel is what started Coney Island's reputation for the unusual. I don't think retail would be good. Putting a mall or a big box there doesn't take advantage of the site," he added.

The Astella plan calls for a hotel, to be built over the aquarium's existing parking area, that would include restaurants, banquet facilities, meeting rooms and a spa.

The plan also proposes a water park on the vacant land west of Stillwell Avenue and east of KeySpan Park; it would have a lightweight filament roof to help extend its use after the summer season.

"We're very committed to making sure there's a lot of public input," said Sirefman of the Coney Island Development Corp. "Coney Island is this great resource for all of the city. It has been before, and it should be again."

Copyright 2004 Newsday, Inc.

[Kris]

August 1, 2004

A Carnival in Suspended Animation

By LYDIA POLGREEN

Slide Show: Coney Island Still Waiting for a Rebirth (http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2004/07/31/nyregion/20040801_CONEY_SLIDESHOW_1.html)

It was the bottom of the ninth of a scoreless game under a canopy of threatening black clouds, but the thousands of fans who had traveled from throughout New York City to Coney Island to watch the Brooklyn Cyclones play the Williamsport Crosscutters did not seem to mind. The 7,500-seat stadium was about three-quarters full, and when outfielder Ambiorix Concepcion sneaked in a run, stealing two bases and making it home on a wild pitch, the crowd erupted.

When the game was over, most fans filed to their cars, in a vast parking lot west of the stadium, though some stopped at Nathan's for a hot dog on the way to the subway.

"People come here for the ballgame, and then they leave," said Heshy Wiederman, who lives in Seagate, a gated community at the western end of Coney Island. "It's like Yankee Stadium. You go to a game, and then you go home."

From a sports perspective, the Cyclones are clearly a huge success. By the middle of this season, its fourth, the team had sold a million tickets, making it one of the most successful teams in minor league baseball. And psychologically, the stadium has given a flagging neighborhood a big boost, prompting talk of a Coney Island revival and drawing thousands of new visitors who not long ago might have written off the fabled resort as a crime-ridden, filthy place, which for many years it was.

"This was one of the biggest July Fourths we have seen in a long time" said Carol Hill-Albert, who along with her husband owns Astroland, one of two amusement parks that are the legacy of the 1920's and 30's, when such parks dominated the peninsula and thrilled 15 million visitors a season. "The Boardwalk was literally jammed, you could barely walk on it. Something is changing, something is happening. There is an excitement I haven't seen in a long time."

But from an economic development point of view, the return on the city's $39 million investment in the Cyclones is less clear. When the stadium was being built, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani predicted that the team would "serve as a catalyst to the revitalization of Coney Island, much as Disney's investment on 42nd Street helped turn Times Square around."

That has not happened. The Cyclones have given the existing amusements at Coney Island a leg up - the number of riders on the Cyclone roller coaster shoots up by about 30 percent after a win by the Cyclones, but by only about 15 percent when they lose, Ms. Hill-Albert said, and the hot-dog lines at Nathan's can be daunting.

But one look at the empty buildings and vacant lots along Surf Avenue reveals that the stadium has yet to spark a wholesale revitalization of Coney Island or to create a significant number of jobs.

Indeed, much of Coney Island, the ragged thumb to Brooklyn's patchwork mitten for half a century, remains in the same state of suspended animation it has been stuck in since the 1970's, when the bottom dropped so far that part of Coney Island's bombed-out streetscape became a set for "The Warriors,'' a violent film tale of a bloodthirsty New York street gang ruling ruthlessly over an urban wasteland. Those days are long gone - crime is down more than 70 percent from a decade ago, a drop mirrored throughout the city. But the barren streetscape remains, owing at least in part to a handful of property owners who have held vacant land and buildings in the neighborhood for decades.

"There are a lot of obstacles to development in Coney Island," said Charles Denson, whose book, "Coney Island: Lost and Found,'' chronicles the rise, fall and nascent rebirth of the neighborhood where he grew up. "There is a lot of unused land, but it is very tightly controlled by a few property owners, some of whom are rational and others who are not. Some have good intentions and others are just waiting for a big payday."

Peter Agrapides, the 68-year-old owner of Pete's Clam Stop, a local institution, gestured at the empty Shore Theater opposite his store, part of a row of derelict structures on the north side of Surf Avenue. "They have been empty for many, many years," he said. "I hope I'll live long enough to see it all rebuilt again like it used to be." In the old days, Kister's Carousel whirled, the towers of Luna Park glittered, and mile-long roller coasters climbed to the heavens, a spectacle that prompted one visitor to write in 1904, "Verily this is Dreamland, and one rubs one's eyes and pinches one's arm to see if one be really awake."

Public investment has flooded the neighborhood. The grim portal that was the Stillwell Avenue subway terminal will become, when it is completed next year, one of the grandest subway stations in the city, with a price tag of about a quarter-billion dollars. It will be the first major new building on the north side of Surf Avenue, giving the street a much needed face-lift. The Boardwalk has new bathrooms from the Parks Department, and the New York Aquarium is working on an expansion with a shark exhibit.

But private investment in the neighborhood has been harder to come by. Despite whispers that Disney is looking at one vacant lot, or that a hotel might rise on another, no shovels are close to hitting the dirt.

"We read in the newspaper that Coney Island has a big future," said Vladimir Zats, who has been selling antiques and bric-a-brac on Surf Avenue for more then 20 years and hears each new plan to revitalize Coney Island with a little more skepticism. "But it isn't here yet."

In September 2003, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg formed the Coney Island Development Corporation, to spark ideas and attract investment to the neighborhood, and he put one of the city's top economic development officials at its helm. The corporation is now meeting with residents, businesses and community groups to come up with a master plan for the neighborhood.

It is not the first time city officials have set their sights on remaking this corner of Brooklyn. In the 1930's, New York's controversial master builder, Robert Moses, who hated Coney Island's honky-tonk atmosphere, set his sights on making it more like his beloved Jones Beach, a tranquil resort on Long Island that he had completed the decade before. He tore down ornate restaurants and bathhouses to make room for more beach, and over the next two decades the city rezoned much of the vast amusement district for low-income housing and erected glowering towers of drab brick that still dominate. With few jobs to support the huge influx of poor people, the neighborhood that had once amused millions quickly descended into despair, becoming a place of violent drug gangs and prostitution.

This time the city hopes to get it right. It has hired a battery of consultants to develop a master plan that they hope will transform a still seedy, seasonal destination that relies on nostalgia to draw visitors to a small set of attractions, into a shining year-round entertainment mecca.

"Coney Island is an extraordinary resource that frankly can be doing much more than it is," said Joshua Sirefman, chairman of the development corporation and chief operating officer of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. "We are trying to figure out what the right kind of development is, how to increase economic activity and make it a year-round destination by enhancing what's there and making a place that can both serve as regional attraction but also work well with the neighborhood around it."

The corporation hopes to build on the baseball stadium's popularity and find ways to link it to the slow but steady revival already taking place here - among the hordes of magenta-haired hipsters who came for a recent alternative rock festival, dozens of sets of twins who came for what was billed as the world's largest gathering of twins, and thousands of families from across the city wanting to taste a little bit of that old carnival magic.

For these visitors, Coney Island has slowly become what it once was - a wonderland by the sea, just a subway ride from the stifling heat of the city, packed with whimsy that can be found nowhere else but on this oddball peninsula.

"To me, Coney Island is magical," said Roman Macia, a preschool teacher from Dallas who rode the subway from the Upper West Side to eat a Nathan's hot dog and stroll on the Boardwalk on a drizzly Tuesday afternoon. When he was a little boy growing up in Camaguey, Cuba, he said, his grandmother would regale him with tales of visiting the Boardwalk in the 1930's. He never forgot the stories, and comes back whenever he can. "I always come here when I am in New York, no matter what."

Some people credit the Cyclones for putting for Coney Island back on the map. But many in the neighborhood say that other factors also played a role, including the drastic drop in crime and the overall improvement in the economy, which gave the working-class families that are the mainstay of Coney Island's amusement industry the cash to spend on a day at the beach and on the Boardwalk.

"I'm glad that they are here because they forced the city to pay attention to Coney Island," said Dick Zigun, artistic director of Coney Island USA, a nonprofit arts group that runs Sideshows by the Seashore and a museum and organizes the annual Mermaid Parade. "With their short season, they draw about 300,000 people, which is hardly a drop in the bucket. We get that many people in a day at the Mermaid Parade.''

And Coney Island's rebirth will have to contend with the social ills that cling to its seashore. Public housing still dominates the neighborhood and crime has not disappeared entirely. Last month, a notorious drug dealer was gunned down at the corner of Mermaid Avenue and 24th Street. Standing at the desolate corner near a street tribute to the dealer, who was known as Dada, Verzon Fonville, a 35-year-old former drug dealer and felon turned community activist, said change had come slowly to the western, most populated end of Coney Island.

"They talk about rebuilding, but west of Stillwell it is a very different story," Mr. Fonville said, gesturing at the knots of teenagers congregated on Mermaid Avenue's litter-strewn corners. "The kids around here have nowhere to go. There are no jobs for the people who live here. The revival hasn't gotten here yet."

Still, longtime Coney Island residents and business people say the neighborhood's current upswing differs from the nostalgia-fueled hope that opens each sunshiny season, only to be dashed when Labor Day rolls around and the receipts are counted.

"Right now there is a lot of optimism," said Judi Orlando, director of Astella Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization that has built low cost single-family houses in Coney Island for 25 years. "People believe that this could be it, the moment they have been waiting for."

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

[muscle1313]

Went to the CIDC meeting last week. Lots of great ideas but very little focus. I think a ferry from Manhattan to Coney's aquarium is in the works. They would like to make Surf Avenue like Times Square with big billboards. They are definitely looking beyond just summer season looking to make Coney year round. You guys should join us at the meetings. Plan should be out sometime in the fall.

[NewYorkYankee]

Went to the CIDC meeting last week. Lots of great ideas but very little focus. I think a ferry from Manhattan to Coney's aquarium is in the works. They would like to make Surf Avenue like Times Square with big billboards. They are definitely looking beyond just summer season looking to make Coney year round. You guys should join us at the meetings. Plan should be out sometime in the fall.

I actually like the idea of it becoming like times square...that would bring a big surge to the area! Sounds good! :D

[krulltime]

Coney Island tracks success to trains
After abysmal 2003, crowds are flocking through reopened Stillwell Ave. station


By Anita Jain
Published on August 02, 2004

It's Friday, it's summer, and by all accounts, hungry customers should be shoving each other to place orders at the counter of Gyro Corner, one of Coney Island's most popular food stands.

Instead, it's raining, there are no customers and manager Mike Leledakas is contemplating shutting down for the day. "I'll wait a couple of hours until it really starts coming down," he says, squinting into the mid-morning drizzle. "Last year, the weather was like this all the time."

Thankfully, the rainy day is unusual for what has been a generally sunny summer. For Coney Island's amusement park owners and concession-stand operators, food sales and receipts have been up as much as 50% across the board. The rain is an unwelcome reminder of last summer, when wet weather and a shutdown in subway service kept the crowds at home.

"We took two strikes, one from the weather and one from the trains," says Dennis Vourderis, co-owner of Deno's Wonder Wheel, one of the two major amusement parks on the boardwalk.


MTA keeps its word

Coney Island's business operators cheered when the Metropolitan Transportation Authority kept its word and reopened the Stillwell Avenue subway station--a few minutes' walk from the beach--in late May, after it had been under renovations for nearly two years. "That's what we've been missing for the last year and a half," says Mr. Vourderis.

Last summer, beachgoing subway riders had to take shuttle buses from other stations to get to Coney Island. The situation wasn't ideal, and people usually came late or left early because of the uncertainty regarding the buses. "From 10:00 to 2:00, no one would be here," says Mr. Vourderis. "Now they're banging down my doors to open in the morning."

The poor 2003 season caused a gap in the renaissance of Coney Island, which began to fall into disrepair after its heyday in the 1930s. Its comeback began in the 1990s, after a cleanup and restoration, and accelerated with the rebuilt boardwalk.

Stanley Fox, head of the transportation committee at the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce, estimates that 75% of people traveling to Coney Island arrive through the Stillwell Avenue station or the adjacent West 8th Street station, which was also closed last summer.

The $280 million renovation of the Stillwell Avenue station overhauled what is believed to be the world's largest subway station, where three of New York City's major subway lines terminate. The airy, European-style station now features a 400-foot glass-block mural bearing carnival and beach-related etchings, such as a turtle and a hot dog.


All-time highs

Michael Finley, who manages three carnival games--a mechanized horse race and two water races--attributes this summer's 40% increase in his business to the reopening of the Stillwell Avenue station. "The only thing that I can see is the trains being brought back," he says.

This summer, the dual blessing of sunshine and running trains drove traffic to all-time highs on the Fourth of July weekend and for the Siren Music Festival, a one-day event sponsored by the Village Voice in mid-July. Mr. Fox estimates that 1.1 million people came that day, compared with half of that last year.

Carol Albert, co-owner of Astroland, home of the famous Cyclone roller coaster, says she saw record crowds of as many as 60,000 during the July Fourth weekend.

Any summer weekend makes up a huge chunk of annual income for Coney Island businesses, which is why 2003 was such a disappointment. Last August's blackout wiped out one weekend. "This is a strictly seasonal business," says Ms. Albert. "All of it is in a 12-week season."

At Gyro Corner, Mr. Leledakas is generally finding lots of takers for his lamb gyros, corn dogs, Italian sausages and cotton candy. "Business is much better," he says.


Copyright 2004, Crain Communications, Inc

[NewYorkYankee]

I was there in July, and the baordwalk,beach,pier, and amusement park were crowded, and you shouldve seen the people pouring off the trains as we walked into Stillwell Ave. station... I didnt know it was going to be the worlds largest... I thought Times Sq. maybe? with all the corridors to every train imaginable it seemed huge! I bet it would be eerie at say 3 a.m.!! :lol:

[Gulcrapek]

World's largest outdoor, I think.

[Kris]

Largest terminal.

[BrooklynRider]

And happily, the size didn't force them to skimp on design. It is beautiful!

[tmg]

It's apparently the largest rapid transit terminal in the world
http://www.archpaper.com/feature_articles/the_ultimate_ride.html
(Many intercity rail terminals are much bigger, of course, especially GCT)

[krulltime]

Gray Line to launch Coney Island tour


by Lisa Fickenscher
August 10, 2004

Gray Line, the bus operator, is launching a tour package to Coney Island this weekend, its second foray into Brooklyn.

Last year, Gray Line began a hop-on-and-hop-off trolley tour in Brooklyn, but it didn't go as far out into the borough as Coney Island. The new offering will depart each Saturday and Sunday from Manhattan at 9:30 a.m. and return at 5:00 p.m. It will run until Oct. 31, when the amusement park, Astroland, closes for the winter.

Gray Line's marketing manager, David Chien, says the company is considering similar tours to Queens and the Bronx.

The price of the tour, $52 for adults and $39 for children, includes free rides in Astroland and admission to the New York Aquarium.


Copyright 2004, Crain Communications, Inc

[muscle1313]

Mayor: Coney Sportsplex
alive despite Olympic snub


By Jotham Sederstrom
The Brooklyn Papers
City officials say that a recent
reshuffling of Olympics venues
for the 2012 Summer Games
will not jeopardize plans for a
proposed amateur athletics facility
in Coney Island.
Aspokeswoman for Mayor Michael
Bloomberg insisted Thursday that despite
a revised Olympics bid that shifts
indoor volleyball from the proposed
Coney Island Sportsplex to the Continental
Airlines arena in New Jersey, an
amateur facility is still on the table.
Plans to convert the Park Slope
Armory into an athletic center and
those by developer Bruce Ratner to

in Downtown Brooklyn would not
threaten the proposal either, said Jennifer
Falk, the spokeswoman.
"It is unreasonable to expect a
10,000-seat arena to be built at the
same time as plans are already underway
build a professional basketball arena

in
Downtown Brooklyn," said Falk. "In
place of the Sportsplex, the administration
has committed to developing a
plan for a multi-use sports facility for
the youth and residents of Coney Island
much like the project announced
for the renovated Park Slope Armory."
But members of the Brooklyn
See CONEY on page 4

Sports Foundation, chief
boosters of the Coney Island
Sportsplex, say that its future
would not be known until October,
when the Coney Island Development
Corporation expects
to release a draft of its redevelopment
plan.
"Now the idea is really to
wait for the results of the Coney
Island Development Corporation
to see if planners believe a
venue for amateur sports and
events should be part of the redevelopment
of Coney Island,"
said Kenneth Adams, president
of the Brooklyn Chamber of
Commerce and the Brooklyn
Sports Foundation.
"But I wouldn't call it Sportsplex.
We don't even know
what to call it anymore."
Among the most provocative
of alternatives to the arena are
plans to build an "extreme
sports" facility, say members of
the development corporation.
The idea was advanced by consultants
with Davis Brody Bond
and Ernst & Young, the team selected
in March to devise a strategy
for a new Coney Island.
Chuck Reichenthal, district
manager of Community Board
13, said the idea was batted
around but few details were discussed,
only that it could be
built on the city-owned land on
Surf Avenue between West 19th
and West 20th street originally
reserved for the Sportsplex.
What extreme sports would
be, I don't know," said Reichenthal.
Judi Orlando, executive director
of the Astella Development
Corporation and a member
of the CIDC, said that the
idea would fit nicely with the
character of Coney Island, now
home to extreme eating competitions
and arguably one of the
world's first extreme sports ride
— the parachute jump.
"It's been discussed," said
Orlando of the extreme sports
plans, which could include anything
from a climbing wall to a
skateboard park. "It's taking the
Sportsplex and trying to modernize
it. Everything has to be
extreme: Extreme eating, extreme
sports, the ultimate sports
thing and now skateboard parks
are all big right now."
The 12,000-seat amateur
Sportsplex had originated with
hopes that it would serve high

school and college athletes. The
$70 million project, which was
first promoted by then-Borough
President Howard Golden in
1987, was slated to include a
NCAA-regulation basketball
court surrounded by a 200-meter,
eight-lane track.
But plans for the arena collapsed
under the weight of former
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's
interest in bringing professional
baseball to Brooklyn. Giuliani
pushed forward the plan to
build Keyspan Park, home to
the Brooklyn Cyclones.
Both the city and state secured
$30 million for Sportsplex
and Golden added $7 million
from his budget, which as
of April was still on the table,
according to a spokesman for
Markowitz.
Still, some believe that the
Olympics snub will be costly
for Coney, which has been reinvigorated
thanks to Keyspan
Park and the new Stillwell Avenue
train station. Coney Island
Councilman Domenic Recchia,
for one, said that an Olympics
venue on the Island would draw
tourists.
"It would help the economy
and the amusement industry
and it would bring tourists,"
said Recchia, who sent a letter
to Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff
this week panning the decision
to omit the neighborhood
from the Olympic bid. "I can
guarantee they would all go to
Coney Island and the economic
impact would be amazing."
Jennifer Falk, the mayoral
spokesman, contends that Reccia
had been privy to the revised
plans. "It's disingenuous
for the councilman to allege
that he was unaware of these
plans or of the changes to the
bid," she said.
Beside the "extreme sports"
alternative, the 13-member
CIDC has been discussing
plans for a ferry on Coney Island
that would sail to Lower
Manhattan and a new hotel
overlooking the ocean, the first
since the 72-year-old Half
Moon Hotel was closed three
years ago.
Reichenthal said that another
hope is to extend the amusement
area to the edge of Sea
Gate on 37th Street and reimagine
it as a 365-days-a-year
destination.
"People have been expressing
their viewpoints, their hopes
and their concerns," said Reichenthal.
"It's all been taken
down, it's gone back and forth
and, well, I guess we're about
to see what happens."

[muscle1313]

Marbury to lead Coney charge
Knick star to invest in old `hood


By Jotham Sederstrom
The Brooklyn Papers

Sources say a proposal to build an amateur athletics facility in
Coney Island will be partially funded by one of the area's native
sons, Knicks point-guard Stephon Marbury.

Councilman Domenic Recchia, who represents Coney Island, said that
he, Council Speaker Gifford Miller, the Stephon Marbury Foundation
and the Bloomberg administration are in talks for what Recchia called
a "rec center" in Coney Island.

"Everyone's in Athens right now and so when they get back we'll
continue talking," said Recchia, referring to Mayor Michael Bloomberg
and Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, who are in Greece to promote their
efforts to host the 2012 Olympics, and Marbury, who is on the U.S.
men's basketball team.

"Because of the Olympics, everything got pushed back a little bit,"
he added.

Asked when he last spoke to Marbury, the councilman said, "I talk to
Stephon all the time. I talked to him last week."

Sheryl Robertson, a friend of the Marbury family and director of the
South Brooklyn Youth Consortium, confirmed that the three-time All-
Star had expressed interest in sponsoring the project, which is back
on the drawing board, albeit on a smaller scale than envisioned a
decade ago, following a commitment from the mayor.

The project would likely be built after construction on a proposed
professional basketball arena in Downtown Brooklyn is completed.

"I heard about it three months ago," said Robertson, who is also a
member of the Coney Island Development Corporation, which will unveil
plans in October for the future redevelopment of the neighborhood,
which over the past two decades has suffered a sharp decline, but has
recently seen a summer upsurge with the constuction of Keyspan Park
for the Brooklyn Cyclones baseball team.

Assemblywoman Adele Cohen, who represents Coney Island, said
philanthropy is nothing new for Marbury, 27, who starred at Lincoln
High School in Coney Island before being drafted by the Minnesota
Timberwolves in 1996.

Cohen said that about four years ago, Marbury teamed up with the Rev.
Eric Miller to aid in repairing the Beulah Church of Christ on
Mermaid Avenue.

"He's been very generous not only with our church, but with all the
churches in Coney Island," Miller said this week.
In 2001, said Cohen, she and the ballplayer contributed to a
basketball league for kids run by one of Marbury's brothers on
Mermaid Avenue.

"It shows his roots," Cohen said of his work in the Coney Island
community.

Marbury grew up in the Surfside Gardens housing project on West 31st
Street at Mermaid Avenue. This past season he was traded to the
Knicks, injecting some life into the otherwise listless team down the
stretch and playing near home for the first time since he was traded
by the New Jersey Nets for Jason Kidd three years ago. He led the
Knicks in scoring.

Because few details have been revealed about the planned amateur
athletics facility, which replaces larger plan once called
Sportsplex, it is unclear how much money the 6-foot-2 athlete will
invest. Also unclear is how many private investors may be involved.

Jennifer Falk, a spokeswoman for Bloomberg, would not confirm whether
Marbury or other investors were involved in the plan, but said that
the facility would be partially funded from a portion of the money
once earmarked for Sportsplex.

Before plans for that facility were dashed, the city and state had
secured $30 million each for the project and then-Borough President
Howard Golden added $7 million from his budget. Earlier this year, a
spokeswoman for Borough President Marty Markowitz confirmed that the
money was still on the table.

"I can confirm that any alternate proposal would include partial
funding from the previously proposed Sportsplex," said Falk.
Until its demise, the plan for a 12,000-seat amateur Sportsplex rose
and fell on the fortunes of other development projects and at the
whims of political fancy.

First boosted by Golden in 1987, the facility was to include an NCAA-
regulation basketball court and a 200-meter, eight-lane running
track.

But chances that the arena would see the light of day diminished with
former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's piqued interest in bringing
professional baseball to Brooklyn, and his feud with Golden over
which project should be a priority. When Keyspan Park was finally
built in 2001, many believed plans for the amateur facility had
finally been dashed.

But the plan was granted a second life when organizers for the city's
2012 Olympics bid included it as a venue in their original proposal.
Earlier this month, however, indoor volleyball, which was slated to
be held in Coney Island, was shifted to Continental Airlines Arena in
New Jersey. Gymnastics were shifted to the arena developer Bruce
Ratner wants to build for his recently purchased Nets.
Many close to the plans believe an alternative project will serve the
area all the same.

"It's clear that the administration realizes that there's still a
need for sports and recreation for young people in Coney Island,"
said Kenneth Adams, president of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and
the Brooklyn Sports Foundation, which formulated the original
Sportsplex plan.

"It's not about Sportsplex anymore, or dog-eared architectural
plans," said Adams. "It's about meeting the needs of a year-round
sports and recreational facility."

[billyblancoNYC]

I am all about making CI a mecca again, but a rec center doesn't seem to do it for me. Shouldn't this be somewhere else. It's a great idea, but shouldn't this area have other types of things? I dunno, maybe I'm wrong. Would love to see those horrible projects/buildings torn down, though. It looms over everything over there.

[muscle1313]

Think the sports facility is going to be a small part of a huge plan for Coney. I ran into a couple of members of the development team when my wife and I went to an outdoor concert in Coney Thursday. They were leaving a meeting with the aquarium folks. The CIDC is totally focused on making Coney a year round destination. They told me the plan should be out in November. Next meeting will be around September 30th open to all.

[billyblancoNYC]

Think the sports facility is going to be a small part of a huge plan for Coney. I ran into a couple of members of the development team when my wife and I went to an outdoor concert in Coney Thursday. They were leaving a meeting with the aquarium folks. The CIDC is totally focused on making Coney a year round destination. They told me the plan should be out in November. Next meeting will be around September 30th open to all.

Let's hope it a solid, comprehensive, original plan that will really attract development and not end up on a bookshelf somewhere. Make it fun, make it one-of-a-kind...make it NY and Coney.

[BrooklynRider]

I'm not much in favor of the sports complex. Keyspan Park is enough of that sort of thing. C.I. is a unique place with unique opportunities. The ideas emanating from the CIDC so far are bland, unexciting and will do little to encourage further development. I seems the amusement and beachfront area has been bereft of any meaningful development in such a long time that folks accept "anything" as the "best thing".

[tmg]

"Year round" is the key. Coney Island does fine economically on sunny summer weekends, but it's deserted much of the rest of the year. A recreational sports facility that can draw people from the rest of Brooklyn (as Chelsea Piers does in Manhattan) could make an important contribution to making Coney a year-round destination. Yes, "unique" attractions are desirable, but attactions that draw people day after day are essential.

[Gulcrapek]

What about unique attractions that draw people day after day?

[BrooklynRider]

C.I. is not Manhattan and a Chelsea Piers type of recreation / sports facility would likely be cost-prohibitive to many residents of the area.

[muscle1313]

"Year round" is the key. Coney Island does fine economically on sunny summer weekends, but it's deserted much of the rest of the year. A recreational sports facility that can draw people from the rest of Brooklyn (as Chelsea Piers does in Manhattan) could make an important contribution to making Coney a year-round destination. Yes, "unique" attractions are desirable, but attactions that draw people day after day are essential.

Year round is definitely the direction the CIDC is going. Thats the impression I get from attending the meetings. I have no problem with an indoor sports facility but my big question though is they are building one like Chelsea Piers already in South Brooklyn at Floyd Bennett Field. I wouldn't want a carbon copy just a few miles away. That extreme sports proposal sounds pretty good to me. I hope they consider some type of Waterpark too. Indoor or Outdoor.

[muscle1313]

Staples mega-store coming to Coney Island


By Jotham Sederstrom
The Brooklyn Papers

In what neighborhood leaders hope is the first sign of a coming development boom, Staples office supply store will join a Linens ‘n’ Things in an underdeveloped area of Coney Island.

The Economic Development Corporation announced on Thursday that a Manhattan-based development group would build a 13,000-square-foot Staples across the street from the newly opened Linens ‘n’ Things in the building formerly occupied by Topps Appliance City, which closed several years ago. The development sits at the intersection of Cropsey Avenue and Hart Place near the Coney Island Creek and the Belt Parkway.

SAM Coney Island LLC, which is comprised mostly of Vista Realty Partners in Manhattan, developed Linens ‘n’ Things late last year and expects to open the Staples next year. Several other major retailers on the currently drab strip are also planned, said Marc Esrig, a managing member of the group.

“The development of this property is great news for Coney Island and the neighboring communities,” said Economic Development Corp. President Andrew Alper in a prepared statement announcing the Staples deal. “This was a dilapidated lot plagued by illegal dumping. On behalf of the city, EDC worked with the developer to clean up the site and make it suitable for economic development.”
Esrig said that the group purchased the 25,900-square-foot city-owned lot for approximately $500,000, a cost that included about $46,845 in environmental cleanup costs. The deal, which includes both public and private property, began taking shape five years ago, but complications resulted from the large amount of pollution that had accumulated on the site over the years.

Esrig said the store, which is slated to open within one year, will be built from the ground up at a cost of approximately $3.4 million. Two derelict buildings were demolished earlier this year, including the former Topps, which closed four years ago. An adjacent lot will be used for parking.

The project is expected to yield 15 construction jobs and 25 jobs in the Staples store itself, said a spokesman for the Economic Development Corp.

As for continued development in the area, Esrig said that within “the first quarter of 2005” residents can expect to see more big-name stores, though which ones he declined to say.

“It would be another big name, hopefully another big name retailer,” said Esrig. “We’re looking to redevelop and we’d probably demolish in a small commercial area. The area has a lot of work that has to be done.”

In October, members of the Coney Island Development Corporation expect to unveil a rough plan for the future of the neighborhood. Many property owners say that once those plans are revealed, much of the area bordered by Neptune Avenue to the north, the beach and boardwalk to the south, Ocean Parkway to the east and West 37th Street to the west will also be redeveloped.

“I think that once those plans come out, you’ll see guns blaring away,” said Horace Bullard, a major property owner whose holdings include land where the old Thunderbolt roller coaster once stood, next to Keyspan Park

“Coney Island is a name known all over the world and you would spend millions of dollars to get that kind of recognition,” Bullard said. There’s definitely a lot of interest.”

[Gulcrapek]

Ugh. No more box chains.

[muscle1313]

Cropsey Ave is perfect for big retail. Right off the Belt Parkway and not part of the amusement district. I hope WalMart, Target or Costco come next. I love big box chains. They bring a huge amount of business into an area, and spur further development.

[STT757]

How about building the Mets a new stadium at Coney Island, they seem to be a natural fit. The Minor League team is doing quite well there.

[ZippyTheChimp]

That's actually a good idea, but I doubt it would happen.

Big box sucks precisely because one leads to another, and another...

[muscle1313]

Big box sucks precisely because one leads to another, and another...

Exactly why I like big box so much. Spurs development.

[muscle1313]

You know with Home Depot, Linens N Things, and now Staples coming to Cropsey Ave and the CI Terminal Mall coming next year, Coney is going to be quite a year round retail spot. Very good for the neighborhood. Reminds me of whats going on with Downtown Brooklyn retail revitalization.

[muscle1313]

Are you guys familiar with any of the developers listed in the article? Any thoughts on previous projects by these folks?

From Globe St.com

Coney Island Preps for Revitalization
By Barbara Jarvie
Last updated: Wednesday, September 1, 2004 10:26pm

CONEY ISLAND, NY-The city sold a 25,900-sf lot here that will be combined with two adjacent lots to become a Staples. This is part of an initiative to transform the community known across the world for its amusement area into a year-round destination.



Created in September 2003, the Coney Island Development Corp. aims to create a plan to diversify the area. After issuing a Request for Proposals, the group selected Ernst & Young and Davis Brody Bond to create a strategic plan for this Brooklyn neighborhood.



According to Joshua J. Sirefman, CIDC president, the consultants will devise a strategy for implementing short- and long-term improvements. The key aspects of the strategy will be to build on the existing business base, develop vacant property and market the area for a variety of year-round uses. “The team is capable of taking on the challenges of transforming Coney Island into a year-round destination.” A full report is expected in the fall.



Other members of the E&Y/DBB team include Halcyon Ltd, retail specialists; Vollmer Associates LLP, engineering and landscape architects; Karin Bacon Events, public space programming; Streetworks, retail developers; and Strategic Leisure, entertainment production development.



SAM Coney Island LLC purchased the lot in the urban renewal area at the intersection of Cropsey Avenue and Hart Place near Coney Island Creek for $325,000. The developer also paid $46,845 toward the environmental clean-up costs. The project is expected to yield 15 construction jobs and 25 permanent ones, according to New York City Economic Development Corp. president Andrew Alper. “This was a dilapidated lot plagued by illegal dumping. The developer’s interest in the property reflects the City’s overall revitalization efforts in Coney Island.”



This marks the second venture in the area for Vista Realty Partners LLC, one of the partners of SAM Coney Island LLC. The developer fitted the site across from the 13,000-sf Staples and leased it and a parking area to Linens ‘n Things. “We believe the area is poised for continued growth,” Marc Esrig, managing member of Vista Realty Partners LLC.

[muscle1313]

CIDC Meeting


Date: Thursday, September 30th, 2004

Location: Coney Island Hospital, 2601 Ocean Parkway, 2nd Floor
Time: 6:00 p.m.

[Tricoastal]

Although I did enjoy a recent village to Coney Island on my last visit, I feel it still has a long way to go before it becomes an attraction on the NYC visitors' circuit.

The new subway station and baseball stadium are great additions, however the backdrop with the menacing tower blocks in the background are a letdown.

Perhaps any redevelopment plans need to look into mixing more retail, dining, and after-hours venues, such as a movie theater complex, to improve the overall appeal.

[NewYorkYankee]

The new subway station and baseball stadium are great additions, however the backdrop with the menacing tower blocks in the background are a letdown.


Whats the big deal about the towers? I saw them, who cares? Its NYC, what do you expect? :roll:

[Gulcrapek]

Some of them are city projects and they're kinda ominous looking. The Luna Park complex is also right by the area and they look like projects, though I recently found out they're not. They need to get completely re-bricked though so hopefully they'll be a little cheerier in the future.

[muscle1313]

There will be a public park built around the Parachute Jump. It will be called Parachute Park. The Jump will be lit. I will try to find out a timetable on this.

[Gulcrapek]

Much coolness, I saw it on the yahoo board. It's a standing mystery of the world... why the Jump has been unlit for all these years...

[ZippyTheChimp]

Yay!

Many of the 500 illustrations in Coney Island Lost and Found are images from Denson’s 5000-plus photo archive dating from the island’s beginnings as a seaside resort in the 1800s right up to the opening of the Brooklyn Cyclones’ KeySpan Park in 2001. The Parachute Jump, the sole survivor of Steeplechase Park, is a central motif.

Denson tracked down Chuck Steen, the Jump’s daredevil chief mechanic, who explained every aspect of the ride’s operation, including "riding the hook" to the top to rescue stranded passengers. Steen also explained the real reason for the ride’s frequent stalls: "If we weren’t doing much business, and two girls came on and they looked like screamers, we’d send them up about two hundred feet and turn the motor off," he says in the book.

:P

[muscle1313]

Here is a look at the CIDC public presentation from last week

http://www.thecidc.org/9-30publicpresfinal.pdf

[muscle1313]

I found out the Parachute Jump will be lit next summer!!!! :D

Haven't got any solid info on a timetable for Parachute Park.

[muscle1313]

Construction at the CI Subway Terminal is supposed to be totally completed in mid 2005. Does anybody have any idea about what is going in the first floor shopping mall? Any specific stores or restaurant names? I haven't heard one name mentioned yet? Very Strange. Remember all the publicity around the Atlantic Terminal.

[muscle1313]

Parachute Pavilion Design Competition

http://www.vanalen.org/competitions/ConeyIsland/index.htm

[BrooklynRider]

Construction at the CI Subway Terminal is supposed to be totally completed in mid 2005. Does anybody have any idea about what is going in the first floor shopping mall? Any specific stores or restaurant names? I haven't heard one name mentioned yet? Very Strange. Remember all the publicity around the Atlantic Terminal.

McDonalds will be a primary tenant in the western portion of the building. Last word, it had two floors.

[muscle1313]

Man I hope Coney can do better than McDonald's. How about Red Lobster?

[muscle1313]

Parachute Jump update

Parachute Jump to be
Coney Island's beacon

The Brooklyn Papers

A piece of Coney Island
history is in line for a 21stcentury
makeover.
The vintage Parachute
Jump, which rises high above
the ocean in Brooklyn, could
eventually anchor a pavilion
featuring a restaurant, park and
exhibition space, said Jonathan
Cohen-Litant of the Van Alen
Institute, which is working
with the Coney Island Development
Corp.
Designers will be invited to
submit their own "Parachute
Pavilion" plan for a currently
vacant 7,000-square-foot lot
owned by the city, Cohen-
Litant said Tuesday.
Currently, the long-dormant
ride serves as part of the background
in right field at Keyspan
Park, home of the minor-league
Brooklyn Cyclones. Borough
President Marty Markowitz
likes to call the city landmark
"Brooklyn's Eiffel Tower."
Details on the competition
will be released later this
week, according to Cohen-
Litant, although he had no
idea when a winner might be
selected. On its Web site, the
Van Alen Institute says the
new facility will operate yearround
in an effort to draw visitors
to the Brooklyn neighborhood
during the off-season.
"This is going to be something
truly beautiful," said
Councilman Domenic Recchia,
whose district includes a portion
of Coney Island. "We're going
to light up the Jump and it will
be a beautiful sight for all of
south Brooklyn. And that's just
the beginning," he said, alluding
to the formulation of a master
plan for the redevelopment of
Coney Island.
The ride dates back to the
golden days of Coney Island,
when it was one of the major attractions
with the still-running
Cyclone roller coaster. Two
years ago, the top half of the
262-foot-tall former thrill ride
was taken down for renovation
and many parts were replaced or
repaired and repainted.
The Parachute Jump was
designed by retired Naval Air
Commander James F. Strong
in the mid-1930s to train paratroopers.
But Strong began to
receive so many requests for
rides on his contraption that he
developed a more publicfriendly
version that included
seats for two and shock absorbers
at the base. He successfully
operated a 200-foot
jump in Chicago and then applied
for permits to build and
operate a jump at the 1939
New York World's Fair.
At the close of the Fair in
1940, Edward Tilyou purchased
it and brought the jump to
Steeplechase Park. It opened for
the 1941 season and offered 12
two-seater chutes.
Steeplechase Park closed in
1964, but the ride did not shut
down until 1968, when weather
conditions and high maintenance
costs led to its demise. It
was declared a city landmark
in 1977.
— with Associated Press

[muscle1313]

Olympic marathon
would start in Coney

By Jotham Sederstrom

The Brooklyn Papers
Coney Island, which earlier this year
lost indoor volleyball in the city's 2012
Olympic bid, has instead been awarded
the start of a marquee event of the summer
games — the Olympic marathon —
according to the city's final proposal, to
be revealed in Switzerland on Monday.
Sources close to the project told The Brooklyn
Papers this week that planners with
NYC2012, the private group led by Deputy
Mayor Daniel Doctoroff that is responsible for
putting together the city's bid, positioned the
marathon to begin in Coney Island and end at
the proposed Jets football stadium on Manhattan's
West Side. Along the way, runners would
cross more than a dozen Brooklyn neighborhoods
on their way to Downtown Brooklyn,
where they would traverse the Brooklyn
Bridge.

The inclusion is a boon for the former beach
resort neighborhood, which had been slated to
host indoor volleyball until NYC2012 officials
decided instead to place that event at the Continental
Airlines Arena in New Jersey. Bruce Ratner's
proposed Atlantic Yards arena in Prospect
Heights is slated for boxing and gymnastics.
Until now, the summer of 2012 was shaping
up to be a very uneventful one for Coney
Island, whose leaders were faced with being
left out of the Olympic plans altogether, and
whose hopes were dashed that a sportsplex for

athletics might finally
be realized through construction
of an indoor volleyball
arena.
"Coney Island will start off
the beginning of the marathon,"
confirmed Councilman Domenic
Recchia, who said he has
discussed the Olympics bid in
detail with Doctoroff. "It's going
to bring the Olympics and
everyone else to south Brooklyn."
The marathon route, which
had not been included in previous
drafts of the bid, was included
in the detailed, 600-page
"Bid Book" to be presented to
the International Olympic Committee
in Lausanne, Switzerland.
There, officials will grapple
over the assets and liabilities
of bids submitted not only by
New York, but Paris, London,
Madrid and Moscow.
The host city will be chosen
in July.
On Thursday, Gov. George
Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg
and Brooklyn-born Athens
Gold Medalist Justin Gatlin
joined other Olympians and
Paralympians to officially sendoff
the bid.
From the Coney Island boardwalk,
runners would travel north
on Ocean Parkway, which would
eventually lead them to the borders
of Prospect Park and parts
of Brownstone Brooklyn, said a
source familiar with the plans.
The race would end at the
Manhattan stadium after a
swoop through Times Square.
Recchia, who has lobbied to
bring beach volleyball to Coney
Island despite plans for the sport
to be played in Williamsburg,
said that he spoke to Doctoroff
in August.
Although beach volleyball
will remain in Williamsburg,
and indoor volleyball in New
Jersey, Recchia said that Doctoroff's
decision to start the
marathon in Coney Island
would likely draw more eyes to
the beach.
"Hopefully, people will
spend the whole day, or even
several days, in Coney Island
because of this," said Recchia.
"It's going to be a great economic
boost."

[muscle1313]

Glad we finally got confirmation in the news of the lighting. I heard this coming summer. :D


Brooklyn Papers Excerpt -

"This is going to be something
truly beautiful," said
Councilman Domenic Recchia,
whose district includes a portion
of Coney Island. "We're going
to light up the Jump and it will
be a beautiful sight for all of
south Brooklyn.

[ligel]

Back to its roots. Seaside amusement and recreation.
Can't you just picture it?

http://www.pbase.com/image/17451110.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/image/17451034.jpg


Beautiful pics. Thanks. :D

[muscle1313]

I will tell you my wife and I spend about 30-40 days on Manhattan Beach each summer with friends. We are a 10 minute walk there from where we live. We go to a few Cyclones game and watch the fireworks on CI's beach many Friday nights. The south Brooklyn beaches hold so much potential for our borough its almost limitless. Let me tell you what is happening with real estate here. In Manhattan Beach you have houses going for $1-2 million+ now. At Oceana in Brighton there are condos going from $500 k to $3 mil. There are 2 hotels being built in Sheepshead Bay - a Comfort Inn which is now open and a Best Western which is just starting construction along with countless waterfront condos. In the Bay News this week an old bus lot across the street from Keyspan Park in Coney is up for sale for the cool price of $8.5 million. Real Estate is waking up to the south Brooklyn beaches. The next step is making Coney Island a tourist attraction again. We are not too far away!

[muscle1313]

Coney Island Development Corporation and Van Alen Institute Join to Sponsor Design Competition for Parachute Pavilion

November 15, 2004, New York City - The Van Alen Institute, in cooperation with the Coney Island Development Corporation (CIDC), is sponsoring an international design competition to help create a Parachute Pavilion in Coney Island. As envisioned, the new pavilion, at the base of the landmarked Parachute Jump, will feature a small concession for a restaurant, souvenir shop and multi-purpose exhibition and event space. The competition is open to all architects and designers and related fields.

"The Parachute Pavilion will be an all-season center of activity, drawing the public onto the Boardwalk, the beach and Surf Avenue, and to a new recreational destination," said Joshua J. Sirefman, President, Coney Island Development Corporation and COO, New York City Economic Development Corporation. "Coney Island was the world's playground at the turn of the 20th Century and enjoyed many roles in the imaginations of New Yorkers and people from around the world. The goal of this competition is to generate innovative design proposals that will contribute to a 21st Century vision for Coney Island to regain the area's prominence as a destination of choice."

The 7,800-square-foot Parachute Pavilion will be located between West 16th and West 17th Streets, at the intersection of the Riegelmann Boardwalk, KeySpan Park's Surf Avenue-to-Boardwalk path, the Parachute Jump and Steeplechase Pier.

Coney Island is in the middle of a revival. Last year the CIDC was established by Mayor Bloomberg with a mandate to make Coney Island a year-round, world-class recreational oceanfront destination through business development, job creation, new housing, neighborhood improvement, and unique cultural events. The CIDC is finalizing the Coney Island Strategic Development Plan, which is expected to be released in early 2005.

The competition calls for conceptual design proposals for the new pavilion from designers and design teams worldwide. Entries will be judged by an 11-member jury consisting of architectural and design professionals, as well as representatives of City agencies and the Coney Island community.

"During my campaign for Borough President, I enthusiastically presented the idea of finding new and creative uses for the legendary Parachute Jump on Coney Island," said Borough President Marty Markowitz. "This design contest for the Parachute Pavilion brings us one step closer to realizing Brooklyn's vision of our Eiffel Tower - the Parachute Jump - becoming an international symbol once again. From its beaches and the boardwalk to its restaurants and nightlife, the best days for Coney Island are yet to come."

The winner of the competition will receive $20,000 and the New York Prize, the opportunity to work with the Van Alen Institute to develop a program that further amplifies the goals of the competition and demonstrates the role of powerful design in improving the future of the area. Second prize will be $5,000 and third prize $3,000. Sponsors of the competition include Independence Community Foundation, Consolidated Edison and KeySpan Corporation. CIDC and Van Alen Institute are also working with New York City Economic Development Corporation, NYC Parks and Recreation and NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission on the project.

"The beautification of the Parachute Jump was a long awaited project," said Councilmember Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. "The Parachute Jump is the focal point of Coney Island and a beacon to the entire City. This competition is another step forward in making Coney Island once again the greatest playground in the world."

Ray Gastil of the Van Alen Institute said, "This design competition is an extraordinary opportunity for today's generation of designers. Designers will enter because the stakes are high and they will be striving to prove they have a design vision powerful enough to take its place at this legendary location."

Van Alen Institute is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving design in the public realm through a program of exhibitions, competitions, publications, workshops and forums. It is an advocate for active and accessible waterfronts. Based in New York City, the Institute's projects initiate interdisciplinary and international collaborations between practitioners, policy makers, students, educators and community leaders.

Submissions for the competition are due April 18, 2005. For complete information about The Parachute Pavilion: An Open Design Competition for Coney Island, please visit www.vanalen.org or www.thecidc.org. Entries will be exhibited at a venue to be determined in Coney Island when a winner is selected.

[muscle1313]

Told Ya! :wink:

Parachute Jump Lighting Program

The New York City Economic Development Corporation, in conjunction with the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President and the New York City - Department of Parks and Recreation is collaborating on a project to illuminate the Parachute Jump. The project is being funded by the Brooklyn Borough President and the lighting program is being designed by Leni Schwendinger of Light Projects Ltd. The program will include architectural lighting, seasonal lighting and special events lighting. Project completion is scheduled for June 2005.

http://www.vanalen.org/competitions/ConeyIsland/initiatives.htm

[muscle1313]

Program Requirements

The following criteria and program requirements should serve as guidelines for designing the Parachute Pavilion:

Restaurant
3,000-4,000 SF (including both indoor and outdoor seating options, kitchen, bar and restrooms)

Store
1,000-2,000 SF (for Coney Island/Parachute Jump souvenirs, surfing gear, fishing supplies, etc.)

Multi-use Exhibition/Event Space
1,000-2,000 SF—a flexible and revenue producing space (rentable for private/public temporary exhibits and/or events)

Office Space
Four offices at 100 SF each (to be occupied by either city agencies/Parks Department or donated to local advocacy groups)

[BrooklynRider]

It's going to be kind of small. The retail portion of the new train station is larger. But, it is a start.

[muscle1313]

As long as it is lit I am happy :D I am going to stare at it during Cyclones games :shock:

A restaurant there makes it a year round attraction.

[Kris]

November 21, 2004

FOLLOWING UP

A Place for Lunch Instead of Thrills

By JOSEPH P. FRIED

Do not look for parachutes to billow in Coney Island again, but the city says there will be action once more at the base of the neighborhood's 262-foot parachute jump, one of Brooklyn's best-known landmarks.

The jump was closed in the 1960's as Coney Island declined, but the ride's skeletal steel tower remained, a rusting remnant of the seaside district's heyday. Last year, though, as part of efforts to revive the area, the city reinforced and repainted the tower and said it would study possible uses for its site.

Now it has a plan: to build a pavilion at the tower's base with a small restaurant, a souvenir shop and space for exhibitions and events. A design competition for the project is under way. As for resuming the parachute rides, a dream of many Coney Island nostalgia buffs, "significant challenges" make that unlikely, said Joshua J. Sirefman, president of the city's Coney Island Development Corporation.

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

[muscle1313]

It's going to be kind of small. The retail portion of the new train station is larger. But, it is a start.

Man, we were walking by there yesterday after watching the Polar Bears swim, and one of my buddies said - How in the world can they fit a restaurant in that small piece of land next to the Jump? It is really a small area. Don't know how they will fit all they want there - restaurant, souvenier shop etc.

[muscle1313]

Look at how small the highlighted area is

http://www.vanalen.org/competitions/ConeyIsland/sdiagram.htm

[billyblancoNYC]

I think it's 7000 sq. ft. That's pretty large, really.

[alex ballard]

Any chance of luring a Six flags or Disney development there? I can see a Universal theme resturan and shopping center, A Six Flags water park by the peirs, A Disney Amusement center, A rollercoaster park, And a Sports&Recreation center. That would make Coney Island a NY metro amausement center and destination. There should also be a shopping and outlet center there for the shoppers. Anyone think this is a good idea?

[muscle1313]

Any chance of luring a Six flags or Disney development there? I can see a Universal theme resturan and shopping center, A Six Flags water park by the peirs, A Disney Amusement center, A rollercoaster park, And a Sports&Recreation center. That would make Coney Island a NY metro amausement center and destination. There should also be a shopping and outlet center there for the shoppers. Anyone think this is a good idea?

I like all your ideas. You should come to the meetings. I hope some of the ideas come to fruition.

[muscle1313]

I think it's 7000 sq. ft. That's pretty large, really.

Billy - If you walk by the area you are going to be shocked how small it really is. Its a weird layout of land as well. Kind of stretched out length-wise but no width. I really cannot figure out how they will fit everything in there. I hope I am wrong.

[BrooklynRider]

The problem for Six Flags and Disney is their preference for running enclosed parks for the exclusive use of paying guests. Coney Island has a long tradition of open amusement area with fees to ride (like Astroland and Deno's).

Disney gave the idea brief consideration in the 1990's, before considering it a security nightmare. Perhaps the drop in crime can lure them back. Perhaps the new train station. Overall, I doubt they'll come as their Amusement Park Division isn't booming.

Six Flags is one of the worst amusement park companies out there. They let parks fall into disrepair, have no idea how to implement security and have been lousy neighbors to area residents where they operate. I hope they stay far, far away.

Personally, I think the best bet for Coney Island would be a group like the folks running Morey's Piers in Wildwood New Jersey. The understand the unique aspects of oceanside amusement parks and, in my opinion, are unparalled anywhere in this country on this front.

[muscle1313]

One thing you guys gotta keep in mind is this will not be just amusements. The number one goal of the CIDC is to make Coney a year round destination, not just for summertime like it is now. Hearing the plan should be out this month. I hope. They originally said November 04 so you never know but think there is a good chance we get to see the whole plan this month.

[muscle1313]

Looks like this month --

The Coney Island Development Corporation was formed in September 2003 by the Mayor, the City Council and the Brooklyn Borough President. The 13-member Board of the CIDC includes City officials, local and Brooklyn-wide business and community leaders. It is charged with spearheading and implementing a comprehensive planning process for Coney Island and creating a coordinated economic development strategy for the area. In March 2004, the CIDC selected the team of Ernst & Young LLP and Davis Brody Bond LLP to create a strategic development plan for Coney Island. In developing the plan, the consultants have devised a strategy for implementing short- and long-term improvements to the Coney Island community that include physical and economic changes. The plan builds on the existing business base and will develop vacant property and market the area for a variety of year-round uses. The plan's expected completion is scheduled for January 2005.

http://www.vanalen.org/competitions/ConeyIsland/initiatives.htm

[muscle1313]

Thanks to BillyBlanco for pointing this out

NY Post

SHARK TALE IN CONEY
By PATRICK GALLAHUE

EXCLUSIVE


Coney Island is about to become a world-famous destination for sharks.

The New York Aquarium is preparing to announce a multimillion-dollar upgrade to its facilities, including a titanic expansion of its shark exhibit.

"At this point, it's all part of this master plan," said John Calvelli, a spokesman for the aquarium. "And we're going to have several kind of 'wow' exhibits in there."

Details of the upgrade — which will include new amenities, exhibits and animals — are expected to be released in the next four to six weeks. But the centerpiece of the renovation will be the $29 million, 500,000-gallon Open Ocean Exhibit, which will represent a massive upgrade to the shark exhibit.

The tank will have an acrylic window — clearer than old-fashioned glass — stretching 30 to 40 feet long and 10 feet high and will be designed so the viewer cannot see the rear wall of the tank, said Dr. Paul Boyle, director of the New York Aquarium.

"It will look like it goes on into the abyss," Boyle said. "There will be a lot more sharks in this tank than in our present tank, so you'll see sharks come out of the haze as if they're coming from the open ocean."

The aquarium already has a 90,000-gallon shark tank, home to 40-year-old Bertha, the oldest known sand tiger shark in captivity. But the existing shark pavilion will be torn down and the new building — with a tank more than five times the size of the current facility — will be built over it in fall or winter of this year.

The Open Ocean Exhibit will also include multiple educational features — such as graphics demonstrating the decline in shark populations and other displays to debunk sharks' man-eating mystique — as well as a separate tank for warm-water reef sharks.

"We want to tell people how important they are in their natural habitat," Boyle said. Boyle said he expects the project to be finished in 2007.

Other features of the master plan will include a recreation of Glover's Reef in Belize, to open this spring, and an animal clinic so the aquarium's marine life can be treated on site.

The total cost of the upgrades are expected to approach $50 million over 10 years and will be paid for with a combination of city, state and private money.

The 108-year-old aquarium is Brooklyn's most popular cultural institution with 750,000 annual visitors and the oldest continually operating aquarium in the country.

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The landmarked Child's restaurant building on the boardwalk is up for sale. A cool $8 mil.

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The Brooklyn Papers

29M shark
house set for
Aquarium

The New York Aquarium,
long home to the oldest
known sand tiger shark in
captivity, will triple the number
of sea predators it cares
for as part of a multimilliondollar
makeover of the nearly
50-year-old complex in
Coney Island, starting with
the shark house.

A $29 million fix-up of the
shark habitat will add as many
as two dozen nurse sharks, carpet
sharks, pajama sharks and
leopard sharks to the dozen or
so that already live in the
aquarium. It is expected to be
completed by 2007.
To accommodate the newcomers,
officials plan to install
a state-of-the-art, 500,000-gallon
tank surrounding a walk-

way that will allow sharks to swim over the heads of their human
admirers. Asecond tank will recreate a tropical setting for warm
water sharks of the "carpet" and "pajama" varieties.
"The whole point here is that sharks are very important in marine
ecosystems," said
Dr. Paul Boyle, director
of the aquarium. "The
biggest ones are the top
predators in