NEW YORK—The long awaited and much debated plan for the future development of Coney Island came a step closer to action yesterday. The City Zoning and Franchises, and Land Use committees voted to pass a proposal to rezone Coney Island. Whether the plan will in fact revitalize Coney Island is still in contention.
“It is impossible to make everyone 100 percent happy,” said Domenic M. Recchia Jr. the city council representative for Coney Island. Recchia said that the community, which has struggled for lack of good infrastructure, will gain a first class emergency room, a school, and a skating rink. With the development plan there will be job training for local residents, and permanent jobs in food service and hospitality, as well as make 35 percent of its housing units affordable for the local community.
Agreement on the specifics of the development is not yet finalized among the city, companies and organizations involved.
Kristi Barnes from the organization Jobs With Justice New York said, “This is neither a celebration nor a demonstration.” She added this project will have a huge impact on many people and there needs to be clarity and written commitments about the specifics of the jobs and affordable housing outlined in the plan.
The revisions suggested by Save Coney Island, an organization dedicated to the revitalization and preservation of Coney Island’s Historic Amusement district, and the Municipal Art Society (MAS) were not amended in the plan.
Save Coney Island asked the city to expand the area allotted for outdoor amusements, maintain low-rise only zoning around the amusement park, and that the city safeguard small business owners from displacement by large retailers.
Council Member Tony Avella, Zoning and Franchise Chair, supported Save Coney Island and MAS’s request. He asked the city to amend its plan to expand the amusements and not build high-rise towers overshadowing the park. The committee members voted 5-I against Avella’s amendment.
The city’s plan allows 27 acres for the indoor/outdoor amusement park, of which 12 acres are set aside for outdoor boardwalk amusements. The city also plans to build four high-rise towers overshadowing the amusement park.
“This is a dark day for New York,” said Steve Peluso, member of Save Coney Island. He asks how the city intends to revitalize Coney Island by reducing the outdoor amusements area by half.
In a letter to City Council Member Alan Jay Gerson, Peluso writes, “Coney Island currently attracts millions of visitors a year who seek fun, nostalgia, and the beach. They do not come for high end shopping or to admire the architecture of a luxury condo. If the amusement area is shrunk … it is only a matter of time before it disappears for good. That would be a deathblow to the livelihood of this already impoverished community.”
To view the city’s proposal visit: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/coney_island/index.shtm
