The City Council on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved Mayor
Bloomberg’s plan to redevelop Coney Island, a controversial plan that
the mayor hopes will create a major tourist destination and livable
neighborhood for permanent residents.
Just before the vote, Bloomberg and Joe Sitt, the major landowner in
Coney Island and a longtime opponent of the mayor’s plans, made a
breakthrough in their sometimes-bitter negotiations over a price for
some of Sitt’s large holdings, though a deal was not yet finalized.
The breakthough involves Sitt selling a portion of his valuable
territory to the city, yet retain some for lucrative development of his
own, the New York Times reported.
The Council voted 44–2 on a rezoning package that seeks to transform
Coney Island’s derelict lots into a gleaming city-owned amusement park
surrounded by enclosed attractions like movie theaters, shopping or a
water park for year-round visitors and 4,500 units of housing.
The plan will rezone 19 blocks of Coney Island, much of it currently
limited solely for amusements, though only a few blocks actually have
seasonal amusements on site while vast portions are empty or used for
other purposes due to lax enforcement.
Coney Island is the next Atlantic Yards. It’s another Bloomberg win-win deal, handing over precious ocean front real estate to high-rise developers while squeezing low income Coney Island residents. And to sweeten the deal, an invitation to an epidemic of gleaming personal injury suits against “a gleaming city-owned amusement park.” Marty, you let the mayor get out in front of you.