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Coney Island Community Board Vote Angers City Officials
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 16, 2009
Modified Mar 16, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 16, 2009
Modified Mar 16, 2009
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The Community Board that oversees Coney Island voted last week to approve 20 amendments to the city's development plans for the area, and the changes are seen by some as suspiciously friendly to controversial developer Joe Sitt. The recommended changes include allowing big box retailers of up to 10,000 square feet in the amusement zone on Surf Avenue, dropping plans to turn the amusement zone over to the parks department, eliminating the threat of eminent domain against Sitt, and removing from consideration the construction of a "Wonder Wheel Way," a proposed central promenade through the amusement district.
The Board's vote is the first step in the public review of Bloomberg's plan to rezone Coney Island for a mixed-use residential, retail, hotel, and amusement park development, part of which would occupy land currently owned by Sitt, whose plans for a bigger, Vegas-style resort were stymied by the city. The developer is now demanding over $200 million from the city for property he bought up in the last few years—about double what he paid for it. The city wants to pay roughly $110 million.
Though the Board's role is purely advisory, their amendments are given due consideration by the City Council, which will vote next on the rezoning plans. Unnamed city officials have gone on the offensive after the vote, insinuating that the Board's resolutions were essentially drafted by Sitt. One city official tells the Post, "Having a for-profit developer write these zoning amendments is the equivalent of having a Big Tobacco lobbyist write anti-smoking legislation." Board member Chuck Reichenthal denied the allegations, telling the Daily News, "I was there when the 20 items were written. The developers were not in the room. They did not stand over us with whips and shovels."
For further reading, the Coney Island Message board has the full list of Community Board amendments, with the city's official response to each one.
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rezoning
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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