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City Offers Sitt Even Less Money for Coney Island Land
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 1, 2009
Modified Apr 1, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 1, 2009
Modified Apr 1, 2009
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The Bloomberg administration made another offer to developer Joe Sitt yesterday to buy roughly 10 acres of Boardwalk property, which the city would like to designate park land for an amusement district. Negotiations between Sitt and city officials have been stalled since November, when the developer shrugged off a $110 million offer; it's believed Sitt spent some $93 million acquiring the land, and hopes to flip it for twice that. So you can imagine how he responded to yesterday's $105 million offer, which was less than what the city previously floated, and based on declining land prices in Brooklyn. Speaking to City Room, Sitt's lawyer sarcastically remarked, "We won’t talk to them until they come down to $100 million."
Today the City Council met to weigh in on the city's proposed rezoning proposal for Coney Island, and The Municipal Arts Society appeared with other community groups to endorse parts of the plan, like the city's decision to buy Sitt's land for a publicly owned amusement park. But they also objected to a proposal by the local community board that would expand the size of retail units to 10,000 square feet. Coney Island USA artistic director Dick Zigun told the committee, "Tourists and visitors are not going to visit Coney to shop at a national pharmacy outlet, or a dollar store. It would eliminate Coney Island’s potential as a cultural and economic engine and as a true amenity for all New Yorkers."
Currently at Coney Island, the Eldorado bumper cars are bumping, the Cyclone will open Sunday at noon with Marty Markowitz breaking a bottle of Brooklyn chocolate egg cream on the first car, the Ringling Brothers circus is considering pitching a tent for the summer, Sitt seems to be setting up a Greenmarket and Flea Market, the Water Flume was dismantled, and Ruby's Bar and Grill looks to be reopening after some Sitt-related lease tension.
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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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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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