As Thor and City Play 'Chicken,' Will Coney Island Go Dark?

1.

(Coney Island's already diminished amusement district could spend years as a torn-up wasteland.)

Mr. Sitt's idea seems to be never give a sucker an even break. Unless he has made a LOT of campaign contributions, however, he can't count on the City of New York being its usual sucker self.

The city owns the streets, including those dead-ending at the boardwalk, the boardwalk, and the beach. Lots could go on there.

It could set up stages at the end of those streets for performances, give permits for vendors on the sidewalk, and run Coney Island as a perpetual street fair indefinately. It would have less activity that it could, but more than it has had, with better food and more fun and an opportunity to street performers and entreprenuers to make a buck. I'll take that for the next few years. It could be fun.

Meanwhile, the city could rezone according to plan and reassess the land according to its development potential. And it could enforce all those rules about dumping, fencing, etc. to ensure that those traveling to Coney Island were not bothered by anything going on on Mr. Sitt's lots.

And after Mr. Sitt has eaten carrying costs for a few years, he'd face opposition from the street vendors and performers and their customers for any development that would displace them, including a development that would require building over a public street.

2.

I love this part:

cash in on condos...Coney Island's

What kind of fucked up world do we live in that has the concept of cashing in on condo's in Coney Island. What have we done? As Roger Waters would say.

3.

WT Econ is actually correct here-- there was NO reason that the vendors were razed out the season before last when Sitt got that parcel (cross streets elude but you know what I am talking about-- there were both food & other vendors there). Sitt is a STEROID abusing prick & the city being symbolicly stubborn (having given up so much else) but... wot the hell.

Question over WHO is buying luxe Coney Island remanins; the best case is Russians, who are at least weird. Oh yeah, how about all the MAJOR 'revitalization' the minor league Mets brouogh. I count what... ONE fucking bar?

con douchebaggery,

TD

4.

Coney's been a wasteland for decades. And yeah, Thor's vision of a new Coney is not everyone's cup of tea. But all the uncompromising backlash against Thor is heading toward leaving Coney in even worse shape than before Sitt got his hands on the area. So in the end it just may turn out that the people will get stuck with the "torn up wasteland" all to stop a few condos from rising.

Idealism is wonderful. Everyone will get what they deserve in the end.

5.

It's not "idealism" for the city to refuse to allow a developer to strong arm them into abandoning a community-driven process that has been in the works for years. Its more than just stopping "a few condos from rising." The condos are the heart of his project, everything else is just a smokescreen. And when residential goes up out there, that will be the end of any hope for amusements in Coney. Once done, it can't be undone.

6.

I agree with #4. If the idealists have their way, Coney Island will look even worse than it already does. A pack of high-rise condos is a fair price to pay for a genuine amusement park.

7.

Except that that "genuine amusement park" will turn out to be a token gesture that shuts down as soon as the new residents start complaining, which they inevitably will. By then Sitt will be counting his money at the bank.