Dear Residents and Friends of Coney Island
July 15, 2008
Now that summer has truly arrived, welcomed in grand Coney Island fashion by the Mermaid Parade and Nathan’s hot dog eating contest, I wanted to bring you up to date on the status of the City’s proposed Coney Island zoning framework and share some of CIDC’s ongoing efforts in the community.
June 24th Scoping Hearing
As you may know, the City held a “scoping hearing” on June 24th at Lincoln High School to hear public testimony on the scope of the plan’s proposed environmental review. It was no doubt the liveliest scoping hearing the City has ever hosted. The proceedings were marked by more than the usual amounts of noise and passion, which, at the end of the day, made it a quintessentially Coney Island event. Thanks to those of you who took the time to be part of this important process.
If you weren’t able to join us on the 24th, here’s a quick summary of the comprehensive zoning framework and redevelopment plan for Coney Island. The most important highlight is:
A permanantly protected amusement zone that can draw visitors to coney island year-round.
The City’s rezoning plan has been modified to better support the transformation of Coney Island into a thriving, year-round destination. These modifications to the proposed amusement district – along with comprehensive plans to create and protect affordable housing and generate desperately needed new economic opportunities for neighborhood residents – are part of an overall Coney Island redevelopment plan that will have positive impacts across the community.
And the plan includes:- The creation of a 27-acre, year-round, entertainment and amusement area that includes NO residential – this is nearly three times the size of the current 10-acre amusement area!
- An enhanced district with the vibrant mix of Coney Island’s historic uses, including both open and enclosed amusements (such as bumper cars, arcades, water parks, bowling alleys and movie theatres) and a wide range of restaurants, bars, hotels and complementary small-scale retail (such as souvenir shops and boutiques).
- The growth of Coney Island’s amusement uses through the permanent mapping of parkland and construction of an 11-acre, world-class, open amusement park to be preserved in perpetuity for generations to come – this is more than double the size of all the current outdoor amusements combined!
- Taller buildings allowed ONLY near Surf Avenue, with all new development respecting the height of the Parachute Jump while preserving views to the Parachute Jump, the Wonder Wheel, and the Cyclone.
- The creation of a contiguous network of entertainment uses stretching along the beach from Asser Levy Park to Keyspan Stadium. The resulting 60-acre urban entertainment district will be the largest in the United States.
A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO CREATE AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES, PROTECT EXISTING RESIDENTS, AND BUILD A NEW NEIGHBORHOOD PARK
- There is NO displacement of ANY residents in existing affordable housing developments in Coney Island.
- Development of the long-vacant lots OUTSIDE of the amusement area into housing with ground-floor retail that reconnects the core of Coney Island with the surrounding residential neighborhood.
- The creation of between 4,000 and 5,000 new units of housing, including nearly 1,000 units of affordable housing through the City’s Inclusionary Housing program.
- Self-contained parking for all of the new housing units.
- A new 65,000-squarefoot neighborhood park along the Boardwalk between W. 22nd and W. 23rd Streets.
A RETAIL DESTINATION AWAY FROM THE AMUSEMENT CORE WITH NEW NEIGHBORHOOD SHOPPING
- NO large-scale retail within the 27-acre amusement area.
- Revitalization of Surf Avenue as the major shopping corridor of Coney Island and reactivation of entertainment and beach-related uses along the Boardwalk through the development of approximately 500,000 square feet of commercial space.
- Provision of neighborhood amenities in Coney West and Coney North such as grocery stores, restaurants, local clothing stores, small dry cleaners and other local retail and services that the neighborhood has been lacking.
- Strengthening of Mermaid Avenue through the broadening of local-retail uses allowed today.
REAL JOB CREATION, INVESTMENT AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONEY ISLAND RESIDENTS
- Thousands of full-time and part-time construction jobs are anticipated as a result of the proposed redevelopment.
- Thousands of full-time permanent jobs will be created in the amusement, retail, hotel and entertainment industries.
- Training will be available to help local residents develop the skills that will allow them to reap the benefits of these new economic opportunities.
- Millions of planned city capital investment in the neighborhood over the next 10 years, in conjunction with the rezoning plan.
As I hope you can see from this information, the City’s commitment to the core principles and vision for a revitalized Coney Island remain steadfast.
CIDC UPDATE
In addition to our efforts on the rezoning, CIDC is working hard to fulfill our mission and support the Coney Island community in many ways. We are especially excited about our ongoing series of Job Readiness Workshops, which kicked off on June 13th and will continue throughout the summer. For more information about upcoming workshops or the first-ever Coney Island Career Opportunities Fair on August 1st, please contact Nicole Robinson-Etienne at 212-312-3874 or netienne@thecidc.org.
As a reminder, please check out the Coney Island Fun Guide website to find out about all the exciting events going on in Coney Island this summer. And if there’s an event or attraction we’re missing, please contact Daniel Mulé at 212-312-3836 or dmule@nycedc.com to be included on the site.
I hope that you have found this update helpful and informative. Please do not hesitate to contact the CIDC at 212-312-4233 or info@thecidc.org with any questions or concerns. Thanks so much and have a great summer!
Sincerely,
Also see:
Coney Island Through The Ages (PDF 2.2MB)
