Say "Goodbye" to the old coney next year.... :(

[Dave Mack]

Looks like they'll keep the cyclone, Wonder Wheel and parachute jump but redo everything else...

Coney Island to get $1 billion makeover

Saturday, May 27, 2006; Posted: 10:41 p.m. EDT (02:41 GMT)


Pedestrians move about Coney Island's boardwalk in Brooklyn, New York, Thursday. 
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Manage Alerts | What Is This? NEW YORK (AP) -- It's springtime in Coney Island, with all the familiar signs of the coming tourist season: The beer flows at Ruby's on the boardwalk, a help-wanted sign rests outside Nathan's Famous, stuffed animals appear in the cramped arcades.

A soft ocean breeze rolls off the Atlantic -- but by next summer, the winds of change will blow hard through the venerable Brooklyn beachfront where millions of Americans have frolicked and where both the hot dog and the roller coaster debuted.

After a half-century of neglect, Coney Island is targeted for a $1 billion renovation aimed at creating a year-round attraction to compete against the theme parks that nearly obliterated the neighborhood. The work is at least a year off, but it's already the buzz of the beach.

"Coney Island seemed like it was in a time warp, and would never change," said Dick Zigun, operator of the local Sideshows By the Seashore attraction. "Why not have a bigger, better, more exciting Coney Island?"

Other local merchants agree -- although some wonder if the unique local flavor will disappear once Thor Equities starts developing its $100 million in recently purchased properties.

"People are worried about losing the certain character that Coney Island has always had," said Carol Albert, whose family runs the legendary Cyclone roller coaster and the Astroland Amusement Park. "It's a fine line. You don't want to lose the character, but ..."

The "but" rests with Thor, developer of a three-block-long, one-block-deep section off the boardwalk, along with some other properties. Its CEO and founder, Joe Sitt, has a personal interest in the Coney Island project: he's a Brooklyn native and still jogs along the boardwalk.

Sitt's local roots were a boon in avoiding the pitfalls that often plague major development, said Chuck Reichenthal, head of Community Board 13 in Coney Island.

"He really does understand what Coney Island was, what it is and what it can be," Reichenthal said.

The developer hopes for a final plan by July 1, with a variety of projects including a high-end hotel (perhaps shaped like a roller coaster), a water park, retail outlets and residential property.

'Start of a new era'
Today, the area along the boardwalk is a mix of vacant lots and vintage storefronts.

Some things will remain untouched. The Cyclone, the Wonder Wheel and what's left of the Parachute Jump are all designated landmarks.

But other sections demand attention: The rotting home of the old Playland arcade, or the once-grand Child's Restaurant, now splashed with spray paint and sealed with metal grates.

Once finished, the plan will need city approval. Then, if everything goes right, construction could start by July 2007. Sitt has guaranteed all businesses on Thor property a location in his development, said Lee Silberstein, a spokesman for Thor.

"Those lots may be boarded up next summer," said Silberstein. "But at the end of the process, you're going to have something very special in Coney Island."

Coney Island once was something special, the most popular resort destination in the country. But "America's Playground" suffered though a long post-World War II decline.

When the Cyclone opened in 1927, Coney Island was already the apex of American entertainment. Charles Lindbergh came to ride the great roller coaster. Sigmund Freud stopped by the Dreamland amusement park.

However, a 1944 fire destroyed one of the great amusement areas, Luna Park. Developer Robert Moses, no fan of Coney Island, designed highways that made it easy to bypass the city beach -- or just abandon it for the suburbs.

City housing sprang up in the '60s and '70s -- towering "vertical slums," as the locals called them. Crack arrived in the '80s.

City officials also are betting on a revamped Coney Island. A new $240 million subway station was opened at Stillwell Avenue, once one of the dingiest stops in the entire transit system.

And $83 million -- including $73 million from the city -- has been pledged to create better parking, new streets and open space. A new cultural center is expected to open by 2009.

"It's a long process," said Reichenthal. "But people should come down this year and imagine what all those empty lots are going to look like in a couple of years. It's the start of a new era."

  Gonna be like the new Times Square probably....

[The Fox]

That makes me sick.

Thank god i'm gonna see it one last time before they kill it

How many more things are they going to destroy before they get the idea that old is good.

[back2coney]

yup yup yup......we're onto that a few days ago!

http://warriorsmovie.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=5794.0

[Lion]

Man, I need to make it up there before all this takes place. Hey Mack, we are still gonna crash at your place in '09!!!

[Ajax_91]

darn. i wish i could see it one last time before they do that..good find.

[Dave Mack]

It sucks, yes. My girlfriend and I went there last year and it still looked pretty similar. Growing up in NYC I got used to them tearing down history. I worked in Times Sq and watched it become a giant outdoor mall/shopping center.
And I am hanging onto my NYC pad no matter what! Furies Chase Block! My window in the flick!

Peace!

[SNOW 1]

well that sucked i was hopping to see coney island in a few years when i go travelling

[The Fox]

well that sucked i was hopping to see coney island in a few years when i go travelling

I will be there in about 4 months. I'm gonna get a lot of photos

Also i think you sig is fantastic

[Tantive7]

The Fox

I will be there in about 4 months. I'm gonna get a lot of photos

I'm doing the same thing as we speak,Great minds do think alike huh Jaime

[Milkman]

i found this picture of what its supposed to look like.....?

[AuSWaRRiOR]

Hi dude,

Damn i wish that i could go to Coney Island...thats a dream of mine. The Warriors is the best movie ever and ill take any chance i can to check out the big c.I

[The Fox]

i found this picture of what its supposed to look like.....?

That is vulger.

[warrior swan]

at least i lived here for along time and got to see it.i cant belivie there doing this at least there keeping the wonder wheel and the cyclone but i cant belivie this!! this is bull s***!!

[King]

Good bye...ol' Coney. I never got to see you in person 

[GramercyRiff99]

i found this picture of what its supposed to look like..... 

I hope whoever thought of this dies in the most horrible way imaginable... waking up dressed like a Rogue in the middle of the Riffs hangout