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Mayor Bloomberg’s vision of turning part of Coney Island into a unified, 50-acre, city-owned amusement park met with hollers of approval among Coney stalwarts on Friday.

“The mayor is my hero,” enthused Dick Zigun, the founder of the Coney Island Circus Sideshow and the unofficial mayor of Coney Island. “When you think about how Bloomberg is a pro-development, Wall Street guy, it is astonishing and great what he did yesterday.”

Yesterday, at a Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Bloomberg announced a new plan for Coney Island, one that effectively quashed developer Joe Sitt’s hopes of turning the People’s Playground into a $1.5 billion, Las Vegas–style destination complete with retail and hotels intermingled with amusement park rides.

The mayor’s plan includes many of the same hotel and amusement elements as Sitt’s, with one striking difference: Bloomberg’s would segregate amusements from residential buildings. His vision divides Coney Island into three distinct sectors: a residential and retail district with up 1,800 new apartments and 100,000 square feet of retail bounded by W. 20th street, Stillwell, Mermaid and Surf avenues; a second such district with up to 2,700 new apartments and 360,000 square feet of retail space, bounded by W. 19th and W. 24th streets and Surf Avenue. And the centerpiece: the transformation of the amusement district between W. 8th and W. 19th streets, much of it owned by Sitt, into a city park. To achieve the latter, the city would have to buy out Sitt and other landowners in the district, orchestrate a land swap, or resort to eminent domain.

Horace Bullard, a developer who owns land in the amusement district and who once harbored similarly grand visions for the Island, said he didn’t think the administration would run into much opposition from property owners.

“No one in his right mind will be fighting the city on this issue if he’s justly compensated for it,” said Bullard.

The city was not prepared to say how much it would be willing to pay to buy out existing land owners. But, Bloomberg made one thing abundantly clear: no longer will small, individually owned amusements conspire to create one great carnival.

“Today, you can’t have a bunch of individual little things and have them survive, not when the public has entertainment alternatives,” said Bloomberg. “They can fly anyplace for next to nothing.”

That aspect of Bloomberg’s plan rankled at least one stakeholder: the Vourderis family, the long-time owner of Deno’s Wonder Wheel.

“We hope that the city doesn’t force us to lose our land at an unfair price and against our wishes,” said Dennis Vourderis, whose family has operated the Wonder Wheel for 87 years and owned the land under it for 24. “The city keeps telling us it’s not taking anyone’s land, but to designate it parkland, they need to either acquire it by purchasing it or by other means.”

“I’m already doing [amusements], what the city want us to do, so leave me alone,” said Vourderis, frustrated that the city preferred an integrated theme park rather than a hodge-podge of honky-tonk, family-owned businesses.

Deno’s aside, the overall reaction among those invested in Coney Island was positive.

“I’m thrilled that the mayor took on and destroyed Sitt’s plans, which are not good for Coney Island,” said Zigun, a one-time supporter of Sitt who had recently grown critical of the mall-developer’s plans to build housing next to the amusements.

“In the future, not only the 21st century but the 22nd century, too, the marketplace and real estate will never again threaten Coney Island’s soul,” said Zigun.

Michael Immerso, the author of “Coney Island, the People’s Playground,” was similarly hopeful.

“We’ve had a long period of decline, but the city is on the right track,” said Immerso. “By setting out broad guidelines and stating a public commitment to keeping some of what Coney Island was in the past, the city creates a situation where it can be held accountable. The battle lines are clearly drawn now and we’ll see how it plays out.”

That battle will likely involve Sitt, who said in a statement yesterday that he was “disappointed” by the mayor’s announcement.

“[We] are optimistic that a deal can be reached between the city, the landowners and the community to make Coney Island an even greater place to live and visit,” said Sitt.

Cover page

For as long as we can remember, The Brooklyn Paper has been covering Coney Island like it’s nobody’s business.

Here’s a look back at some of our cover stories from this past year!

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper

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