Proposed budget cuts are so severe that it's hard to even remember this plan from just two years ago to completely revive the New York Aquarium. Now the institution is struggling to survive.

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The New York Aquarium, staring at the loss of state funds in the new budget, says the cuts could drag down Coney Island at a time when the historic amusement neighborhood is starved for marquee tourist attractions.

Gov. Paterson’s preliminary budget, submitted earlier than usual due to the record-sized $13.7-billion deficit forecast for the next fiscal year, will slash all aid to zoos, public gardens and living museums across the state. If the state budget is passed, it would cost the sea life sanctuary $722,000 from its annual budget of $14.6 million — a loss that Aquarium officials say would hinder their ability to draw 700,000 visitors per year.

“We’re one of the anchors in Coney Island. We’re an engine of economic activity,” said John Calvelli, a vice president with the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the Aquarium, on Surf Avenue and West Eighth Street, and four city zoos.

“With every dollar we lose that becomes more difficult.”

The draconian cutbacks in the state budget add to the Aquarium’s woes, brought on by an unforgiving fundraising environment and an endowment that’s lost 27 percent of its value in the stock market meltdown, Calvelli said.

To cope with its shrinking budget, the Aquarium may deep-six “frontline staffers” who care for and study the aquatic creatures, close exhibits or ship its animals to other watery menageries.

But the Aquarium has withstood its share of harmful government actions going back to Robert Moses exiling the Big Fish Tank to Coney Island from Battery Park more than 50 years ago and, more recently, Borough President Markowitz’s failed bid to gain control over the independent organization.

The crisis comes at a crucial moment in Coney Island’s checkered history as Mayor Bloomberg endeavors to leave an indelible mark in the sand. Yet, the People’s Playground is down to only one amusement park, Deno’s Wonder Wheel, following the closing of Astroland last fall.

In addition, honky-tonk businesses on the Boardwalk may not be back this summer either because of steep rent increases from Thor Equities, the main landowner in the amusement area.

With those looming uncertainties, the Bloomberg Administration had counted on the Aquarium for stability in topsy-turvy Coney Island while the mayor embarks on a controversial plan to build a new theme park, hotels, restaurants and entertainment options like bowling alleys and arcades in the historic amusement area.

“These are tough economic times, and while we are all tightening our belts, [the city] and the Aquarium are working together to … ensure the Aquarium’s long-term institutional sustainability,” said a statement prepared by the Economic Development Corporation.

©2009 Community Newspaper Group