Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Sunday the establishment of the Coney Island Business Improvement District (BID), aiming to bolster small businesses with a $1 million investment.
The investment will include a “variety of sanitation and beautification efforts,” enhanced marketing materials, additional greenery, and power-washed communal spaces.
Mamdani said at Sunday’s press conference announcing the BID that “for far too long, the city and state have failed to invest in Coney Island in a meaningful way.”
“That’s true for both the colorful shops that cater to beachgoers and the mom and pop pharmacies that sustain those who call this home,” Mamdani said.
BIDs in New York City are areas where “local stakeholders oversee and fund the maintenance, improvement, and promotion of their commercial district.” While not replacing city services, BIDs aim to “deliver services and improvements above and beyond those typically provided by the city.”
Not-for-profit organizations run BIDs, and board members must include property owners, merchants, residents, and representatives of local elected offices. BIDs are funded by fees applied to property owners in the designated area in addition to philanthropy and grants.
The mayor noted the remaining damage from Hurricane Sandy in Coney Island and the rising cost of living in the neighborhood and across the city. Coney Island is home to over 100,000 people with a poverty rate of 26.3% — higher than the city’s poverty rate of 18.2%.
The announcement comes after the mayor signed a January executive order seeking to cut fees and fines for small businesses within six months.
“As we work to transform the lives of working Coney Islanders, City Hall remains laser focused on passing our affordability agenda,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani’s 2025 mayoral campaign revolved almost entirely around affordability measures. He promised to freeze the rent on rent stabilized apartments, eliminate bus fares, and open city-owned grocery stores with stabilized pricing. The mayor has gone after junk fees, hidden fees, and landlords in his first weeks in office.
Mamdani was joined at the press conference by Coney Island Council Member Kayla Santosuosso, who joined the mayor in signing the certificate of incorporation for the BID.
“Despite being one of the city’s most iconic neighborhoods, the unfortunate fact is that a sad history of government neglect of this area has made Coney Islanders accustomed to going to bat for basic services that the rest of the city takes for granted,” Santosuosso said. “That ends today.”
Santosuosso thanked her predecessor, former Council Member Justin Brannan for pushing the project “across the finish line” alongside business owners and community advocates.
Dennis Vourderis, the co-owner of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park and a board member for Alliance for Coney Island, said he looks forward “to all the benefits it’ll bring, not just to the amusement district, but also to Mermaid Avenue, which it richly deserves.”
Vourderis said that BID services will be five days each week in-season and three days a week during the off-season.
Pamela Pettyjohn, founder and president of the Coney Island Beautification Project, thanked the mayor for the “historic” opportunity for Coney Island.
“We expect the formation of the Coney Island BID will be important to all of us,” Pettyjohn said. “Hopefully the BID will carry out our beautification efforts, providing the structure, resources, and long term commitment needed to keep our work going year after year, building on the work of Coney Island Beautification Project.”
