Michael Immerso, author of Coney Island: The People's Playground, wrote in the Wall Street Journal this weekend a conditional endorsement of the Bloomberg administration's Coney Island plans:

New York's goal of making Coney a year-round tourist destination is worthy of support -- but not in a way that leaves insufficient space for seasonal attractions and amusements that have become synonymous with Coney Island. The city hasn't yet struck a proper balance. Under the current plan, too little land is allotted for the outdoor amusements, arcades and game stands that have long been Coney Island summer staples. The redevelopment zone comprises some 47 acres, and with the right zoning there can be ample space for year-round attractions without confining classic Coney Island amusements to a fraction of that area.

Then there's this beautiful historical context:  read more »

With two straight days of rain ahead of us, we can't think of many things that would be better than spending the weekend watching movies. Films even (hey, it is fall). And lucky us, there happens to be this massive film festival going on. Actually, there are two! If you're interested in some cinematic fare that's perhaps a bit more under the radar, the 8th Annunal Coney Island Film Festival, which kicks off tonight, might be worth checking out. This year's centerpiece is Save Coney Island, a film that documents the past year's worth of efforts to preserve the historic Brooklyn amusement site.  read more »

Back in the late spring, the city added a few new slides to its Coney Island redevelopment plan PowerPoint, presumably to assuage critics, that showed successively how the core amusement area has shrunk decade after decade to become just a pitiful shadow of what it once was. With the city's planned rezoning, the pitch went, Coney could come closer to its heyday and be large and lively by historic standards.

Now with Astroland apparently headed to amusement park heaven, the city added a new slide.

"Coney Island: 2009?" the slide read, showing an overhead view with active amusements highlighted in orange, and a big swath missing where Astroland is today.  read more »

"Good riddance! Throngs of confused people meandering knee-deep in trash blown from unattended-to garbage cans. Nice! Really, really nice! There are many other cleaner, safer, better beaches and boardwalk attractions so close in Jersey... Coney Island doesn't even have a shell store or decent restaurant associated with its beach area." ["Advantage Sitt! Astroland Closing for Good"]

Here's a statement from Astroland co-owner Carol Hill Albert on the Coney Island amusement park's impending closure for good this Sunday. It was sent to the Save Coney Island listserv.

I am making this statement today to set the record straight. I have not "given up on Coney Island" as Thor Equities has stated. I have given up on trying to get Thor to negotiate which I have attempted to do every month since June, and numerous times in August. Each time their response was, "We have no answer." The safety of our customers and our commitment to employees means our time has run out. Ride parts must be ordered a minimum of eight to 10 months in advance. My employees cannot live in a state of limbo any longer. It takes six months to pack up a three-acre amusement park that has been in operation for 46 years, so a January 31st deadline means start packing yesterday. We are out of time.  read more »

Coney Island's Astroland will have its last day this Sunday. Then it's over for the iconic amusement park, according to reports out this afternoon. A deal couldn't be reached by 1 p.m. today between Astroland's operator and its landlord Joseph Sitt, who has big plans for the area (if the city doesn't get its way first).

Here's the Post's take. Here's an emailed statement from Lynn Kelly, president of the Bloomberg administration's Coney Island Development Corporation:

Today’s announcement that Astroland will close after 46 years should be a serious wake-up call to those who have stood back and watched as the fate of Coney Island has been left in limbo without any safeguards for its future.

 read more »

It's only July and already the so-called "Summer of Hope" is winding down on Coney Island.

Gowanus Lounge is reporting that the various rides and attractions touted by controversial developer Joe Sitt back in April are currently being dismantled, apparently headed to some other carnival site in Tennessee.

This Coney Island music video has been around for a few months now, but we only stumbled upon it today (via a Brooklyn Paper article). The tune was performed (i.e., delivered in public comment form) at the uncharacteristically not-boring planning meeting Tuesday evening on the city's proposed Coney Island rezoning.

We thought we’d post a few renderings from the city’s slideshow at its rowdy Coney Island scoping meeting Tuesday evening.

All goes without saying that renderings are a crucial tool in the battle to win public support for development projects in the city. The last batch made by the city, now somewhat obsolete given that the plan has since been modified, emphasized rides and roller coasters, whereas this time the city seems to be trying to stress the street-level vitality that could come as a result of the plan.

Renderings from the Department of City Planning:

Leading up to tonight’s scoping meeting of the Coney Island revamp, various advocacy groups and others are staking out positions on the city’s plan, a few of which have ended up in our inbox. The comments are on the latest iteration of the plan, which was altered after it met opposition from Councilman Domenic Recchia, who sided with landowners including major property owner Joseph Sitt.

The hearing, which starts at six in Coney Island, has attracted a large bit of attention given that it's ostensibly intended for comments on what should or should not be included in a draft environmental impact statement.  read more »