Historical Survey of Coney Island Resort in Brooklyn - Essay Example

Lecturer Name Course Coney Island is found in southwestern Brooklyn on the Atlantic Ocean side of New York City. Formerly an outer barrier Island, Coney Island is now connected to the mainland by a landfill (Sanderson, 89). While one part of Coney Island is a residential area housing over 60,000 people the Island is mostly known for its seaside resort and amusement parks (Department of City Planning). Before, the First World War the resort and the parks used to major tourist attractions but due to years of neglect they have lost their popularity. According to Sanderson, Coney Island was originally occupied by Native Americans who called the Island Narrioch which translates to land without shadows (87). After European settlement the Island and New York became a Dutch colony. Due to the many rabbit species that were to be found on the island, the Dutch called the Island Conyne Eylandt which whose pronunciation in English is Coney Island which means rabbit island (Sanderson, 95). The many rabbit species on Coney Island only disappeared recently when their habitats were destroyed by resort developments that had initially been opposed by the city of New York. In the 1830s and 1840s, Coney became a major tourist attraction for vacationers from Manhattan and other boroughs of New York. Steamships could dock at the two Iron piers constructed on the island until they were destroyed by a fire in 1911 (Denison). Vacationers could also easily reach Coney Island from other States as the ease of transport across the nations had been improved by newly build carriage roads and steamship services from distant towns (Cudahy). In 1860s, the excursion railroad, the streetcar line and Coney Island & Brooklyn railroad arrived at the Island (Cudahy). The first major resort on Coney Island was the Coney Island Hotel constructed in 1892 (Denison). Soon after, the Manhattan Beach hotel, Brighton Hotel and Oriental hotel opened on the Island bringing new levels of elegance to the resort island (Denison). However, a further development in transport technology transformed Coney Island from resort town to a beach town easily accessible from Manhattan in a few minutes (Department of City Planning). Between 1885 and 1896, Coney Island monument, the Coney Island Elephant was visible to anyone approaching New York from the sea, before they could see the Statue of Liberty (Denison) Coney Island was to become busier when its subway line was upgraded and the New West End Terminal opened in 1915 and 1919 respectively (Cudahy). Since 1916, the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest has been held on Coney Island (Denison). In recent times, the contest has received wide attention and television coverage and serves as a key tool for attracting visitors to Coney Island. The fall of Coney Island’s economy started in 1945 shortly after the end of the Second World War. According to Denison several pressures led to the decline of Coney Island as a tourist attraction. First, motor vehicles made access to less crowded competing Long Island state parks easier. Secondly, some of the Islands amusement parks started closing down; Luna Park stopped operation in 1946 following a series of fires (Calder). Secondly, people could avoid the heat in their air conditioned homes, while air-conditioned movie theatres were replacing beaches as attractions. Prostitution also increased in the Coney Island area. In the 1950, Coney Island was confronted by the street gang problems which hand spilled over from the mainland New York. By 1964, Steeplechase park Coney’s remaining amusement park had closed down (Calder). According to street.easy. com the median price for house in Coney Island is $330,500 for 900 square feet translating into a price of $312 per foot of housing. However, the development of both commercial and residential properties on Coney Island has been a controversial issue (Rosen). Initially, City authorities were opposed to piers and building south of the Islands Surf Avenue. In frequent cases, building on Coney Island violated the city’s zoning rules. Thor Equities have been involved in major land acquisition plans in the Coney Island area. In 2005, Thor and it's owner Joe Sitt’s were accused of trying to circumvent zoning laws when they were said to be attempting to develop a shopping mall in the middle of a zone set aside for amusement parks (Rosen). According to Calder the city was favoring Joe Sitt’s plans to turn Coney Island into a retail shopping Island. In his views the City and Thor Equities were trying to edge out the amusement parks in favor of retail shopping. In June 2008, the City’s department of planning revised Coney Island’s zoning plans. In the New zoning plan, Coney Island’s western and northern sections are zoned for mixed retail and residential use. While the area that was formerly zoned for amusement parks was zoned for an entertainment centre that would consist of a hotel, new rides, a water park and a steel roller coaster (Department of City Planning). According to Calder, the old landmarks like the Cyclone, the parachute jump and the wonder wheel would be preserved. Astroland would also be taken over by the city and handed to people who want to invest in rides (Bagli). The zoning plan also included a new community centre and an expansion of the amusement park on the South End. In the plans seem to largely favor the proposals of Thor, the revised plan cuts down the area designed for open amusement parks to 9 acres down from 15 that had been proposed earlier (Rosen). However, the city maintains that it wants to preserve the amusement area as it is (Department of City Planning). However, the new zoning plan expanded the area for closed amusement and closed retails a move that residents counter is an attempt to introduce large-scale retail in the area to crowd out the amusements (Department of City Planning). The new plans were criticized by those who had proposed the original plans as an attempt to allow, Thor Equities to build a Mega-mall in the area formerly set aside for amusements. Thor Equities in 2006 released plans for the development of a new amusement park in the area on the present site of Astroland (Lombino). However, the Thor Equities plan was viewed suspiciously by residents. According to Rosen, Thor Equities had no interest in building an amusement park; instead the project has been just a front for developing a new mega-mall in the area. Thor intentions were brought into doubt by the fact that they had removed the amusements on most of the properties they had bought in the area recently. Most thought that Thor would stop all amusement on Astroland after the 2007 season close. Previously Thor had taken advantage of the City’s willingness to change its zoning plans to allow the developer complete dubious development plans. In 2001, Thor asked for permission to redevelop Albee Square Mall into a Las Vegas Style mall (Rosen). As part of the deal Thor was to allow the original vendors to occupy space on the ground floor (Bagli). Thor had initially purchased the mall at $25 million and with such noble intentions; the City rezoned the property to allow Thor to go ahead with their development (Lombino). Instead of developing the property as agreed, Thor sold it to Arcadia Realty trust for a whooping $125 million (Rosen). Arcadia’s plans for the mall include building a tower in place of the mall with no regard to the agreement with the City. Most people claim that Thor will do the same with other properties once zoning rules are changed in their favor. Indeed Thor motives for seeking zoning reconsideration are questionable. In 2007, Thor started evicting tenants on the properties it owned on the boardwalk (Rosen). Remaining tenants were required to sign a contract containing a confidentiality clause requiring them not to comment on any developments or oppose them publicly (Rosen). On November 2006, Carol Hill Albert transferred the ownership of Astroland to Thor Equities for an undisclosed amount. Thor tabled proposals for the expansion and renovation of the Coney Island amusement area to include hotels, movies, retail shopping, an indoor water park and new roller coaster ride (Rosen). The suspicious plan would cost $1.5 billion. Like other Thor’s redevelopment plans it would require rezoning of the affected area. The 2007 zoning plan launched by the City was heavily in favor of building hotels and malls in the area set aside for amusement. In January 2009, the new Coney zoning plan was approved to negative response by most residents and other enthusiasts of Coney Island (Bagli). The new plan allowed Thor equities to demolish most of the iconic, early 20th-century landmarks on Surf Avenue. In a move criticized as threatening to amusements, Surf Avenue will be home to one story retails including Taco bells and Burger King according to Thor’s plan (Bagli). Furthermore, 4500 units of housing and 900 units of cheap units will come up in the amusement area further threatening to edge out the amusement business from Coney Island (Rosen). The residents of Coney have to choose whether to preserve the city heritage as an amusement centers or accept the new development that promise to change to face of the Islands economy. Works Cited Amanda M. Burden, New York City Department of City Planning NY Bagli, Charles. Seeking Revival, City to Buy Land in Coney Island. New York Times, November Calder, Rich "Ride Over for Coney Classics". New York Post, September 5. 2007. Web Cudahy, Brian. How we got to Coney Island: the development of mass transportation in Brooklyn and Kings County. 2002. Web. Denson, Charles Coney Island: Lost and Found. New York: Ten Speed Press. 2002. Department of City Planning. Coney Island Comprehensive Rezoning Plan: Existing Context and Zoning. 2013. Web Lombino, David. A $1.5 Billion Vision for Coney Island. New York Sun, November 13. 2006. Web Rosen, Armin. Coney Island's Latest Roller Coaster Ride. Gotham Gazette's Jul 28. 2008. Web Sanderson, Eric W. "Mannahatta: a natural history of New York City." (2009). Streeteasy.com. Real Estate for Sale in Coney. 2013. Web Read More