The Bloomberg administration took a real drubbing at city hall on Wednesday. The hearing of the Land Use Subcommittee, which was headed by councilman Avella, started out like most of these meetings.
The Coney Island Development Corp (CIDC) gave their presentation detailing the administration's plans for Coney. Nothing new here, still only 9 acres for outdoor amusements, four hotel towers south of Surf Ave where they don't belong. Lots of talk of demapping and mapping park land. That demapping must take place in order to realize the full benefits of this plan, meaning more residential units on Coney West.
The city's plan calls for the demapping of parkland. This land being the parking lot at Keyspan Park. That land is mapped as parkland because the Steeplechase Park once stood on it. The city wants to demap it as park land so that Taconic Realty can build residential and retail units on it. The state mandates that if land if demapped then other land must be swapped in it's place as parkland.
The city wants to map the area between The Cyclone and Keyspan park as parkland. The city wants this land for amusements and they say mapping it as parkland will protect it from land developers in the future.
In order for the city to do this it must acquire the 10 acres of land that Thor Equities owns. That land includes the former Astroland site.
The big problems with this plan are this. Thor has turned down offers from the city to buy the land. The last offer by the city was $105 million for land that Thor paid $95 mil for . Thor turned the city down cold.
The other problem for the city is that the state legislature must approve any demapping and land swap. The state legislature has said they will not approve any plan until the city acquires the land. They will not approve any plan that would end up in the city taking land from land holders.
I've seen the city's presentation more times than I care to remember and I could probably recite it in my sleep. Everything seemed like the same old news. That is until Seth Pinsky, head of the Economic Development Corp (EDC) finished his presentation. After that things got heated up.
I should have known something was up when Councilman Avella commented right after the CIDC presentation was over that "the city's presentation was too long and repeated itself time and again."
Then it was Councilman's Recchia's (Coney Island's councilman) turn to ask questions. Recchia started bellowing at the top of lungs at Seth Pinsky. That's when I got my notepad out and starting scribbling.
What Recchia was going on about, and this was repeated by many of the councilmembers, was the issue of acquiring land, the condemnation process or eminent domain, the lack of time to get all this done, and the arrogance of the administration.
Dominic Recchia wanted to know what would happen if the city could not acquire the land from land holders. Would they use Eminent Domain? To this question Seth Pinsky said basically, " it is not the intention of the city to use this process." Did Pinsky know how long the condemnation process took?
Pinsky did not.
Recchia countered by saying that if the demapping is approved, then the city has the right to use condemnation. Will the city use it?
Pinsky admitted that this was true but the city would rather not use Eminent domain.
This answer was the source of much frustration for the councilmembers throughout the hearing. At one point Councilman Felder tried to make Pinsky take an oath that the city would not use eminent domain (ED). Pinsky would not give a straight answer to this question.
Felder pressed, "what if you are stuck with a property owner who will not sell?"
Pinsky again wouldn't say the city would or would not.
Felder voiced his frustration by saying he felt like he was back at the Yeshiva trying to dig into an ambiguous part of the Torah.
Recchia brought up the issue of the Vourderis family and their Wonder Wheel Park. The city plan calls for a new street to be built called Wonder Wheel Way (WWW). Originally planned as a pedestrian walk way that would make it easier to get from one end of Coney to the other. In the revised plan the WWW is now a vehicular street and it would cut right into the middle of Wonder Wheel Park. This would shrink the size of the park causing the loss of at least two rides.
The Vourderis Family is against this and Recchia said he vote not to approve the plan if WWW remained.
Recchia also wanted to know why Steeplechase Park could not have more rides instead of a skate park.
The answer was that the constituents wanted a skate park.
Councilmember Katz asked what would happen if the demapping of park land was not approved.
The answer was that a lot of the housing could not be constructed.
Seth Pinsky said that the first step would be the city council signaling to the state legislature that there is parkland available.
Councilmember Helen Sears wanted to know how long would this project take to complete.
The answer was that while some aspects have already started, the entire project would take 10 to 15 years to complete.
She also noted that if the demapping is approved, it does give the city right of ED.
Again Pinsky said he did not think it would get to the point of condemnation.
Sears noted that there are many flaws that needed to be cleared up before the city council can approve the plan.
She said the time frame was overwhelming.
Councilman Avella said the EDC's record of negotiating with the landowners was dismal. He said the city should admit it might need to use ED for the plan to succeed.
Councilman Jackson wanted to know how demapping effects the value of the land.
While Seth Pinsky did not answer this it was said throughout the hearing that demapping would devalue the land because it would restrict developers on what could be built on that land.
Avella commented that the ULRP application (the application to rezone Coney Island) should be pulled because of the lack of time.
Avella said that the drop dead date for this process was July 29th and any modifications must be done by July 13th. That's less than a month.
It is up to the administration to pull the application.
Avella added that "whenever the administration testifies they are arrogant.
Then it came time for the landowners to speak.
Jessie Mazur, Thor's attorney, said that approval of this plan would compromise the city council's power over what happens in Coney, giving much of that power to the state.
He said instead of demapping the city should just set up an amusement zone.
This coming from a man who represents a company that has closed down many amusements and rides shrinking the amusements to a mere three acres.
Taconic, the other major land holder supports the plan because most of their land would not be affected by demapping. If the city plan goes through, they would be able to build residential units in Coney West.
The Russo Family, owner of Gargiulo's Restaurant supports the plan because the rezoning would allow them to put a new restaurant on Surf Ave.
The Vourderis Family, owners of Denos Wonder Wheel Park, wants to support the plan they need to protect their amusement park.
They pointed out two serious points of contention.
1:The designation of their property as parkland would remove their control over their property.
2: Wonder Wheel Way cuts through the center of their park. They would lose at least two rides and it would diminish the size of their park. It would also sever the continuity of the park from Surf Ave. to the boardwalk.
Dick Zigun of Coney Island USA pointed out the issue of ride capacity.
The city's plan allows for a very narrow strip of land that will not be enough to build the big rides that will draw the crowds.
He said that removing WWW will increase the acreage and that the Bowery already serves the purpose of WWW.
Zigun ended by saying that if Dominic Recchia could straiten this out he could be the next Borough President or perhaps congressman.
Recchia said he liked that.
That's all the notes that I took. The hearing dragged on for a good seven hours with no breaks for lunch. I finally got a chance to speak unlike the last hearing on April 1st.
Here is the text of my testimony:
City Council's Land-Use Sub-Committee Re: Coney Island
July 1st, 2009
Rezoning plan for Coney Island.
Testimony by Harold Kramer.
My name is Harold Kramer. My family used to own a ride out in Coney Island called the Thunderbolt. For nearly 60 years my Aunt Molly, Uncle George, and Cousin Fred owned, ran and lived under the ride. They raised a family there a had two sons. Fred who ran the ride after his dad George passed away in 1965, and Harold David for whom I am named after. Harold died a hero as a pilot in World War 2. The story of the Morans and the Thunderbolt are the stuff of legends. Coney Island legends. It's what makes the history of Coney Island so wonderful and alive.
In 2000 the Thunderbolt suffered from bad city policy and was demolished. No regard for the history or significance of the ride. And the demolition was done against the law.
Now New York City has a chance to recapture and expand the glory of Coney Island. Or it can give in to the big money and create something with little regard to what New Yorkers and the world want. We want Coney Island back. We want an amusement area that is bigger and better than ever. One that will actually draw people from all over the world.
The current rezoning plan envisions only 12 acres of open-air amusements, an area the New York Times and RCLco (MAS)called “simply too small to attract enough rides and attractions to bring back the big crowds.” It is essential to set aside at least 25 acres for open-air amusements to ensure Coney Island has enough space to accommodate the potential attendance of 3.5 million visitors and create a truly world-class amusement area.
The City Council must FIX the city's plan by making the following amendments:
1) Expand the acreage for outdoor rides and amusements.
2) Prevent high-rise towers from invading the heart of the amusement district.
3) Promote small businesses and local entrepreneurs and prevent their displacement.
4) Protect Coney Island's historic buildings.
5) Create jobs for New Yorkers in the amusement industry by preserving amusement zoning.
By fixing its plan, the city can revitalize Coney Island's historic amusement district, preserving it as a playground for all New Yorkers, a world-class tourist destination and an economic engine for the Coney Island community and New York City.
I've attached the Viability of an Amusement Destination plan for Coney Island that was put together by RCLco for the Municipal Art Society. This plan was presented February 11, 2009, at their Imagine Coney presentation.
http://mas.org/images/media/original/MAS-economic-briefing-malmuth-21109.pdf [
It is the only realistic plan for the future of Coney and it is the only plan put together by people in the Amusement Industry.
I have also attached the NY Times Article "Minding Coney Island " from Feb 3rd, 2009.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/opinion/04wed4.html?_r=3&ref=opinion Here are some pictures from the hearing.
Coucilman Felder grills EDC chairman Seth Pinsky about rezoning Coney Island.
Dianna Carlin, Charles Denson, and Dick Zigun at the city hall hearing.
CIDC president Lynn Kelly and Bklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz at city hall hearing.
Dick Zigun points out where Coney Island USA is on the map.
Charles Denson(on left side of panel), author of "Coney Island Lost and Found" speaking on panel to the city council.
Me after 7 hours inside city hall.
