New York City buys Wonder Wheel Site

[spaceace12]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/nyregion/16coney.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin

 

New York City has bought the one-acre site of the Wonder Wheel for $11 million as part of the Bloomberg administration’s plan to preserve the historic character of Coney Island, the city announced on Wednesday.

 

The city said that it expected to acquire additional land from local owners in the coming months.

 

The property joins the Cyclone roller coaster and Steeplechase Park in bringing the total of city-owned land in the area to four acres out of the nine it hopes to protect. The land would be designated as parkland, limiting further redevelopment yet allowing for recreational activities like rides and restaurants.

 

Much of the area is currently designated under a highly restrictive zoning category, known as C7, that permits only large amusement rides. This has contributed to the area’s decline, as many amusement properties that have closed have not been replaced or redeveloped.

 

The city plans to begin a seven-month rezoning process late this year or early next year. “It would be optimal to have as much support as possible,” said Seth Pinksy, president of the Economic Development Corporation, the agency that handled the negotiation for the city.

 

He said that by the time the process was completed, he hoped to have support “from all the local players.”

 

The Wonder Wheel Amusement Park property had been in contract with Thor Equities, an investment company that has clashed with the city over the future of the historic seaside district.

 

The deal with Thor, which has invested more than $100 million in buying up Coney Island property, fell through about three months ago, said Christopher F. McGratty, chairman of Ward Realty, owner of the site.

 

“We went to the closing table with everything ready,” said Mr. McGratty, who is the grandson of William J. Ward, a 19th-century Coney Island pioneer. “Thor failed to close, then they wanted to renegotiate the contract, and we couldn’t come to an agreement.”

 

As a result, Thor forfeited its deposit. Several weeks ago the Ward family began negotiating with the city, which bought the property for the same price that Thor had agreed to.

 

A Thor Equities spokesman did not immediately return a call for comment. “We have made it clear that we are very interested in doing this in a way that benefits everyone,” Mr. Pinsky said.. “I think this is an example of our ability to accomplish this.”

 

The city and Thor Equities, the largest landowner in the area, had been at loggerheads despite a proposed compromise by the Bloomberg administration to shrink the city-owned amusement area that would be protected in perpetuity to 9 acres from 15. “We continue to stand behind the rezoning framework,” Mr. Pinsky said. “We think it’s the right plan for Coney Island both from an amusement perspective and for the larger community.”

 

The chairman of Thor, Joseph J. Sitt, who grew up in nearby Gravesend, had developed his own $1.5 billion proposal for the area, which involved a much more elaborate area of amusements, stores and condominiums. In recent months, Mr. Sitt seemed willing to wait for the arrival of the next mayor, but that strategy has been complicated by Mr. Bloomberg’s attempt to seek a third term.

 

Mr. McGratty said that the purchase would help achieve the goal of preserving the character of Coney Island. “The family is really happy to see the city step up and maintain grandpa’s vision,” Mr. McGratty said.

 

NYC should buy Astroland and keep it from being Condos.

[FLIPDUDE]

Fantastic! I always liked Bloomberg, and he just got a couple extra cool points in my book!

[coasterbill]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/nyregionNYC should buy Astroland and keep it from being Condos.

Astroland is a dump, personally I'd like to see them get rid of it but I wish it could be another amusement park rather than condos.

[Cygnus12]

It doesn't have to look look nice to be fun; that's what I always said about Astroland.

[coasterbill]

It needs to look a lot better than it does now. Coney Island was never a big place for nostalgia, it was the place for the cutting edge and extreme. Personally I would landscape the place a little bit, and then add some really cool rides. Coney Island needs to go back to being a place for cutting edge thrills.

[FLIPDUDE]

Well it said on the article that they're going to rezone it, therefore making it so new, better rides can be built in place of the old, closed ones.

[jamesdillaman]

Keep the cyclone and wonder wheel, and of course the Nathan's Hot Dog stand, but everything else there can go to crap for all I care. I'd love to see some sort of museum or pictorial history of coney island somewhere, sort of a memorial to the past parks and such...

 

-James Dillaman

[Cygnus12]

^ They already have somrthing like that. It's not much, but the Coney Island History Project resides in a building under the Cyclone.

 

But why just have a museum dedicated to Coney's past? Why not have a park like the ones of yesteryear? While a park like that might not contain something like Astroland's insane Top Spin or Breakdance, it'll beat the hell out of condos, shopping malls or vacant lots.

[coasterbill]

Keep the cyclone and wonder wheel, and of course the Nathan's Hot Dog stand, but everything else there can go to crap for all I care.

 

-James Dillaman

 

I agree

Keep Keyspan Park, the Parachute Drop (Open it), the Wonder Wheel, Nathans and the Cyclone and bulldoze the rest of it.

 

Then start from scratch and actually put in something nice. Including shops along the boardwalk (and how about some new planks?)

[Airtime&Gravity]

^I thought that that is what they wanted to do. Did that plan get canceled, or was it just for the redevelopment of Astroland?