If it were in Britain, Coney Island United could be the name of a soccer team. But Coney Island United is in Brooklyn and it’s a new Coney group that’s been set up to push a Coney agenda. Here is the group’s mission statement:

The purpose of Coney Island United is to create and move forth an agenda for the preservation and enhancement of the Greater Community of Coney Island; the preservation and upgrading of services for the existing residential community; the updating of the crumbling infrastructure; the improvement and expansion of the already existing amusement area; the restoration of Coney Island to its former glory as America’s Playground for those of every means.

The group’s leaders include Rev. Connis Mobley, pastor of United Community Baptist Church, Arthur Melnick, president of the Brooklyn City Streetcar Company, Charles Denson, who is director of the Coney Island History Project, James Prince, who owns Major Meats on Mermaid Avenue, and community advocates Regina Mitchell and Brigitte Purvis. Things on the group’s agenda include a moratorium on new construction in Coney’s residential area until infrastructure needs are identified and a goal of at least 50 percent affordable housing with new construction once it resumes with priority given to local residents. In the Amusement District, the group opposes any changes to the current amusement zoning. The group also has a long list of infrastructure concerns, saying that Coney Island’s current infrastructure will be overwhelmed by significant new development. In terms of the big redevelopment agenda, the group has this to say:

Creation of a luxury resort, or possibly even a condo/shopping mall complex, in the amusement area will only serve to undermine the needs of the current population as well as destroy the over century old legacy of America’s Playground for those of any means. This will negatively impact current residents, workers and business owners as well as people from all over the city who count on Coney Island as a relatively affordable diversion from the rigors of their everyday lives.

The full website is here.