The Municipal Art Society, which has injected itself into the Coney Island debate, and has been trying to focus on coming up with some short-term strategies to keep Coney viable (which we feel should be the city’s #1 priority right now, even more important than completing the rezoning) as well as alternative visions, is holding a big public meeting tomorrow to show some of the ideas that have been submitted and to talk through the issues. Per the MAS:
The hundreds of ideas for the future of Coney Island that have been submitted so far to ImagineConey are some of the most creative, thoughtful ideas ever submitted in a process of this kind — from a proposal to build a Sushi Skate Park to rebuilding the Elephant Hotel. You can view them by clicking on the Gallery button on the ImagineConey website. If you haven’t yet had an opportunity to submit an idea, the deadline for submissions is now January 15, and an exhibit featuring all the ideas and the charrette results will open at the MAS on January 27 2009. Now, it is critical that we demonstrate to the decision-makers that New Yorkers passionately believe that Coney Island should become a great amusement and entertainment destination once again. So please join us on January 14 at 6.30PM, where the MAS will be participating in a public meeting in Coney Island at Our Lady of Solace Church. MAS will present a selection of the ideas contributed as well the economic and design work conducted by the charrette team.
The meeting will take place on January 14 from 6:30PM-8:30PM at Our Lady of Solace Church, 1717 Mermaid Ave. There is limited seating and one can RSVP online. (There is no obvious place to RSVP online, perhaps one should email imaginconey@mas.org).
GL ANALYSIS
We’re not sure if the ideas that have been submitted, some of which are even more bizarre than those floated by Thor Equities help or just muddy the waters, but the process is democratic. We simply hope the focus remains on the practrical issue of keeping Coney Island viable in 2009,2010 and beyond while the recesession and credit market make large scale redevelopment impossible.
3 responses so far ↓
1 these nuts // Jan 13, 2009 at 9:45 am
New York City’s #1 priority should be Coney Island?!?
It’s time to put the keyboard down and step away from the computer.
Have you been outside recently, maybe go outside, get some fresh air, take a walk, talk to your neighbors.
Wow.
2 Jack // Jan 13, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I’ve decided that I just don’t like any of these “re-imagining” ideas. It’s basically just non-developer artists coming up with painfully fantastic renderings that have no basis in reality. And feeds the idea the current Coney Island is 100% a dump and requires 100% a cleanup. When that isn’t the case.
Coney Island simply needs a basic cleanup and an improvement in building stock. Past that, eminent domain should be used to seized property that Joe Sitt and Horace Bullard have been squatting on for years.
As for who could run amusements, find out what exactly keeps new investors from coming there and fight that.
Also, I’m getting tired of trolls like “these nuts”. Maybe there can be a new exhibit in Coney: Ask the classic Brooklyn A-hole. For $1 no matter what you ask, the guy will rip you to shreds and then at the end go back to bed in his mom’s basement.
3 deborah matlack // Jan 13, 2009 at 3:27 pm
I hate to sound cynical, but I don’t believe these public meetings count for much, give an appearance of a democratic process, but in the end the developer is going to do his own thing and the City is going to do its thing and the public be damned.