Coney Island USA’s Dick Zigun, recently resigned his membership on the board of the Coney Island Development Corporation and has become an outspoken critic of the city’s revised rezoning proposal. Here’s a video of testimony at the often raucous Scoping Hearing on Tuesday night, as well as a written version of his words after the jump.
My name is Dick Zigun and during my 30 year involvement in Coney Island I have worn many hats
Tonight, I am wearing three hats. The flamboyant red derby will represent my work as an artist; the conservative grey derby will represent my work as a director of the CIDC; and the traditional black derby will represent my 25 years of work as the spokesman for the amusement industry within NYC.
(RED HAT)
As an artist I wish to publicly thank Councilman Domenic Recchia as well as NYC EDC, the CIDC, and especially the NYC Dept of Cultural Affairs for years of support for the arts in Coney Island and especially for helping us secure competitive funding for a permanent home for CIUSA. Make no mistake about it, our funding is and was 100% based on merit and 30 hard years of service and yet in thanks I take my red hat off to you folks who are both good government public servants as well as my friends. Councilman Recchia especially has worked hard for the arts in all five boros, has funded parks and good projects in his district and worked side by side with me to landmark Child’s Restaurant on the Boardwalk. Although I strongly disagree with the Councilman on this rezoning issue, I consider him a good man and to see him attacked in the papers the other day and myself attacked in the Post last week is nothing but the politics of personal destruction and I wish no more of that. We are all good people here.
(GREY HAT)
With regret, tonight I am resigning my position as a Director of the CIDC with this speech. I am honored that Mayor Bloomberg appointed me and even tonight thank the Mayor for purchasing the B&B Carousell, funding CIUSA’s bldg. purchase, and for countless other good deeds he has done for us at the beach.
For the record, I was appointed to the CIDC for my role in the community, I remind you again based on merit and service. At my first briefing as a Director I asked Lynn Kelly if there was any quid pro quo, if I had to shut up and to her merit and integrity she told me no, that the city appreciated my genuine support for the Strategic Plan and hoped only that I would use my communication skills to promote and defend the plan.
For three years I was the Mayor’s #1 cheerleader for the CIDC Strategic Plan even though I had no hand in writing it and for three years I worked hard with the other Directors, all good people who care deeply about Coney Island. Public hearings, stakeholder meetings, endless negotiations and with a total of 4 years of work a consensus plan was put forth with balance and merit and something for everyone. Fellow directors of the CIDC, my hat off to you.
(BLACK HAT)
Unfortunately, as much as I’d like to, I cannot put the grey hat representing my support for the CIDC back on my head. Two months ago, the process broke down. I didn’t change my mind about the plan, the city gutted our plan. I didn’t leave the CIDC the CEDC left me. I am not against development or condos or retail, I only ask for development done in the right way with consensus. Nothing more but nothing less then the city’s own plan just a few months ago.
I am resigning from the CIDC because the people I have spoken up for my entire adult life need my voice now more then ever. Astroland and Deno’s Wonderwheel Park cannot speak up because they are negotiating lease with Joe Sitt. The Stillwell Avenue and Boardwalk businesses and past President of the CI Chamber cannot speak up because they had to sign confidentiality clauses with Joe Sitt and lately people have been suggesting I should not speak up because the city was good to me. Yes, indeed the city has been good to me but there is a disrespect for the amusement industry which has not been at the negotiating table and that is not right; if I am their spokesman I have no choice but to speak out even though it has caused nothing but trouble for me. Since I am no longer a director of the CIDC and now wear the hat of the amusement industry spokesman in NYC let’s review what is wrong with the process:
The current zoning laws of NYC define no Coney north east or west rather according to current law there are some 61 acres zoned C-7 amusements. Before there was a CIDC the Astella Development Corp which did good work in residential coney island funding a private study that recommended rezoning C-7 to housing. At their public hearing the entire membership of the CI Chamber attended in mass and denounced that plan yet Astella said they ran out of funding to acknowledge our objections in their final draft and that flawed plan planted the seeds of this flawed process.
The current zoning laws of NYC define no Coney north east or west rather according to current law there are some 61 acres zoned C-7 amusements. Before there was a CIDC the Astella Development Corp which did good work in residential coney island funding a private study that recommended rezoning C-7 to housing. At their public hearing the entire membership of the CI Chamber attended in mass and denounced that plan yet Astella said they ran out of funding to acknowledge our objections in their final draft and that flawed plan planted the seeds of this flawed process.
The CIDC itself was created by Councilman Recchia who appointed 6 directors, 6 were appointed by the mayor and 1 by Boro Pres Markowitz. Not one amusement industry representative was on the CIDC when the Strategic Plan was written yet the good people on the CIDC wrote a fair plan. However, when Astroland and Deno’s tried to put forward year round ideas of their own, you did not want to work with them. The Strategic Plan was written by elected officvial’s chosen people yet some of the same elected officials dismiss their own plan as “unrealistic”… I dismiss the new plan as “disrespectful”.
In my 3 years of service on the CIDC I have had no imput except as cheerleader. My advocacy of the Surf Avenue trolley was not incorporated. My choice for the Aquarium perimeter redesign was not selected. My suggestion for Times Square like zoning requiring big signs neon and lights is not in it. I have advocated innovative Vegas fantasy architecture rather then glass box buildings; the saving of historic buildings like Grasshorn and Henderson’s; FAR protection of Nathan’s and the Shore Theater; none of these ideas adopted and yet I stayed on and fought for the Strategic Plan until even that barely acceptable plan was recently gutted.
The original plan takes the empty lots north of Surf Avenue and west of Keyspan stadium for housing but wisely places the entertainment retail on the ground level: a wise exchange of air rights but now the ground floor is to be ordinary dry cleaners and hardware stores currently available one block away on Mermaid Avenue. This is not only a land grab but this is apartheid retail. The original plan develops the core amusement area south of Surf Avenue as a 21st century amusement/entertainment year round world class tourist attraction. The new plan puts a 30 story hotel in front of a landmark and builds a nice innovative shopping mall for south Brooklyn leaving a small playground of amusements for tourists. To call this new plan “the world’s playground” is George Orwell doublespeak. When Times Square was redeveloped the city did not demolish 70% of the Broadway theatres therein, they knew that was the attraction. Coney Island is a national treasure, not a local issue and the attraction is the amusement industry. I ask you, I urge you, I beg you to cancel this plan… fix the process… and come back to us here in two months with yet a 3rd Draft EIS Hearing. You will tell me that’s unlikely or impossible… but the precedent for just that was set only 2 months ago.
I urge the audience in attendance here to respectfully allow this meeting to happen. Of course you can boo or applaud (this is Brooklyn) but if you disrupt the hearing they will only reschedule it and you will have to here again . You are here and you will be heard. This is a democracy and the public reaction is part of the process. God bless America.
And speaking of the creator, I have so personally been confused and conflicted by all this lack of consensus that I turned to my spiritual advisor, the good Reverend Billy. The Reverend and Queen Mermaid Savitri D. and the Choir of the Church of Stop Shopping are not here to be agitators or disrupt things. As the head of a nationally prominent arts organization right here in Coney Island I asked them to come testify because they are the foremost professional artists in the entire US of A who address the real estate issues. Rather then confrontation I have brought you a big Broadway style musical for entertainment but the Reverend might just reach down in your soul and turn you around.
Finally, I am ready willing and able to work with everyone here to bring back consensus and promote a good plan. There was consensus only a few months ago but it was thrown out for greed. Politicians should keep their own promises so let’s take a 2nd look at the wise original plan.
