The city of New York has revised its ambitious rezoning plan for Coney Island, and some locals are starting to fear that the changes are a sellout to developers: When the city Economic Development Corporation announced last week—via a New … Continue reading
The Wall Street meltdown could have unforeseen pitfalls for New York taxpayers, thanks to past city development deals: Well, that was quick. In the one week since Bear Stearns suffered its total existence failure, stories of developers bailing on office-tower … Continue reading
New York state has a new governor today (the old one was defective), and what better time to rethink the dumb ideas of past administrations? Among the items topping David Paterson’s to-do list as he takes office today — get … Continue reading
My regular Monday op-ed schedule resumes, with a look ahead to tonight’s public meeting on the future of Coney Island that manages to avoid using the term “shell game”: The announcement reads “community information session,” but “Fireworks at Coney Island … Continue reading
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s long-awaited rezoning plan for Coney Island was finally released yesterday. But while most news outlets were distracted by the pretty pictures, they largely missed the bigger story – the city’s plan to use a never-before-tried … Continue reading
A demonstration against gentrification in downtown Brooklyn this weekend gave me a chance to revisit the scene of one of my previous articles: A massive throng — well, let’s say a spirited assemblage — of about 100 residents of Fort … Continue reading
Yesterday was the last day for Coney Island’s Astroland amusement park, possibly forever. I stayed to the bittersweet end to deliver this report. Yesterday was the official last day of business for Astroland, and supporters of the 45-year-old Coney Island … Continue reading
It’s the last weekend of the season for Coney Island – okay, really the next-to-last, and some attractions will stay open into October – and the start of what should be the most momentous winter in the neighborhood’s history. Locals … Continue reading
New York City makes would-be Coney Island condo developer Joe Sitt an offer he’d be stupid to refuse. In a Coney Island summer that has mostly been devoted to rumors and the report of rumors – Carol Albert is putting … Continue reading
Joe Sitt offers to swap his condos for timeshares, but the city calls it a mere bait and switch. Developers Thor Equities dropped a bombshell yesterday afternoon, sending out a terse two-paragraph e-mail declaring that it had “completely eliminated the … Continue reading