The City Council is poised to vote on the City’s plan to rezone and revitalize Coney Island. MAS believes that Coney Island has extraordinary potential and we strongly support the city’s goals toward revitalizing it. Over the past year, MAS has been exploring how Coney Island – once the World’s Playground – can be revitalized.

We commissioned an economic study; convened a charrette (an intense design workshop) of entertainment experts; held an call for ideas; held numerous public meetings and workshops; and submitted extensive testimony and a massing study to the City. (keep reading to learn what you can do).

Through that work we developed a number of recommendations that we believe could improve the city’s plan. We support much of their plan, particularly their intent to acquire land to ensure amusements on public land in perpetuity, and we have two recommendations that we believe are important to its success. On Monday The New York Times endorsed our ideas: “We like the Municipal Art Society’s idea of doubling the size of the amusement area and removing hotels from the south side of Surf Avenue. This way, when visitors get off the subway, they will meet sunlight and open air, not a high-rise barricade.”

If you agree with us that those changes are important, please call or email your local council member and ask them to request those changes. The Council’s Land-Use Committee is expected to vote shortly and the full Council is likely to vote at the end of July. To find contact information for your council member, click here.