Coney Island Rezoning Clears Major Hurdle

NEW YORK CITY-The rezoning of Coney Island cleared the next-to-last hurdle in the public review process as the City Planning Commission approved it on Wednesday. Next up in the process, which began in January, is a vote by the City Council, which is to occur within 50 days after the CPC vote.

Commission chair Amanda Burden said on Wednesday that the plan to create a 27-acre amusement and entertainment district incorporates recommendations that arose during meetings with the local community board and borough president Marty Markowitz. Revisions to the plan “strengthen the ground-floor requirements for traditional amusement uses–such as arcades, games of chance and rides–to maintain Coney Island’s one-of-a-kind amusement character in the Coney East amusement and entertainment district,” Burden said Wednesday.

Burden added, “We’ve also reduced the height limits for building streetwalls along Surf Avenue in Coney East to ensure direct visibility to the amusement park and boardwalk upon arrival in Coney Island.” She said other modifications will encourage “extraordinary design” as well as the integration of Coney Island’s historic icons in the future development.