Tuesday, December 04, 2007

And The Walls Came Down

These pictures of collapsed fencing around some of Thor Equities' Coney Island property were first posted on the Coney Island USA message board by Capt_Nemo, and later reposted on The Gowanus Lounge This kind of disregard by Thor Equities is not all surprising. After all, their general modus operandi (as illustrated by the Fulton Mall) is to grab up property, then just sit it on until it becomes conveniently rezoned. Still, they could at least make a half hearted attempt to pretend they care about the neighborhood, and their own fences standing.


- post by Ben Nadler


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Exactly what is wrong getting rezoning and flipping properties? Have you seen what the Fulton Mall is going to become now? It is most likely going to be the centerpiece of that district. Its going to be absolutely amazing. I have been to that area dozens of times. Have friends who live near Fulton Street. I am so excited for that area's development now. It is not far away from Atlantic Yards.

Omar Robau said...

I agree. That is great for downtown Brooklyn. But not for Coney Island.

Coney Island in not everywhere-else-America. There are plenty of run-down areas in the city that could use a new gentrification face-lift. But not for Coney Island, which has always been a place of oddities and amusements.

The flipping of properties in Coney has only caused prices to sky-rocket spelling doom for the small amusement developer (if there are any left in this country, that is), thanks to Thor Equities.

Now, the only way possible to keep Coney Island from becoming 'Muscle13's Condo-Mall Dreamland' is for one of the large corporate amusement companies to come in and revive it.

I’ve been waiting for a long time, hoping for the little guy to come by – But now I’ve realized they long gone and retired

Anonymous said...

Nice that you call Coney "Muscle13 Condo- Mall Dreamland" I have been running a Yahoo Coney Island group since 2002 thats entitled "ConeyIsland2 - THE MOVEMENT TO MAKE CONEY ISLAND THE TOP TOURIST DESTINATION IN THE WORLD!" 3 NY Newspaper writers are members as well as several people from the community board. Does that title sound like condo mall land to you?

Coney Island #1 needs jobs and a year round economy. By the way I think the amount of condos in the City plan is just about as unrealitic as the amount of amusements they showed in the plan. What did Stan Fox say in the Bay News - something like they threw every amusement known to man in the picture.

One thing is for certain now Omar. The people of Coney and Brooklyn will be heard on this matter. And my bet is 10 to 1 they disagree with the internet point of view. It will end up about jobs and the community.

Omar Robau said...

Muscle13 Dreamland meant YOUR idea of what it should be. And that idea WILL NOT bring in the tourists but only the locals of Brooklyn abroad to SHOP.

This will not be only about the economy and the jobs. Unless you make this a clone of downtown Brooklyn. Coney Island was never about that. And that Coney Island fun-spirit that always seems to somehow stay alive, will not die to the plain and boring Simpleton-Ville that you wish Coney to be.

In the long run, the people WILL NOT and can not influence the power of the developers and the city.

Coney Island is not supposed to create all the jobs for the immediate locals who are vastly unemployed. Everyone else commutes. If unemployment is high in the 'neighborhood' part of Coney Island, it's not because they don't have jobs a few blocks away.

Anonymous said...

By the way Omar I read in the Bay News that Brian Gotlieb (former CB13 Chairman) was placing flyers in hundreds or thousands of the Coney Island homes mailboxes and gates before the last CIDC meeting just to inform them of the meeting. Now thats what I call community commitment. Kudos to Brian!

Anonymous said...

Omar - Thanks for telling me what my dream for Coney is. Appreciate it. 9 months a year deserted at night should be nobody's dream. But thats what Coney has been all our lives. Some people love that its only a summertime mecca. Some people also don't have family living there.

Omar Robau said...

And I want to see it as a YEAR ROUND AMUSEMENT AREA.

Families don't live inside the amusement area. And Coney's amusement zone should not be responsible for employing the neighborhood next to it. It hasn't, for the most part, in all these years.

Anonymous said...

Bruce/Muscle is soo not intuned with the neighborhood he doesnt live in, yet thinks he has the right to tell us how he wants Coney Island to become overbuilt like his Sheepshead Bay is. His yahoo group is a joke, you dont think like he does, your not only not welcomed there, but your banned from participation too.
No neighborhood, including his, doesnt support a tenth of the population that lives there, ask him how far he has to travel to work each day, yet Coney Island must support 40% of the people who live there.
Forget about What will happen to Fulton Mall, think of all the poor souls who believed in Joe Bull Sitt and his meaningless promises, who now are hundreds of thousands in debt because of Joe Bull Sitt. Anyone who backs Joe Bull Sitt either has financial interest, dont understand the evil, or are just stupid.
notice how he doesnt try and save Joe Bull Sitts neck in how he just doesnt care what Coney Island looks like, because it is not in his interest to make it look good.

Bruce

Anonymous said...

Omar - I believe that the people will strongly encourage the CIDC to live up to their own mission statement. I think this is going to turn out to be mostly about JOBS. I really do. And I think the jobs will come from hotels, year round amusements and entertainment -

Mission Statement -

The Coney Island Development Corporation works to make Coney Island a year-round, world-class recreational oceanfront destination through business development, job creation, new housing, and unique cultural events.