Tuesday, August 04, 2009

It's High-Towered Curtains For Coney Island...I Need A Drink!

Image compiled from photo on reBar's website

Image note: The above image is a replacement. The previous image composition was removed due to one of the elements that was taken from another photo was mistakenly used here without permission. My apologies to the original photographer.

While the city wins this round, making the future of Coney Island look bleak, the Coney Island saviors feel the need to regroup at the nearest watering hole to recharge their batteries and find refuge, once again, away from Coney Island in the 'hipper' parts of town; North Brooklyn!

Last week New York's City Council voted to approve Mayor Bloomberg's plan to revitalize Coney Island, which will bring in a six-story entertainment mall within four high-rise hotels, while shrinking the open-air amusements and threaten important historic buildings like Nathan's Famous. This will turn Coney Island into a clone of other gentrificated urban centers around the country. A fate that will no longer represent the the uniqueness that has always been Coney Island.

Feeling powerless against the city that has shown no remorse or respect towards Coney's character, our fight has driven us to the nearest watering hole to recoup, re-plan, and recharge for the charge. Though, unfortunately not in Coney Island, the Save Coney Island team is gearing us to all to stay together in keeping up the fort:

In their latest press release:

This much is clear. Save Coney Island will continue to ressure the City to buy as much land as possible for outdoor amusements. It will push for the landmarking of the historic buildings that this plan puts at risk. It will fight the construction of those high-rise towers within the amusement area. And it will resist the privatization of parkland, insisting that it remain devoted for public use.


Here are the details of our pit-stop watering hole just a few stones throw from Coney.
Happy Hour (next steps!) at the Rebar (the backroom).
Located at 147 Front Street in DUMBO.
Directions are: take the A, C, or F
Be there this Wednesday, August 5th
at 6:30 PM

You could leave your Coney rally garg at home but don't forget your torch and your will to keep on fighting!


6 comments:

Unknown said...

Reality check: it is *really* difficult to get volunteers out to an organizing meeting, regardless of where/when. In my short time of volunteering with them, Save Coney Island has had petition drives, call-ins, meetings, rallies, and more, across the *entire* borough-- and yes, including Coney Island. Instead of working to misrepresent the folks (Coney residents and non-residents alike) who are speaking out against the plan (which you yourself seem to agree is disastrous), why not stick to the productive? And if you've got some suggestions, share them with the organizers instead of wielding your Photoshop 101 skills against them. It's Bloomberg, Sitt, and the other usual suspects who deserve the snark.

Omar Robau said...

Hillary E:

My 'attack' was a humble complaint almost hidden between the lines. Because I don't want to attack the people who are making a great effort to save Coney Island.

However, I think it is fair to say that too many of these Coney events are held outside of Coney Island. True, that there aren't many places in Coney Island to hold them but it would help to keep events in Coney. But this is not a major issue, anyway. I just wish more vibrant events were held in Coney.

And I'm sorry my graphics are 101 for you, but they're not meant to be elaborate.

Unknown said...

Omar:
Thanks for your reply. It's true that your text was very supportive of the effort, but the visual isn't really hidden "between the lines." As you yourself probably know, images have a way of getting picked up and disseminated, usually out of context.

Blame my catty photoshopping comment on a visceral reaction to seeing a photo of an event that took enormous effort to organize chopped up into a (fairly misleading) collage.

Hope to see you at the next Save Coney event, where ever it may be!

ConeyRocks said...

I can't wait until the next Mermaid Parade Omar! Save Coney from Rezoning, Save Coney from Rezoning!!! Stop the hotels zoning! Stop the year round zoning!Stop the movie and restaurant zoning!

ooops it already happened.

ConeyRocks said...

I gotta really hand it to Bloomberg. When it came down to crunch time he got through bigtime year round zoning for Coney East, North, and West.

They zoned a new city. 4500 units unbelievable. I would not be surprised if Taconic becomes interested in the hotels in Coney East as well. Everybody in development has to be talking to everybody else after rezoning. It's only natural.

Unknown said...

monster.... listen... do you hear that?? its the value of your condo dropping to the no market for new condos. just wait till those '4500' come online, yours probably wont be worth the mortgage you have on it ;) Couldnt happen to a nicer guy.