Conceptual rendering of Coney Island Master Plan released in 2007 by the Bloomberg administration in the lead-up to the 2009 rezoning shows residential towers north and west of the ballpark including on the parking lot (Parcel A). Credit: Holm Architecture Office via CIDC/NYCEDC Press Kit, 2007.
The recently announced “bold new vision” plan for Coney Island is not "new," it’s not "bold," and it’s certainly not visionary. This plan is part of the 2009 Bloomberg rezoning that greatly reduced the Coney Island amusement zone. For some reason it’s being recycled to make it seem as if New York’s troubled Mayor Adams is behind it.
Building high-rises on the 1,000-car parking lot (“Parcel A”) that serves Coney Island’s minor league ballpark is the last segment of the 2009 rezoning plan to take effect and it will have a devastating effect on the future of Coney Island. When construction begins, it will be the death knell for the Brooklyn Cyclones as fans, families, and visitors will no longer have any place to park.
What’s ironic is that Mayor Adams, a Trump flunky, is now fulfilling developer Fred Trump’s dream of putting “Miami Beach-style” high-rises on the old Steeplechase site, a scheme that was stopped cold by the City Council in the 1960s after Fred Trump demolished the historic Steeplechase Pavilion.
After the City bought the site from Fred Trump in the 1980s, it was rezoned as a public park, the only “special events” park in the City of New York. It remained a 10-acre public park until it was taken by Mayor Giuliani to build KeySpan Park, where the Brooklyn Cyclones play. The parking lot remained as public parkland, even though it was paved over for parking.
Conceptual rendering of Coney Island West, including development of housing on ballpark parking lot (Parcel A) and Abe Stark renovations released on February 20, 2025. Credit: ONE Architecture & Urbanism via NYC Mayor's Office.
Bloomberg’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) decided to remove the parkland designation and rezone the parking lot for high-rise residential housing. This involved a complicated state approved process called Alienation, that requires parkland taken for other purposes be replaced with equal acreage at another site. In reality, the parkland was never replaced, the EDC just purchased property in the amusement zone and called it parkland.
A positive part of this plan is the preservation and restoration of the Abe Stark Rink, which Bloomberg and the EDC had originally scheduled for demolition. The real reason it’s being saved is that the rezoning required that a new rink be constructed and opened at another site before demolition of the Abe Stark Rink could begin. That requirement was never fulfilled. The renovated rink will have a long overdue Boardwalk entrance. Coincidentally, a month ago I submitted a request to the Landmarks Preservation Commission to have the Abe Stark Rink landmarked.
The Army Corps resiliency plan for flood control on Coney Island Creek, and the elevation of the Boardwalk, are existing plans that have been in the works for several years, and not something new. Somehow these existing proposals have been thrown together and hyped as some sort of new “visionary” plan for Coney Island.
The only new part of the Coney Island plan is that an RFP has been released to build high-rises surrounding the Parachute Jump. Brooklyn Cyclones baseball ushered in a new era of revival and appreciation for Coney Island. The joy and support for the team and for Coney Island is being eradicated by a ruinous project that will eliminate views of the Parachute Jump and add to the terrible new construction that’s rising in a vulnerable flood zone.
It’s a shame that the old Steeplechase Park site is being lost as it had multiple uses. It’s not just a parking lot. It's the last open waterfront space in the area, and has hosted numerous fairs, and circuses, and other special events. The lot was taken over by FEMA after Superstorm Sandy and used to store all the rebuilding supplies for Coney Island. The EDC is replacing a 1,000-car open space with 160 parking spots. The loss of what is now Coney Island’s only parking facility will kill the ballpark that brought baseball back to Brooklyn. It’s the most unimaginative and tragic misuse of a unique and irreplaceable portion of New York City.
-Charles Denson, Executive Director
Abe Stark Rink saved! Photo: Charles Denson
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