Home › News ›

Single Operator Suggested for Coney Island, But Character Loss is Feared

Posted by: Nate Berg

19 May 2009 - 5:00am

Theme park experts suggest contracting a single operator to manage Coney Island, but there's some push back from city officials who fear a loss of diversity and character.

"Mayor Bloomberg’s hand-picked panel of amusement industry experts is urging the city to find a single operator to run a proposed new theme park for Coney Island, a controversial suggestion that would radically change the nature of the People’s Playground, once the domain of a multitude of independent carnies and ride owners.

'The time is now to identify and select a single industry operator/developer to oversee the development,' the 'Coney Island Amusement Advisory Panel' said a statement issued yesterday. The 'blue ribbon' commission includes executives from Six Flags, Atlantic City’s Steel Pier, and amusement parks in Wildwood, N.J.

Even though the suggestion for a single, Disney-like operator came from Bloomberg’s own committee, city officials did not fully embrace the idea."

Full Story: Theme park experts urge city to ‘Disney-fy’ Coney
Source: Brooklyn Paper, May 18, 2009
»
Bookmark and Share
“
Despite its small size, San Pierre was once a thriving community. It was home to more than 34 different businesses, and was surrounded by farmland and people gainfully employed in agriculture, retail sales, banking or other service industries.
”