City Shows Sitt Who's Boss in Coney Island
There’s bound to be lots on this in the papers in the morning, but Curbed is reporting that the midday press conference on the future of Coney Island just concluded. The basic message: Michael Bloomberg, not Joe Sitt, wears the pants in South Brooklyn. Frustrated at how Sitt’s Thor Equities has pursued its plans to…
There’s bound to be lots on this in the papers in the morning, but Curbed is reporting that the midday press conference on the future of Coney Island just concluded. The basic message: Michael Bloomberg, not Joe Sitt, wears the pants in South Brooklyn. Frustrated at how Sitt’s Thor Equities has pursued its plans to redevelop the area, the mayor’s office has decided it will designate the area between the Cyclone and Keyspan Park as park land and take it from Thor (by eminent domain, if necessary) to hand over to an amusement park operator. Grabby, grabby! In return, Thor will be allowed to build a mixed-used development on the existing Keyspan Park parking lot. Waddya think of them apples?
Coney Details: Amusements in Middle, Tall on Edges [Curbed]
Coney Island Bombshell: City Planning Takeover [Curbed]
Wow, got quiet. Must be alot of NY Times subscribers here. AY does benefit the public both in Jobs of what was empty space and economy. CI will benefit the public in the same fashion. The public will have use of both facilities. What public use did teh NY Times HQ provide?
“Was is a problem for you also when the NY Times used Eminent Domain to evict all the businesses on the northeast corner of 40th St. and 8th Ave to build their new HQ office tower in Manhattan?”
I think the NY Times abuse of ED is disgusting. They didn’t even offer the owners a settlement, they just used their connections in government to kick everyone out. I will never give a cent to the NY Times again.
I am so sickened by developers who all cry the need for “affordable housing” when ever they argue for their projects. But the fact is, if they were not forced to build affordable housing into their luxury buildings they wouldn’t, and that they build the absolute minimum number of affordable units required by the government into their luxury buildings. Furthermore they build nothing but crap. If Joe Sitt had a record of caring about more than making a buck perhaps the public would not be so horrified by the proposition of him taking a stab at CI. And, prey tell, what sort of crap mall is he planning on building at the Revere Sugar factory? Go away Joe!
3:15,
No, Brownstoner does not cross-post stories on a daily basis. That award goes to no land grab, develop don’t destroy, and atlantic yards report, who constantly post the same stories.
I agree that many of the above posters are being hypocrites. They screech about eminent domain “abuse”, but cheer the use of ED when it corresponds to their wishes.
So Shahn the distinguishing characteristic in your mind between appropriate ED and inappropriate ED is who comes up with the resulting plan?
Surely you cant be arguing that an amusement park (operated for profit) on prime beach front property is more of a public benefit than thousands of units of affordable housing, improved infrastructure for the LIRR, a park (of some sort) and an Arena! All on land that heretofore was mostly a pit, parking, or empty.
Look we all get it Dan Goldstein and his ilk dont want more condo’s (even thought they live and profited from such housing), they dont want an arena, and they dont want development of retail and offices that will remove the gritty edge of Brooklyn that they think they need to feel ‘authentic’. All I am saying is be honest about it. Stop wrapping up your agenda in some sort of bogus property rights crusade that you don’t really believe in. Clearly, the propaganda isn’t working and in the end even legitimate community concerns will be ignored because it gets lost in they hyperbole, dishonesty and hypocrisy of the current messengers.
FSRG
Shahn,
In case you haven’t noticed – there is a housing crisis in this city. I don’t see how any rational person could believe 15,000 new housing units is not a public benefit. If anything, NYC has a long and storied history of using eminent domain to build new housing.
Further, you must remember that the AY situation is the same as CI. Most land being taken belongs to other development families who hoped to build high density properties there too. The entire “stop eminent domain abuse” is orchestrated by other developers!
It’s all supremely hypocritical.
The difference, Anon 10:14, is that the city came up with the idea of taking private land from a developer for a public benefit, which in this case is an amusement park. With the Atlantic Yards, a private developer came up with the idea of the city (and state) taking land from private land owners for his own benefit, with a small theoretical public benefit to make it all go down easier.
Funny how virtually everyone loves to say taking private property by eminent domain for transfer to the benefit of other private parties, is so wrong when it comes to Atlantic Yards but
I hear an expect silence from these same people when it comes to CI.
Pure hypocrisy – what difference exists between an arena and an amusement park?
The intellectual dishonesty of AY opponents never ceases to amaze me.
FSRG
Was is a problem for you also when the NY Times used Eminent Domain to evict all the businesses on the northeast corner of 40th St. and 8th Ave to build their new HQ office tower in Manhattan? Seems to me the public benefits in this one.