City Council committee passes Coney plan

The City Council land use committee today voted 13-2 in favor of the Bloomberg administration’s Coney Island redevelopment plan. The plan calls for vacant amusement lots to be rezoned for residential development and would allow hotels and retail space in the central amusement district. The full City Council is slated to vote on the rezoning next Wednesday, but some hurdles remain, including the city’s negotiations with Coney Island landowner Joseph Sitt and a building employees’ union that is asking for wage guarantees. Council members are expected to follow the lead of member Domenic Recchia, who has asked the city to promise to renovate Coney Island Hospital’s emergency room, among other projects, in exchange for his support. [NYO] and [Crain’s]