Coney Island redevelopment approved

The City Council approved Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan for the redevelopment of Coney Island in a 44-2 vote yesterday afternoon. The plan calls for a 27-acre entertainment district and rezoning that would allow for high-rise hotels and 4,500 new residential units to the north and west of the amusement area. The Bloomberg administration also reached a tentative agreement yesterday with Coney Island landowner and Thor Equities Chairman Joseph Sitt to purchase six of Sitt’s 10 acres. Critics of the plan have argued that the proposed amusement area is too small and that the plan would encourage overdevelopment and the demolition of landmarks.